Sardis was reconstructed after the catastrophic 17 CE earthquake, and it enjoyed a long period of prosperity under Roman rule.

[4] In 1962,[5] these excavations unearthed perhaps the most impressive synagogue in the western diaspora yet discovered from antiquity, yielding over eighty Greek and seven Hebrew inscriptions as well as numerous mosaic floors.

The discovery of the Sardis synagogue has reversed previous assumptions about Judaism in the later Roman empire.

Along with the discovery of the godfearers/theosebeis inscription from Aphrodisias, it provides indisputable evidence for the continued vitality of Jewish communities in Asia Minor, their integration into general Roman imperial civic life, and their size and importance at a time when many scholars previously assumed that Christianity had eclipsed Judaism.

However, thanks to the abundant Hebrew and Greek inscriptions and menorah representations that were found, it was successfully identified as a synagogue.

[5] A Romaniote Jewish community existed there since the Byzantine Empire, praying in the Etz Ha-Hayim Synagogue.

At the end of the 19th century, the Alliance Israélite Universelle inaugurated two schools, one for boys in 1891 and one for girls in 1896.

Greece conquered Manisa in 1919, and when they retreated in 1922, a large conflagration destroyed much of the town including many Jewish institutions.

Most of the Jews left their community and emigrated to France, South America, the United States, and Mandatory Palestine.

At the time of writing his book, Abraham ben Mordecai Galante (d. before 1589) could still read some of the oldest tombstones.

The tombstone data of the new cemetery has been collected and computerized by Prof. Minna Rozen (Diaspora Studies Institute of Tel Aviv University) but has not yet been published.