The King Road, major commercial road in Anatolia until the appearance of Silk Road, stretches from the west of Anatolia to Persia making the capital of Lydia one of the richest towns on earth with treasures of gold and silver. Lydian kings mint the first pure gold and silver coins in history.
Gordion, their capital where the Great Alexander cut the legendary Gordion knot to gain the key to Asia, is an affluent center on the King Road. According to the legend, Midas, their famous king, turned to gold everything he touched.
Mysterious Lycian tombs carved in the rocky hills of the southern coast and tombs in the sea are great work of funeral art.
King Mausolus's tomb, built by his sister who is also his wife, was one of the seven Wonders of the World.
Autonomous cities of the Ionian federation are along the west coast of Anatolia. Their fleets carried to different ports of the Mediterranean the luxurious goods produced in this region: pottery, fine fabrics, carpets, furniture, metal objects, precious metals...
The citizens of this colony are intellectually more advanced than the ones in Greece and the islands. Many historical characters such as Homeros, Thales, the famous mathematician, Herodotus, the historian, Diogenes, the famous philosopher, Aesop, famous author of fables, either live or have born in Anatolia. Platon and Aristotle lived for a while in a small town close to Troy.
In mount Ida (Kaz) that, according to mythology, Paris gave the golden apple to Aphrodite as the winner of the first beauty contest ever held.
Persians, coming from the East, invaded Anatolia and marched to conquer Greece but were defeated by the Greeks. Persians hold possession of Anatolia for two centuries. The Greek emperor Great Alexander with the desire of conquering the East sweeps the Persian Empire out of the Anatolian peninsula in 300 B.C. Their dominance will last until the Roman invasion.
During this period, the temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the World is built in Ephesus.
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