In 586 BC, the Persians living on the Iranian plateau overthrew the rule of the Median Kingdom and became the owners of the land. But the ruler of the kingdom, Cyrus the Great, was clearly not satisfied with the rule of a remote corner, so his imperial army began to march westward, preparing to conquer the ancient country of Lydia.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" >, Croesus, the king of revenge by his allies</h1>
Lydia was originally a small country in Asia Minor, with its capital in Sardis. King Cloesus was the fifth king of Lydia. By this time Lydia had become a great power in Asia Minor.
Croesus conquered much of the area west of the Harris River, forcing some Greeks to pay tribute to him and forming alliances with others.
The original kingdom of Lydia and the Kingdom of the Medians was bounded by the Harris River, and the two countries were originally feuding countries, and after Years of Conquest, Croesus became king, and fought with the Kingdom of the Medians for five years.
In a battle in the sixth year, the Medes and the Lydians were deeply frightened by the eclipse that had occurred at that time. The two sides stopped the war and reached a peace agreement. In order to ensure the entry into force of the peace agreement, king Lydia married his daughter to the prince of the Median king.
When they formed an alliance, they held a solemn ceremony, cut one piece on their shoulders and arms, and sucked each other's blood. Thus, Cloesus, king of Lydia, was the father-in-law of the Medes king Astiages, and the two countries were friends of the Blood Covenant. For the Kingdom of the Medes, Croesus was always thinking of avenging his son-in-law and preventing Cyrus from becoming stronger.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > second, oracle blessing - the war begins</h1>
The great affairs of the country are in the soldiers and the gods. Croesus decided to resort to God's revelation in major decisions on major national events. So he sent an envoy to the Temple of Delphi to ask if he could fight the Persians; If possible, could he seek allies.
The oracle of CroissoSteffer prophesied that if Croesus attacked the Persians, he could destroy a great empire and advised him to find the strongest alliance among the Greeks.
Croesus was ecstatic when he heard this revelation. So he began to plan an attack on Cyrus. After careful investigation and careful consideration, Croesus considered the Spartans to be the most powerful people in Greece at the time, since they had conquered most of the Peloponnese and could ally themselves with it.
So he sent an emissary to Sparta. The Spartans warmly welcomed the arrival of the emissaries and formed an alliance with Lydia. This was because Chloessus was gracious to the Spartans. The Spartans sent people to the Lydian capital to buy gold to decorate the statue of Apollo.
When Croesus heard the news, he gave a full amount of gold as a gift to the Spartans. So the Spartans have always remembered this friendship. Moreover, Croesus, among all the Greeks, chose them as his allies, which made the Spartans particularly proud and willing to obey the orders of the Lydian king.
After Thinking he was ready to stop, Croesus led his army to Cappadocia. This is where the Syrians lived, and was originally a vassal of the Kingdom of the Medians. Croesus was famous for his career and used the banner of avenging the Restoration of the Median King.
Before Croesus left, the Lydian sage Sandanis said bluntly, "O King, the Persians you are going to attack have nothing. Even if you conquer them, you won't get anything. If you don't win, your losses are immeasurable!" But at that time the king was reveling in the expected victory and could not listen to it at all.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > three, short soldiers</h1>
Croesus crossed the Harris River and entered Cappadocia. Gulutu also gathered an army to meet the battle. All the inhabitants along the way heard of the tyranny of the Lydian army and joined Cyrus's army. The two sides met in Puteria and immediately threw themselves into a fierce battle. Casualties on both sides were very serious. As night falls, there is still no victory or defeat. The two sides then collected their troops and returned to camp and camp.
After Croesus returned to the camp, a new idea came up. His number of soldiers was less than that of Cyrus, and after a battle, he was defeated and won, and he could not take much advantage of it no matter how much he fought. The next day, Cyrus did not attack. Croesus decided to return to Sardis, intending to obtain the help of his allies Egyptians, Babylonians, and Spartans as agreed. As soon as these reinforcements arrived, he reorganized his attack on Persia.
However, this Croesus did not understand the speed of soldiers, and as soon as he returned to the capital, he sent emissaries to ask for reinforcements, but let them assemble five months later Sardis. Croesus seems to have forgotten that Cyrus, who was oppressed by the army, dismissed all his soldiers and mercenaries who did not belong to his own clan.
Cyrus, upon discovering this, decided to attack Sardis before regrouping his army. Cyrus's actions were completely unexpected by Croesus. He thought that Cyrus would not take the initiative to attack him without winning or losing.
At the moment of the great enemy, the Lydians had to rush into battle. However, the Lydians were a very brave and warlike people. They are good at fighting on horseback, and their equestrian marksmanship is very good, so defeating them is not easy.
The two armies set up a battlefield on the plain in front of the city of Sardis. Seeing the positions listed by the Lydians and thinking of the power of their horse team, Gulutu couldn't help but feel angry. At this time, the Michitian Halpagos in the Persian army offered a plan. He asked all the camels transporting the food and supplies to be gathered together, the goods unloaded, and then the soldiers dressed as cavalry rode up and walked in the front. It is followed by infantry, followed by real cavalry.
The reason for this was that the horses were afraid of camels and could not bear to see camels or smell camels, in order to undermine the power of the Lydian centaurs.
Sure enough, the two armies engaged again, and as soon as the Lydian cavalry saw the camels and smelled them, they turned back and fled. The advantages of the Lydians were reduced to nothing. At this point, the brave Lydians also jumped off their horses and fought the Persians on foot. But good men are hard to defeat with four hands, and evil tigers are still afraid of wolves. The Lydians finally could not resist and returned to the city, unable to hold out.
< h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > 4, Cyrus attacked Lydia</h1>
The city of Sardis was strong, and Cyrus's army besieged it for 14 days, but remained uncaptured. Cyrus was at a loss, and his general, Syroy Adais, came to offer his advice. It turned out that a section of the wall of Sardis faced Mount Termolos and was very steep.
The Lydians were weakly defended here, believing that the Persians would never be able to climb up. But the day before, When Adais saw a Lydian coming down from a cliff to pick up a bronze helmet that had fallen from the city, he decided that the Persian army could also climb up from here. So he suggested sneaking in from here at night.
At night, Syroy Adais sneaked up from the cliff with a commando team. By the time the sentry found out, it was too late. The gates of the city were opened and the Persians rushed in. Sardis was thus conquered and the city was looted.
In this way, Chloessus, who ruled Lydia for 14 years and held Sardis for 14 days, was captured by the Persians. An enraged Cyrus ordered a large pile of firewood to be set up, and Croesus was brought to the top and burned to death. Faced with the impending death, Croisso Scroisos settled his mind and looked around to see the Persians plundering the Lydian city, and could not help but feel a heart-wrenching pain.
He asked Cyrus, "O King, what are the great people over there doing?" Cyrus said, "They are plundering your city and taking your wealth." Croesus said, "Not my city, nor my wealth." They're plundering your wealth!" When Cyrus heard this, he was greatly shaken, and he hurriedly stopped the robbery and sent an example to an anthony.
Cyrus greatly appreciated Croesus's advice and forgave Croesus, and from then on Cyrus took good care of Croesus, who often stood by his side and advised Cyrus. Although there is no sense of happiness or thought, there is no unforgettable pain of the subjugation of the country.
Resources:
The Persian Empire
Cyrus the Great
"History of the Ancient Kingdoms of West Asia"