The Kingdom of Lydia was a powerful ancient Iron Age kingdom in western Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). Rising from the collapse of the Hittite Empire, it flourished under the Mermnad dynasty. Lydia is most famous for inventing the first minted coins, which revolutionized ancient trade. Its capital, Sardis, was a legendary center of wealth and culture. The kingdom's last and most famous king, Croesus, ruled over a prosperous empire that dominated western Anatolia until its conquest by Cyrus the Great of Persia in 546 BC.