- Lydia (satrapy)
Lydia (known as "Sparda" by the Achaemenids) was a
satrapy (province) of theAchaemenid Empire , withSardis as its capitol. Tabalus, appointed byCyrus the Great was the first satrap (governor), however, his rule did not last long as the Lydians revolted. The insurrection was suppressed by generalMazares and his successorHarpagus . After Cyrus' death, a man namedOroetus became satrap. Oroetus ruled during the reign ofCambyses and after the chaotic period after the kings death, he conquered the Greek isle of Samos, killing its rulerPolycrates . Due to his growing power,Darius the Great hadBagaeus kill Oroetus. Bagaeus himself may have become satrap for a short period, but the next rulers wereOtanes and Darius' the younger brother,Artaphernes .During the Ionian revolt in 499, Sardes was sacked by the Greeks. Five years later, the rebellion was suppressed and to the surprise of the Greek world, Artaphernes was very lenient in his treatment of the rebels.
After this period, many Iranians settled in Lydia. The worship of eastern gods such as
Anahita , as well as "persified" Lydian deities, began. Although Iranians and Persian landlords were given many of the estates of the region due to the Greek revolt, loyal Greeks were also given estates.Artaphernes was succeeded in 492 by his son, also called Artaphernes. From the period of 480 to 440, not much is known of Lydia. In 440, the satrap
Pissuthnes attempted to retake Samos, which had rebelled againstAthens , but failed. In 420, he revolted againstDarius II Nothus , for unknown reasons. Tissaphernes, a nobleman, was sent to Lydia to arrest and execute Pissuthnes. Tissaphernes became satrap in 415 and continue to fightAmorges , son of Pissunthnes.After
Sparta had defeated Athens, the Greeks invaded Lydia. Tissaphernes overcame the invasion of Thibron in 399 but was defeated at Sardes by the Spartan KingAgesilaus . The satrap was executed and replaced by Tiribazus who restored order in Lydia and was responsible for a series of treaties between the Persian king and theGreek city states .Autophradates was probably Tiribazus' direct successor, and was loyal to the Achaemenid monarch during a series of revolts in 370. The last satrap of Lydia was Spithridates, who was killed by
Alexander the Great at the battle ofGranicus .atraps
*Tabalus (546-545 BCE)
*Mazares (545-ca. 544 BCE)
*Harpagus (ca. 544-?)
*Oroetus (before 530- ca. 520 BCE)
*Bagaeus (ca. 520-? BCE)
*Otanes (517 BCE)
*Artaphernes I (513-492 BCE)
*Artaphernes II (492-after 480 BCE)
*Pissuthnes (before 440-415 BCE)
*Tissaphernes (ca. 415-408 BCE)
*Cyrus the Younger (408-401 BCE)
*Tissaphernes (400-395 BCE)
*Tiribazus (395-? BCE)
*Autophradates (c.365 BCE)
*Spithridates (?-until 334 BCE)ee also
*
Lydia
*List of satraps of Lydia References
* [http://www.livius.org/lu-lz/lydia/lydia.html Lydia]
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