of several trade routes, and the plains below it were fertile. All in all, it probably was a comfortable but unexciting place to live. The city itself, built atop a hill and well fortified, had never been taken by assault. That, however, had not always kept the enemy out, for twice—first in 549 B.C. and again in 195 B.C.—it had been taken by stealth. The message to Sardis reveals a church very similar to the city itself. It too had seen better days and now apparently was coasting on its past achievements.