Lydien

Lydiens udstrækning i det 7. århundrede

Lydien var i antikken et mægtigt kongerige i det vestlige Lilleasien omkring hovedstaden Sardes. Dets storhedsstid var 7. århundrede f.Kr.-6. århundrede f.Kr.

Det sidste dynasti af konger, Mermnaderne, udvidede riget mod øst til floden Halys og kom i strid med Medien og derefter Oldpersien. 546 f.Kr. erobrede den persiske konge Kyros den Store Lydien, der siden delte skæbne med det øvrige Lilleasien.

Lydien var det første land, der prægede mønter af ædelmetal. Møntprægningen startede omkring 630 f.Kr. Lydiens rigdom var berømt.

Referencer

  1. ↑ 09 July 2021, worldhistory.org: The Invention of the First Coinage in Ancient Lydia, backup Citat: "...There had to be a better way – and the ancient Lydians invented it...In approximately 630 BCE, someone in the Anatolian kingdom of Lydia stamped a piece of precious metal with something akin to a signet ring. One outcome of this simple act was that it increased confidence in the lump’s weight and purity when later used in the marketplace. This procedure did nothing to modify the intrinsic value of the commodity, but it simplified the exchange of bullion for anyone willing to accept the stamp’s guarantee prima facie rather than reweighing and retesting the lump every time it was traded...The stamps were rudimentary affairs at first, bearing messages in Greek or Lydian stating, "I am the signet of Phanes" or "I am [the seal] of Kukas." It must be remembered, however, that ancient peoples treated a seal more formally than we do a signature; the seal embodied the full power and prestige of the person associated with it..."
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