LYDIA was the name for the central part of the coast-land on the west of Asia Minor in ancient times, having been so called from the race which inhabited it, the Lydians. It was a prosperous kingdom with its capital at Sardis and the name of the last king, Croesus, has become proverbial for wealth. The Persians seized the kingdom from him in 546 BC ('Lydia' in Ezk.30.5 AV is corrected to 'Lud' in RV and RSV). Alexander the Great conquered it in 334 BC. The possession of it was disputed by the Pergamenians and Seleucids till 190 BC in which year it became definitely Pergamenian (cf 1 Mac.8.8). In 133 BC it passed by will with the rest of the Pergamenian kingdom into the Roman Empire, and the whole kingdom was henceforth known as the province Asia, by which name alone it is indicated in the NT (see ASIA). After the formation of the province, the term 'Lydia' had only an ethnological significance. The chief interest of Lydia for us is that it contained several very ancient and important great cities (of the Ionian branch of Greek language and culture), Smyrna, Ephesus, Sardis, Colophon, etc., some of which were among the 'churches of Asia.' The evangelization of the country is connected with St. Paul's long residence in Ephesus (Ac.19.1ff). Sardis has been the scene of important American excavations. [Article: Dictionary of the Bible, J.Hastings, 2nd Ed., T&T.Clark, 1963 - A.So. - E.G.K.] See also, wikipedia article - SARDIS.