List of Kings of Lydia
Encyclopedia
This page lists the kings of Lydia
, an ancient kingdom in western Anatolia
. The Greeks of Homer
's time knew Lydia as Maeonia, which was probably an earlier name for the country. Three dynasties are mentioned by the ancient sources; the first is wholly mythical, the second begins in myth but emerges into the light of historical record, and the third is wholly real. The earliest of these is contemporary with the rebellious governor Madduwattas of Zippasla
and his successor Tarkhundaradu, mentioned in Hittite
records; but any identification between them is speculation.
gives the eponymous Manes as the first king of Maeonia, with a son named Atys (Atyllus). Other sources, such as Strabo
, name Tmolus and his son Tantalus as kings of the region at the same time, ruling from Sipylus. Since Omphale is a member of both these families, it is conjectured that they are identical.
, comprised 22 kings reigning for 505 years, according to Herodotus. They were descended from a liaison between Omphale and the mythical hero Heracles
(known as Tylon to the Lydians). The kingdom came to be called Lydia after the last king of the previous dynasty.
n history. Both versions are given here (with the latter in brackets).
Lydia
Lydia was an Iron Age kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the modern Turkish provinces of Manisa and inland İzmir. Its population spoke an Anatolian language known as Lydian....
, an ancient kingdom in western Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
. The Greeks of Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
's time knew Lydia as Maeonia, which was probably an earlier name for the country. Three dynasties are mentioned by the ancient sources; the first is wholly mythical, the second begins in myth but emerges into the light of historical record, and the third is wholly real. The earliest of these is contemporary with the rebellious governor Madduwattas of Zippasla
Madduwatta
Madduwatta was a king of Arzawa, in Anatolia, about 14th or 13th century BC.- Life :Perhaps, Madduwatta was first a local king of a Lukka city-state at coast of southwestern Asia Minor.He faced a struggle, in the Lukka Lands , against a "man from Ahhiya" Madduwatta (sometimes given as...
and his successor Tarkhundaradu, mentioned in Hittite
Hittites
The Hittites were a Bronze Age people of Anatolia.They established a kingdom centered at Hattusa in north-central Anatolia c. the 18th century BC. The Hittite empire reached its height c...
records; but any identification between them is speculation.
Atyads (Tantalids)
HerodotusHerodotus
Herodotus was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria and lived in the 5th century BC . He has been called the "Father of History", and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...
gives the eponymous Manes as the first king of Maeonia, with a son named Atys (Atyllus). Other sources, such as Strabo
Strabo
Strabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...
, name Tmolus and his son Tantalus as kings of the region at the same time, ruling from Sipylus. Since Omphale is a member of both these families, it is conjectured that they are identical.
- Manes (king)
- AtysAtys (King of the Maeonians)Atys was the second king of Maeonia and father of Lydus, sons of Manes. He was the second king of the Atyad dynasty according to Herodotus....
- LydusLydusLydus was the third king of Maeonia in succession to his father Atys. He was the third and last king of the Atyad dynasty. According to Herodotus, Maeonia became known as Lydia after Lydus's reign.-See also:*List of Kings of Lydia...
- The 1768 Universal History (Sale et al)Universal History (Sale et al)The Universal History was a 65-volume universal history of the world published in London between 1747 and 1768...
, citing various classical sources, inserts the following kings of Lydia between Lydus and Tmolus: Alcymus, Adrymetes, Cambletes. - TmolusTmolusTmolus was a King of Lydia and husband to Omphale. He is the eponymous namesake of Mount Tmolus , which lies in Lydia with the Lydian capital at its foot and Hypaepa on its southern slope...
- (Gored to death by a bull) - Sale's Universal History inserts the following kings of Lydia between Tmolus and Omphale: Theoclymenos, MarsyasMarsyasIn Greek mythology, the satyr Marsyas is a central figure in two stories involving music: in one, he picked up the double flute that had been abandoned by Athena and played it; in the other, he challenged Apollo to a contest of music and lost his hide and life...
, and IardanusIardanusThe River Iardanus or Iardanes denoted two small rivers in Antiquity, and previously a third, it would seem.A Iardanus in Elis is referred to in passing in Iliad , where Nestor remembers Pylians and Arcadians gathered in fight by the rapid river Celadon under the walls of Pheia, and round about...
. - OmphaleOmphaleIn Greek mythology, Omphale was a daughter of Iardanus, either a king of Lydia, or a river-god. Omphale was queen of the kingdom of Lydia in Asia Minor; according to Bibliotheke she was the wife of Tmolus, the oak-clad mountain king of Lydia; after he was gored to death by a bull, she continued...
- (Widow of Tmolus, after whom she reigned. The reign was taken over by the Tylonids or Heraclids through her)
- TantalusTantalusTantalus was the ruler of an ancient western Anatolian city called either after his name, as "Tantalís", "the city of Tantalus", or as "Sipylus", in reference to Mount Sipylus, at the foot of which his city was located and whose ruins were reported to be still visible in the beginning of the...
(son of ZeusZeusIn the ancient Greek religion, Zeus was the "Father of Gods and men" who ruled the Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father ruled the family. He was the god of sky and thunder in Greek mythology. His Roman counterpart is Jupiter and his Etruscan counterpart is Tinia.Zeus was the child of Cronus...
and PloutoPloutoIn Greek mythology, Plouto or Pluto was a nymph and the mother of Tantalus by Zeus. Her parents were Oceanus and Tethys or Himas, a Lydian that was otherwise unknown...
, stepson of Tmolus, offered up his son PelopsPelopsIn Greek mythology, Pelops , was king of Pisa in the Peloponnesus. He was the founder of the House of Atreus through his son of that name....
in a feast for the gods) - (TantalusTantalus son of BroteasIn Greek mythology Tantalus, not to be confused with his more famous grandfather and namesake , who was also called Atys, was the son of Broteas . He ruled over the city of Lydia. He was the first husband of Clytemnestra and was slain by Agamemnon, King of Mycenae, a soldier in the Trojan War, who...
) (son of Broteas, married ClytemnestraClytemnestraClytemnestra or Clytaemnestra , in ancient Greek legend, was the wife of Agamemnon, king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Mycenae or Argos. In the Oresteia by Aeschylus, she was a femme fatale who murdered her husband, Agamemnon – said by Euripides to be her second husband – and the Trojan princess...
but never reigned in Lydia)
Tylonids (Heraclids)
Usurping the throne, this semi-legendary dynasty, which established its capital at SardisSardis
Sardis or Sardes was an ancient city at the location of modern Sart in Turkey's Manisa Province...
, comprised 22 kings reigning for 505 years, according to Herodotus. They were descended from a liaison between Omphale and the mythical hero Heracles
Heracles
Heracles ,born Alcaeus or Alcides , was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, foster son of Amphitryon and great-grandson of Perseus...
(known as Tylon to the Lydians). The kingdom came to be called Lydia after the last king of the previous dynasty.
- AgronAgron of LydiaAgron was the fourth king of Maeonia, which was also known as Lydia from this time onwards . He was the first king of the Heraclid dynasty; see List of Kings of Lydia....
1221-? BC (son of NinusNinusNinus , according to Greek historians writing in the Hellenistic period and later, was accepted as the eponymous founder of Nineveh , Ancient capital of Assyria, although he does not seem to represent any one personage known to modern history, and is more likely a conflation of several real and/or...
, son of BelusBelusBelus or Belos may be:* The classical Latin or Greek rendition of Bel the Semitic honorific**Ba`al as a Semitic deity** Belus , the Greek Zeus Belos and Latin Jupiter Belus as translations of the Babylonian god Bel Marduk...
, son of Alcaeus, son of Heracles and OmphaleOmphaleIn Greek mythology, Omphale was a daughter of Iardanus, either a king of Lydia, or a river-god. Omphale was queen of the kingdom of Lydia in Asia Minor; according to Bibliotheke she was the wife of Tmolus, the oak-clad mountain king of Lydia; after he was gored to death by a bull, she continued...
) - (17 kings, names unknown, all succeeding father to son)
- Ardys IArdys IArdys I was the twenty-second king of Lydia, and the nineteenth king of the Heraclid dynasty; see List of Kings of Lydia. He was succeeded by his son, Alyattes I, according to Herodotus....
(Ardysus I) 795-759 BC (son of predecessor) - Alyattes IAlyattes IAlyattes I was the twenty-third king of Lydia, and twentieth king of the Heraclid dynasty; see List of Kings of Lydia. He was succeeded by his son, Meles. He is believed to have reigned between 759 and 745 BC....
759-745 BC (son of Ardys I) - MelesMeles of LydiaMeles was the twenty-fourth king of Lydia, and twenty-first king of the Heraclid dynasty; see List of Kings of Lydia. He was succeeded by his son, Candaules.He is believed to have reigned from 745 to 733 BC....
(Myrsus) 745-733 BC (son of Alyattes I) - CandaulesCandaulesCandaules , also known as Myrsilos was a king of the ancient Kingdom of Lydia from 735 BC to 718 BC. He succeeded Meles and was followed by Gyges...
(Myrsilus) 733-716 BC (son of Meles, murdered by Gyges)
Mermnads
Although fully historical, the dates for this dynasty have never been determined with certainty. The traditional dates are derived from Herodotus, who gives reign-lengths for each king; but these have been questioned by modern scholars on the basis of synchronisms with AssyriaAssyria
Assyria was a Semitic Akkadian kingdom, extant as a nation state from the mid–23rd century BC to 608 BC centred on the Upper Tigris river, in northern Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times through history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur...
n history. Both versions are given here (with the latter in brackets).
- GygesGyges of LydiaGyges was the founder of the third or Mermnad dynasty of Lydian kings and reigned from 716 BC to 678 BC . He was succeeded by his son Ardys II.-Allegorical accounts of Gyges' rise to power:...
716-678 BC (or c.680-644) (husband of Candaules's widow) - Ardys IIArdys IIArdys II was the twenty-seventh king of Lydia, and second king of the Mermnad dynasty, the son of King Gyges of Lydia; see List of Kings of Lydia...
(Ardysus II) 678-629 BC (or 644-c.625) (son of Gyges) - SadyattesSadyattesSadyattes, son of Ardys II, of the house of the Mermnadae was King of Lydia from 624 BC to 619 BC. He was succeeded by his son Alyattes II.Sadyattes began a twelve year war with the Ionian Greek maritime city of Miletus that was continued by his son Alyattes II.-Sources:* Nos ancêtres de...
629-617 BC (or c.625-c.600) (son of Ardys II) - Alyattes IIAlyattes IIAlyattes, king of Lydia , considered to be the founder of the Lydian empire, was the son of Sadyattes, of the house of the Mermnadae....
617-560 BC (or c.600-560) (son of Sadyattes) - CroesusCroesusCroesus was the king of Lydia from 560 to 547 BC until his defeat by the Persians. The fall of Croesus made a profound impact on the Hellenes, providing a fixed point in their calendar. "By the fifth century at least," J.A.S...
560-546 BC (or 560-547) (son of Alyattes II)