Sadyattes ( grc, Σαδυαττης, Saduattēs; la, Sadyattēs; reigned 637–) was the third king of the Mermnad dynasty in Lydia, the son of Ardys and the grandson of

Gyges of Lydia Gyges (, ; Lydian: ;Akkadian: , ; grc, Γύγης, Gugēs; la, Gygēs; reigned c. 680-644 BC) was the founder of the Mermnad dynasty of Lydian kings and the first known king of the Lydian kingdom to have attempted to transform it into a ...

. Sadyattes reigned 12 years according to Herodotus.

Reign

Background

Sadyattes came to power during period of severe crisis that Lydia was facing because of several waves of invasions by the

Cimmerians The Cimmerians (Akkadian: , romanized: ; Hebrew: , romanized: ; Ancient Greek: , romanized: ; Latin: ) were an ancient Eastern Iranian equestrian nomadic people originating in the Caspian steppe, part of whom subsequently migrated into Wes ...

, a nomadic people from the Eurasian Steppe who had invaded the

Western Asia Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions. It is almost entirely a part of the Middle East, and includes Ana ...

. The Cimmerians attacked Lydia several times but had been repelled by Sadyattes's grandfather, Gyges, but in 644 BC, the Cimmerians attacked Lydia for the third time, led by their king Lygdamis. The

Lydians The Lydians (known as ''Sparda'' to the Achaemenids, Old Persian cuneiform 𐎿𐎱𐎼𐎭) were Anatolian people living in Lydia, a region in western Anatolia, who spoke the distinctive Lydian language, an Indo-European language of the ...

were defeated, Sardis was sacked, and Gyges was killed, following which he was succeeded by his son, Ardys, who was the father of Sadyattes. In 637 BC, that is in Ardys's seventh regnal year, the

Thracian The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied ...

Treres tribe who had migrated across the Thracian Bosporus and invaded

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The ...

, under their king Kobos, and in alliance with the

and the

Lycians Lycians is the name of various peoples who lived, at different times, in Lycia, a geopolitical area in Anatolia (also known as Asia Minor). History The earliest known inhabitants of the area were the ''Solymoi'' (or ''Solymi''), also kno ...

, attacked Lydia. They defeated the Lydians again and for a second time sacked the Lydian capital of

Sardis Sardis () or Sardes (; Lydian: 𐤳𐤱𐤠𐤭𐤣 ''Sfard''; el, Σάρδεις ''Sardeis''; peo, Sparda; hbo, ספרד ''Sfarad'') was an ancient city at the location of modern ''Sart'' (Sartmahmut before 19 October 2005), near Salihli, ...

, except for its citadel. It is probable that Ardys was killed during this Cimmerian attack, or that he was deposed for being unable to protect Lydia from the Cimmerian attacks.

Reign

Sadyattes's reign was even more short-lived than that of his father Ardys: although

Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society ...

claimed that Ardys had reigned for twelve years, modern estimates give him a much shorter reign of only two years. Little is known about the reign of Sadyattes except that he began a war with the Ionian Greek maritime city of Miletus.

End of reign

Sadyattes's reign ended in 635 BC. It is possible that, like his grandfather Gyges, he died fighting the Cimmerians. Alternatively, Sadyattes might have been deposed for failing to protect Lydia from the Cimmerian attacks. He was succeeded by his son

Alyattes Alyattes (Lydian language: ; grc, Ἀλυάττης ; reigned c. 635-585 BC), sometimes described as Alyattes I, was the fourth king of the Mermnad dynasty in Lydia, the son of Sadyattes, grandson of Ardys, and great-grandson of Gyges. ...

, who continued the war against Miletus and would transform Lydia into a powerful empire.

Aftermath

Soon after 635 BC, with Assyrian approval and in alliance with the Lydians, the

Scythians The Scythians or Scyths, and sometimes also referred to as the Classical Scythians and the Pontic Scythians, were an ancient Eastern * : "In modern scholarship the name 'Sakas' is reserved for the ancient tribes of northern and eastern Centra ...

under their king

Madyes Madyes ( Median: ; Ancient Greek: , romanized: ;: " “intoxicating drink” (in )" Latin: ) was a Scythian king who ruled during the period of the Scythian presence in West Asia in the 7th century BCE. Madyes was the son of the Scythian king Ba ...

entered Anatolia, expelled the Treres from Asia Minor, and defeated the Cimmerians so that they no longer constituted a threat again, following which the Scythians extended their domination to Central Anatolia until they were themselves expelled by the Medes from Western Asia in the 600s BC. This final defeat of the Cimmerians was carried out by the joint forces of Madyes, who Strabo credits with expelling the Cimmerians from Asia Minor, and of Sadyattes's son, the king

Alyattes of Lydia Alyattes (Lydian language: ; grc, Ἀλυάττης ; reigned c. 635-585 BC), sometimes described as Alyattes I, was the fourth king of the Mermnad dynasty in Lydia, the son of Sadyattes, grandson of Ardys, and great-grandson of Gyges. He ...

, whom

and

Polyaenus Polyaenus or Polyenus ( ; see ae (æ) vs. e; grc-gre, Πoλύαινoς, Polyainos, "much-praised") was a 2nd-century CE Greek author, known best for his ''Stratagems in War'' ( grc-gre, Στρατηγήματα, Strategemata), which has been pr ...

claim finally defeated the Cimmerians.

References

Sources

* Kings of Lydia Year of birth unknown 6th-century BC rulers 7th-century BC rulers in Asia 591 BC deaths Mermnad dynasty {{AncientNearEast-bio-stub