Sardis

   Metropolis of Lydia in Asia Minor (qq.v.). The city flourished until the early seventh century. The historian Eunapios (q.v.), who wrote from Sardis, describes a philosophical school there. Recent excavations have revealed the extent of its civic monuments and churches, many of which were destroyed ca. 616, perhaps by a Persian raid. The seventh-century Byzantine fortress survived for centuries, despite a brief occupation by the Arabs in 716 and by Tzachas (qq.v.) from 1092-1098. Sardis flourished again under the Lascarids (q.v.), as did the entire region. However, after 1261 the Turkish advance in Lydia was relentless. The emirate of Saruhan (qq.v.) conquered Sardis ca. 1315.