Who were the Lydians?

Lydia - the name of this small region in western Anatolia is unknown to many. And yet the Lydians, an Anatolian people whose close proximity to the Aegean Sea allowed for the free flow of ideas and culture between Lydia and ancient greece, created an immensely powerful realm which dominated Anatolia and the surrounding territories in the late 7th and early-mid 6th centuries BC.

Allied to the Pharaohs and the might of Neo-Assyria, the Lydians were formidable warriors and cavalrymen; their artists and craftsmen, blending anatolian, greek and near eastern forms, created exquisite pottery, painting and metalwork; their kings were the first to mint coinage, revolutionising trade in an innovation which is still used today. The name of their most famous king, Croesus, has become a byword for wealth and riches. In today’s video we will try to uncover more about this little-known people, and to discover the answer to this question: Who were the Lydians?

Sources:

Payne, Annick. 'The Lydian Empire'.

Brouwers, Josho. 'A look at Lydian warfare'. 2013.

Greenewalt Jr., Crawford and Heywood, Ann. 'A Helmet of the Sixth Century B. C. from Sardis' in Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research
No. 285. Chicago University Press, 1992.

Payne, Annick. 'Native Religious Traditions From A Lydian Perspective'. From proceedings of ‘Religious Convergence in the Ancient Mediterranean’, Conference 23-26 June 2016, Palermo, Atlanta, 2019.

Ramage, Andrew and Ramage, Nancy. 'Chapter 1. Lydian Pottery: An Overview', in Archaeological Exploration of Sardis Report 8: Ordinary Lydians at Home: The Lydian Trenches of the House of Bronzes and Pactolus Cliff at Sardis.

Özgen, İlknur. 'Lydian Treasure' in The Lydians and Their World. 2010.

Dale, Alexander. 'WALWET and KUKALIM: Lydian coin legends, dynastic succession, and the chronology of Mermnad kings' in Kadmos 54 (1/2). 2015.

Music:
- Europa - Tecnosine
- Ambient Jam - Tecnosine
- Hybrid Guile - Abstract Aprils
- Vertex - Adi Goldstein
- Incantation - Scott Buckley
- Who Listens to Trees Anyway - Ben McElroy

All materials are used under fair use for education and commentary.

0:00 - Intro
1:09 - Early History
4:17 - Geography
6:42 - The Mermnad Dynasty
17:05 - Society
22:14 - Culture
24:24 - Economy
28:05 - War
32:31 - Art
36:15 - Language
37:59 - Religion
45:22 - The Fall of Lydia
41:42 - Decline and Fall

[newgabe]

How pleasing to hear information given cleanly with clear narration, without dramatic music, AI images or gimmicky jokes.

[PureJoyJoyPure]

Fabulous work. No weird Ai. Just great narration.

[marcin_kalbarczyk]

I cannot stress enough how much I love being told stories in such manner.

[posticusmaximus]

I love how you cover obscure historical peoples and boy is Anatolia full of them. Would like to see the Mittani, carians, or Phrygians.

[MirageInvestigations]

The way the plot unfolds is simply brilliant!

[moonchild-hgof]

whoever they were, they must have had an affinity for Major 7th chords.

[HampOoze]

As a teacher myself I tend to have very excited and passionate way to telling history, and so I admire your very calm and soothing voice, it makes it a delight to listen to when you need to relax. It's definitely a strong point of your channel and something which makes me recommend you to others. Wonderful content as always as well!

[kaloarepo]

If anyone is wondering why the word Lydia or Lidia became quite a common personal name for women it's because of St Paul in the "Acts of the Apostles" making a convert called Lydia in one of the former Lydian cities. She was a business woman engaged in the clothing trade. And the airport for Tel Aviv in Israel is called Lud -another echo of the Lydian kingdom.

[ThorDog]

Great introduction to a lesser known civilization. Been enjoying learning about them and your videos on them are great. I love the style and vibe of your videos with all the graphics. Will be watching more.

[brandondavidson]

The spotlights you show on ancient civilization is so interesting. There are countless peoples and empires we will never know about, because there was no writing or even what was written has been lost to time.

[grimtastic]

I love videos like this that expand on otherwise forgotten or overlooked nations and peoples.
Even in textbooks and maps that included Lydia they would rarely talk about them at length, so thank you for giving us a more in depth look.

[Kosmic_Mike]

Very calming voice and music and uncluttered graphics - good job.

[melmel]

I’m so glad I found your channel! Fascinating history and also a very pleasant sounding narrator! Great to help me wind down before bed.

[zkedkdb]

Thank you for showing photos of actual artifacts. All the writing you use is very helpful. I subscribed.

[wordytoed]

Your videos bring me such great wonder and peace at the same time. It’s truly unique. I remember you stated you were inspired by Horses. I see it, but I see further that you spin your own artistry in your research and presentation. Just wanted to say thank you for sharing your marvelous work. It is invaluable.

[michaelbizon]

Very nice. I very much like the retro style, like reading old fashioned history text books. Can't wait for more wile I watch all the old vids you have.

[Stagcraftstream]

Cant wait for the video on mixolydians

[ProfessorDarkAcademia]

Your maps are especially beautiful and truly fit the video's vibe

[cal]

fascinating. i wonder what they looked like and if theres any connection between the lydians and earlier luwians

[BellesDreams]

Thank you so much for an informative video, I am sure there is much hard research and production associated with this video. And greatly appreciate the “lack” of Artificial Intelligence for narration ❤