674 
S A R 
from their country by the Scythian Nomades, under the 
reign of Ardys, whose reign commenced 680 years B. C. 
It remained in possession of the Cimmerians until the reign 
of Alyattes II., who ascended the throne 619 years B. C., 
took possession of the capital, and drove the Cimmerians out 
of Asia. Strabo informs us that the Tyrians and Lycians 
took possession of it, and it became subject to the Persians 
in the year 584 B. C. It was in the plain before this city 
that Cyrus gained a victory over Croesus, king of Lydia, 
and then took the city after a resistance of 14 days. The 
Persians thought Sardis of such consequence after they 
gained possession of it, that Xerxes hearing that it was taken 
by the Greeks, commanded one of his attendants to cry 
aloud every day while he was at dinner, “ The Greeks have 
taken Sardis;” a practice which was continued till he reco¬ 
vered the city. 
In the year 504 B. C., Aristagoras, lieutenant of the 
sovereign of Miletus, revolted against the Persians, who 
had remained in possession of Sardis from the destruction of 
the kingdom of Lydia. Sardis w r as taken without resistance, 
but the citadel was defended by Artaphernes with a good 
garrison. On this occasion a soldier set fire to a house, 
which communicated itself to other buildings, and occa¬ 
sioned a conflagration that spread through almost the whole 
city. The temple of Cybele was burnt. The city w'as 
afterwards rebuilt, and passed under the dominion of the 
Greeks. In the year 333 B. C., after the battle of Granicus, 
Sardis, which was considered as the strongest place occupied 
by the Persians near the sea-coast, surrendered to Alex¬ 
ander; who left it free, and allowed it to be governed by its 
own laws. 
In the w'ar carried on by Seleucus against Lysimachus, 
he took possession of Sardis in the year 283 B.C.; the 
citadel, with all the treasures of Lysimachus, having been 
delivered to him by Theodotus, the governor. In the year 
214 B. C„ Antiochus the Great made himself master of the 
city and its citadel, and kept possession of it for 25 years. 
It served for the place of his retreat after having lost the 
battle of Magnesia in Sipylus, 190 years B. C. When this 
prince left Sardis to join his son Seleucus, he committed the 
custody of it to Zenon, and entrusted the government of 
the rest of Lydia with Timon. The inhabitants of Sardis 
delivered themselves up to the Romans, in whose possession it 
remained. Under the reign of the emperor Tiberius, Sardis 
was almost wholly destroyed by an earthquake; but the em¬ 
peror gave orders for rebuilding it at a great expense. The 
emperor Adrian w'as also a very considerable benefactor to 
this city; and hence he obtained the title of Neocorus. 
Anronine, his adopted son and successor, was particularly 
honoured by the inhabitants of Sardis. This city is repre¬ 
sented on some medals as the metropolis of Asia; and it is 
said to have been the only city of proconsular Asia which 
had assumed this denomination. A medal of Augustus, 
however, gives reason for concluding that it had been a me¬ 
tropolis under this prince. At Sardis were exhibited every 
five years some particular games, called “ Chrysanthius,” 
on account of gilded flowers, which composed the crown 
assigned to the victor. Sardis was one of the first towns 
which embraced Christianity, having been proselyted, as it 
is said, by the apostle John; and some have thought that 
Clement, a disciple of St. Paul, was its first bishop. It has 
been also reckoned among the number of the seven churches, 
mentioned in the Revelation ; but others have thought that 
this honour belonged to a village in its vicinity. The terri¬ 
tory of Sardis was renowned for several valuable productions. 
The precious stone called sardonyx, is said to have derived 
its name from this city; and it is supposed that the first 
mines were discovered in this place. Pliny says that the 
tree which yielded a fragrant incense, grew in great abun¬ 
dance in the environs of Sardis, where the kings of Asia had 
made these plantations. The inhabitants w'ere industrious 
and active, and celebrated for many valuable manufactures. 
Pliny relates that the first woollen manufactures were esta¬ 
blished at Sardis; and Athenseus informs us, that the inha¬ 
bitants composed a variety of precious perfumes. The im- 
S A R 
perial medals of Sardis are very numerous, but those struck 
iu honour of the city are not so many. It appears by an 
inscription reported by M. Spon, that Jupiter was particu¬ 
larly honoured at Sardis; he was there called the protector of 
the city. Here are still to be seen the ruins of a large palace, 
with two magnificent churches, with a great many pillars and 
cornices of marble, the remains probably of a temple, and 
also of the citadel. Near this city was to be seen, in the 
time of Herodotus, the sepulchre of Alyattes, the father of 
Croesus; the foundation of which was stone, but the whole 
superstructure of earth, being 6 furlongs 200 feet in circum¬ 
ference, and 1300 feet in breadth. 
SARDOA, Sardoum, or Sardonia Herba [so called 
from its growing plentifully in Sardinia], in Botany, a name 
given by the ancients to the water-crowfoot. 
SARDOAL, a small town in the central part of Portugal, 
in Estremadura; 3 miles north of Abrantes. Population 
about 3000. 
SARDONES, in Ancient Geography, a people who in¬ 
habited the western part of Gallia Narbonnensis, according 
to Pliny. These people occupied that part which is now 
called Roussillon, in the environs of Ruscino. 
SARDO'NIAN, or Sardo'nic, ndj. [from sardon, a 
herb of Sardinia, resembling sinallage; which, beino- eaten 
by men, is said to contract the muscles, and excite painful 
and dangerous laughter.] Forced or feigned, as applied to 
laughter, smiles, or grin. 
The villain—with Sardonian smyle 
Laughing on her, his false intent to shade, 
Gan forth to lay his bayte her to beguyle. Spenser. 
SA'RDONYX, .f. A precious stone.—The onyx is an 
accidental variety of the agate kind: ’tis of a dark horny 
colour, in which is a plate of a bluish white, and sometimes 
of red: when on one or both sides the white there happens 
to lie also a plate of a reddish colour, the jewellers call the 
stone a sardonyx. Woodivard. 
Sardonyx is composed of a milk-white variety of chal¬ 
cedony, intermixed with sarde, or cornelian. It is fre¬ 
quently in larger masses than cornelian, and is much 
valued by engravers of cameos. 
SARE, a small town of Corsica, with 700 inhabitants. 
It is not far from Ajaccio. 
SARECTO, a small town of the United States, and 
the chief town of Duplin county, North Carolina, situate 
on the west side of the north-east branch of Cape Fear 
river, which affords water for rafts to the town. 
SAREDON, Great and Little, two hamlets of 
England, in Staffordshire; 6 miles north-north-east of Wol¬ 
verhampton. 
SARENA, a port on the coast of Chili, in South 
America, on the South Pacific Ocean. Lat. 29. 40 S 
long. 71. 15. W. 
SARENTHAL, a large village of Austria, in Tyrol, on 
the Telfenbach, a small river which falls into the Eisach 
near Botzen. 
SARENTO. See Sorrento. 
SAREPE, a river of South America, in the New King¬ 
dom of Granada, and province of San Juan da los Llanos, 
which turns north-north-east, and enters the Enecaramu by 
the south part. * 
SAREPTA, a small town of the south east of European 
Russia, on the Wolga ; 222 miles south-bv-west of Saratov. 
It was founded in 1765, by a colony of Moravian brethren' 
and now contains 800 inhabitants, who belong to that 
community, and act as manufacturers sad missionaries. 
SARFA, a town of Nedsjed, in Arabia; 63 miles south¬ 
west of Kariatain. 
SARFAR, a name given by some of the chemists to 
iron. 
SARFE, in Ichthyology, the red-eye. 
SARFEND, or Sharfend, a village of Palestine, near 
the sea-coast, supposed to be the ancient Sarepta; 8 miles 
south of Saida. 
SARGANS, a small town in the north-east of Switzerland, 
in 
