An Enemy and an
Ally
The
fledgling Persian Empire was to face its first serious challenge. The Lydian
kingdom, situated in western Anatolia, contained extensive gold fields, so much
so that the name of its ruler King Croesus remains heavily associated with
wealth. As with the Persians, knowledge of the Lydians has been almost
exclusively channeled through Greek sources, to the point that they can be
confused with Greeks themselves. Over 35 years earlier, the Lydians and Medes
were embroiled in a massive war. On May 28 in 585 BC, a solar eclipse suddenly
came and frightened the two sides into a truce, with Astyages marrying the
daughter of the Lydian king. Now, with Astyages dead and the Medes subsumed
into a new empire, Croesus saw an opportunity to finish the war that the gods
had seemingly put to an end (Herodotus makes the alternate claim that he sought
to avenge Astyages, who was his brother-in-law). He believed that Cyrus would
not be ready to repel a Lydian invasion, and was emboldened in his plans by the
Oracles of Apollo. These prophets had divined that he would destroy an empire.
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| Golden coin of Croesus. |
Though
seemingly encouraged by the gods, Croesus bettered his odds through alliances
with his neighbors. He gained the support of Babylon, Egypt, and Sparta, a
grand alliance that threatened to destroy the new Persian Empire. These were
defensive alliances, meaning they would not march into Persian territory with
him, but they would come to his aid if the roles of attacker and defender were
reversed. Croesus struck for Pteria, a city near the Black Sea. Cyrus responded
quickly and effectively. To ensure that his army was well supplied, he
purchased thousands of camels from the Arabs and gave each regiment of men its
own baggage train.
