An agreement between the Sardians and the Mermnads in the Lydian language?

Abstract

Abstract This paper addresses the interpretation of a Lydian text inscribed on a stele which was placed in the precinct of Artemis in the Anatolian town of Sardis at some point in the 5ᵗʰ-4ᵗʰ centuries BC. Its linguistic analysis is conducive to the conclusion that it defines the status of a privileged group called the mλimna- vis-à-vis the Sardians and mandates payments or transfer of property to the mλimna- group. The improved interpretation of the text allows me to revive the old hypothesis according to which the mλimna- is the Lydian designation of the Mermnad clan, whose representatives held sway in Sardis before the Achaemenid conquest.