King Lydia Croesus was the last of the Mermadn dynasty and ruled in the VI century BC. He is credited with primacy in the minting of coins with the established standard for the content of gold and silver in the amount of 98%.
This gave rise to the ancient world to say that Croesus had enough of these metals. According to many, this testified to his fabulous wealth. Croesus was also the first to issue the royal seal - with the head of a lion and a bull on the front side. Today, we will tell about his wealth and the king who defeated Croesus, ruler of Lydia.
Countless riches
After the death of Croesus' father, Aliatt II, he reigned on the throne, defeating his half-brother in a short struggle.
During his reign, the territory of the Lydian kingdom expanded greatly. Croesus subjugated the Asia Minor cities of Greece, among which were Miletus and Ephesus. And he also captured almost the entire vast territory located in Asia Minor, right up to the Galis River. This contributed to a significant increase in the taxes he collected.
In addition, the king of Lydia Croesus was a successful warrior and politician, he was an educated person. Being a connoisseur of Hellenic culture, he wanted to introduce his fellow tribesmen to it. Croesus generously endowed the Greek sanctuaries, including such as the temples of Ephesus and Delphi. So, the second of them was presented with a lion statue, consisting of pure gold. This also served as the reason that King Lydia Croesus was considered the richest ruler in the ancient world.
Predictor Testing
Croesus waged wars with the king of Persia, who founded the Achaemenid empire, Cyrus II. Having conquered the mussel, Cyrus also targeted the countries to the west of it.
Before starting hostilities, Croesus, seeing the rapid rise of Persia and the associated danger, thought that he should weaken the new powerful neighbor. As a prudent ruler, the king of Lydia Croesus first decided to find out from the oracles whether he should attack Cyrus.
Previously, he gave them an insight test. He sent envoys to the seven most famous oracles of Greece and Egypt, so that on the hundredth day after they left Lydia, they asked the soothsayers what their king was doing at that moment. Having done this, the ambassadors recorded the answers and hurried back to the capital, the city of Sardis.
There were only two correct answers; they came from Amphiarai and Delphi. These oracles “saw” that Croesus chopped a lamb and a turtle into pieces, and cooked them in a covered copper pot.
Oracle Tips
After the verification, Croesus equipped the ambassadors to Amphiarai and Delphi, having previously "appeased" the god Apollo, sending rich gifts to Delphi. King Lydia Croesus asked if it made sense to attack the Persians. The answer of both oracles was positive: "The campaign will be victorious, Croesus will crush the great empire."
And also the oracles advised to enter into an alliance with the most powerful of the Greek policies, without saying which one. Thinking, of the two most powerful Greek city-states, Croesus chose Sparta and entered into an alliance with her. And he also agreed on support in the fight against Cyrus II with Babylon and Egypt.
After the events described, Croesus attacked Cappadocia, formerly part of the Medes, and at that time - Persia. Having crossed the Galis River, which is a border river, he broke into the city of Pteria and captured it. Here he set up a camp, organizing a base with the aim of attacking the cities and villages of Cappadocia. At this time, Cyrus gathered an army and went to Ptery.
The conquest of the Lydian kingdom
The first battle between the Lydians and the Persians took place at the walls of Pteryus. It lasted all day, but ended in nothing. The Lydian army was inferior in size to the Persian, so Croesus decided to retreat to the Sardis in preparation for a new leap.
At the same time, he sent messengers to his allies - Sparta, Babylon and Egypt - asking for help. But he did not offer them to approach the Sards in the near future, but only after five months.
This was due to the fact that, according to Croesus, Cyrus did not dare to go on the offensive immediately after the recent, such a shy and inconclusive battle. He even dismissed the hired army. But Cyrus suddenly began to pursue the enemy, appearing with his soldiers right under the walls of the capital Lydia.
The second, decisive battle between the forces of Croesus and Cyrus took place in the vicinity of Sardis, on the wide Timbrian plain. It was a major battle, as a result of which the Lydians and the allies who came to their aid in the person of the Egyptians suffered a crushing defeat. The remains of the combined army took refuge behind the walls of the Sard. Although the city was well fortified, the Persians were able to find a secret path leading to the city acropolis. With a surprise attack, they captured the fortress only two weeks after the siege began.
On the fate of King Croesus
After the fall of the Lydian capital, Croesus was captured. There are two versions regarding the fate of the still recently powerful and very rich Tsar Lydia Croesus.
According to one of them, Cyrus II first sentenced Croesus to be burned at the stake, and then pardoned him. On the other - Croesus was executed.
Supporting the first version, Greek sources report that the former king of Lydia Croesus was not only pardoned by Cyrus, but also became his adviser.