Sardis is lying 90 km east of Izmir, in the valley of Hermos (today Gediz Cayi), which is dominated by God Dagi (Gray Mountain) growing in height 300 m above the surrounding plains. The Hermos Valley is wide, flat, fertile and has always been a kind of agricultural basin in this part of Asia Minor. The irrigation of the fields was facilitated by a network of canals connected to the nearby Marmara Lake, known in antiquity as Gyges. The favorable geographic location and good conditions for the development of agriculture led to the emergence of prehistoric settlements quite early.

History

Excavations have proven, that the first settlers came here in the middle of the 3rd millennium BC. Ok. 1500 r. p.n.e. new visitors appeared in this place – ancestors of the Lydians, known as the Indo-European tribe of As-suwa or Asia, where would the name of the entire continent come from?. Inhabitants of the then Sardis, according to Homer, they assisted King Priam in the defense of Troy. During this time, the capital of Lydia was conquered several times by the Hittites, alternating with the Achaeans, who stayed here almost until the 8th century. p.n.e. The Hellenes therefore had a great influence on the development of Lydia's culture. Ok. 680 r. p.n.e. power over the Lydian state was taken over by the Mermnad dynasty, whose progenitor was a certain Gyges (678 – 652 p.n.e.), descendant of the Lydian leader Mermnad. Gyges was hauling Pactolus out of the stream (Sart Cayi today) gold and minted the world's first coins. Related to this is the myth about the wealth of King Croesus.

Thanks to coins, trade in Lydia revived, Sardis was located on the route leading from the Aegean Sea to central and eastern Anatolia, and even to Syria. The city then became one of the richest in Asia Minor. Gyges began his conquest of Ionian cities, and after his death, this policy was continued by three more successors: Ardys, Sadyatles and Alyattes (615 – 560 p.n.e.), conqueror of Ephesus and the most powerful city of the Ionian Union – Miletus.

Alyattes was succeeded by the legendary King Croesus (560 – 545 p.n.e.), the last ruler of the Mermnad dynasty. During his reign, the Lydian kingdom reached its peak of prosperity. Croesus ceased the aggressive policies of his predecessors and made peace with the Ionian cities, who, in return for leaving them alone, undertook to pay an annual tribute and provide troops in the event of war. The king's mistake was his unfortunate expedition to Persia in 545 r. p.n.e. Cyrus, then king of Persia, not only repulsed the attack, but also pursued the troops of Croesus to the capital itself, capturing it after a two-week siege. Then came the end of the Lydian state, and the Persians came to rule most of western Asia Minor. Alexander the Great put an end to their reign, which in 334 r. p.n.e. he freed the Greek cities along the Aegean and Mediterranean seas. After Aleksander's death, Lydia went to the Selcucydoms, a w 189 r. p.n.e. Pergamon took power over it, and with this country it passed into 129 r. p.n.e. under the rule of the Romans.

Despite the changing power of Sardis, located on an important trade route, still blooming. The successful development of the city was interrupted in 17 r., when such a strong earthquake happened, that "huge mountains collapsed and was seen in a steep position it, what was plain before ", as Tacitus wrote. The emperor at that time was Tiberius, who quickly rebuilt the city, and the inhabitants gave him a few statues as a thank you. But the stagnation caused by the catastrophe did not pass immediately, and the city did not start to recover until the end of the first. The heyday of the city in Roman times was during the reign of Emperor Diocletian (284 – 305). Sardis had approx. 100 thousand. residents. It was the capital of the province of Lydia, which remained until the reorganization of these lands within the boundaries of the Byzantine Empire. In the early days of Byzantium, Sardis was an important center of Christianity, as this religion quickly took root in the city. Saint John, writing an open letter to the seven cities of Asia Minor, found in his Revelation, He mentioned Sardes as one of the addressees, thus making them one of the Seven Churches of the Apocalypse.

W 1425 r. the city was conquered by the Ottoman Turks and even then it was only a pale shadow of its glorious past, for it did not play any particular role within the Byzantine state. The situation worsened even more under the Turkish sovereignty, which made Sardis little, agricultural village, and monumental buildings began to slowly fade into the ground. The first archaeological excavations were started by a group of American scientists in 1910 r., 48 years later, researchers from Harvard University took on it, who to this day work on discovering the ruins of the former capital of the Lydian state.

letter of st. Jana

In a list of up to seven selected cities (Pergamon, Smyrna, Ephesus, Thyatira, Philadelphia, Laodiceia and Sardis) st. John delivered his message and conveyed a menacing vision of the end of the world. The Revelation of the New Testament is one of its most puzzling texts, both in terms of authorship (which is commonly attributed to St.. John the Evangelist), and unclear, visionary content. The letter was addressed to the local churches, understood as Christian communes, and the number seven has a symbolic meaning (holy and perfect number). The content of each of these writings is somewhat schematic. It begins with the formula of handing over a letter from the Lord to the Angel of the Church, then follows the moral evaluation of a given city, exhortation to repentance, a warning against punishment for sinners, and finally the message ends with an assurance of the reward and victory of the faithful and obedient.. John to the Church at Sardis:

Write to the angel of the Church in Sardis:
That's what Ten says, which has the seven Spirits of God and seven stars:
I know your deeds:
you have a name [which he says], that you are alive,
and you are dead.
Become vigilant and empower the rest, who was going to die, for I have not found your deeds perfect before my God.
So remember, as you took and heard, keep it and be converted!
So if you do not watch, you will not, I will come like a thief, and you will not know, what time will i come to you.
But you have a few people in Sardis, which have not stained their clothes; they will walk with me in white, because they are worthy.
Thus the victor will wear white garments, and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before my Father and his angels.
Who has ears, let him hear, what the Spirit says to the churches.

Ap 3,1 – 6