Ardys II

Ardys (reigned c.652–c.603 BC; also known as Ardysus) was the second king of the Mermnad dynasty in Lydia, the son of Gyges. According to Herodotus, he reigned for 49 years and was succeeded by his son Sadyattes.

Dates for the Mermnad kings are uncertain and are based on a computation by J. B. Bury and Russell Meiggs (1975) who estimated c.687–c.652 BC for the reign of Gyges. Herodotus gave reign lengths for Gyges' successors: Ardys for 49 years (to c.603 BC); and Sadyattes for 12 years (to c.591 BC).

Ardys attacked the Ionian Greek city of Miletus and succeeded in capturing the city of Priene. Most of his reign was taken up with the wars against the Cimmerians, who occupied part of Sardis in one invasion.

• Bury, J. B.; Meiggs, Russell (1975) [first published 1900]. A History of Greece (Fourth Edition). London: MacMillan Press. ISBN 0-333-15492-4.
• Herodotus (1975) [first published 1954].Burn, A. R.; de Sélincourt, Aubrey (eds.). The Histories. London: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-051260-8.