Editing Lydia (section)

=== Roman province of Asia ===
[[File:Roman Empire Asia.svg|thumb|Roman province of Asia]]
[[File:15th century map of Turkey region.jpg|thumb|Photo of a 15th-century map showing Lydia]]

When the Romans entered the capital Sardis in 133 BC, Lydia, as the other western parts of the Attalid legacy, became part of the [[Asia (Roman province)|province of Asia]], a very rich [[Roman province]], worthy of a governor with the high rank of [[proconsul]]. The whole west of Asia Minor had [[Jewish]] colonies very early, and Christianity was also soon present there. [[Acts of the Apostles]] 16:14–15 mentions the baptism of a merchant woman called "Lydia" from [[Thyatira]], known as [[Lydia of Thyatira]], in what had once been the satrapy of Lydia. [[Christianity]] spread rapidly during the 3rd century AD, based on the nearby Exarchate of Ephesus.