 The city served then as the administrative center of the Roman province of Lydia.Sardis was reconstructed after the catastrophic AD 17 Lydia earthquake, and it enjoyed a long period of prosperity under the Roman rule.Sardis is believed to have gained its Jewish community in the 3rd century BCE, as that was when King Antiochus III (223–187 BCE) encouraged Jews from various countries, including Babylonia, to move to Sardis.