During the 8th century BCE, the Phrygian kingdom, with its capital at Gordium in the upper Sakarya River valley, expands into an empire dominating most of central and western Anatolia and encroaching upon the larger Assyrian Empire to its southeast and the kingdom of Urartu to the northeast.According to the classical historians Strabo, Eusebius and Julius Africanus, the king of Phrygia during this time was another Midas.
This historical Midas is believed to be the same person named as Mita in Assyrian texts from the period and identified as king of the Mushki.
Scholars figure that Assyrians called Phrygians "Mushki" because the Phrygians and Mushki, an eastern Anatolian people, were at that time campaigning in a joint army.
This Midas is thought to have reigned Phrygia at the peak of its power from about 720 BCE to about 695 BCE (according to Eusebius or 676 BCE (according to Julius Africanus.
An Assyrian inscription mentioning "Mita", dated to 709 BCE, during the reign of Sargon of Assyria, suggests Phrygia and Assyria had struck a truce by that time.
This Midas appears to have had good relations and close trade ties with the Greeks, and reputedly married an Aeolian Greek princess.A system of writing in the Phrygian language develops and flourisheds in Gordium during this period, using a Phoenician-derived alphabet similar to the Greek one.
A distinctive Phrygian pottery called Polished Ware appears during this period.However, the Phrygian Kingdom is then overwhelmed by Cimmerian invaders, and Gordium is sacked and destroyed.
According to Strabo and others, Midas committed suicide by drinking bulls' blood.A series of digs have opened Gordium as one of Turkey's most revealing archeological sites.
Excavations confirm a violent destruction of Gordium around 675 BCE.
A tomb from the period, popularly identified as the "Tomb of Midas," reveals a wooden structure deeply buried under a vast tumulus, containing grave goods, a coffin, furniture, and food offerings.
