James Baquet Have you ever heard the expression “richer than Croesus?” He was the proverbially rich king of Lydia, an ancient kingdom in what is now western Turkey. Croesus had inherited great wealth from his father, and made even more through taxation of his realm, which was rich in precious metals. He was a historical person, but mythology has linked him to the fictional King Midas, whose touch supposedly could turn anything into gold. We have seen numerous important encounters in and around the area of Turkey, especially between Western and Eastern powers, and the Battle of Thymbra is another example. In it, Croesus faced off with Cyrus the Great of Persia, and unfortunately no “golden touch” could save him. Incidentally, if you enjoy reading the classics, Thymbra may sound familiar; it is near the site of Troy, and has been mentioned in some alternate versions of the story made famous in “The Iliad.” Cyrus had conquered neighboring Media in 550 B.C., which created tensions with Croesus’s Kingdom of Lydia. When they met at Thymbra, one report says Croesus had twice as many men as Cyrus (whom the report says had 196,000 men). Croesus allegedly had 420,000, which seems unlikely to say the least. At any rate, the Persian army included a corps of 300 camels, and the smell of these disrupted the Lydian horses, scattering Croesus’s cavalry charge and subjecting it to Cyrus’s archers, who were shooting from behind a barrier of camels. The archers were also shooting down on the Lydians from towers constructed inside the camel barrier. Croesus tried a wheeling movement, pivoting his troops in on Cyrus’s position, but this became disorganized, exposing weaknesses in the line. Croesus’s cavalry subsequently fled in disarray, and the well-organized Persians pursued them. Most of Croesus’s infantry surrendered, but Croesus and some of his infantry retreated successfully and took shelter in the capital city of Sardis. Cyrus then laid siege to the city. After 14 days, he succeeded: Croesus was captured and Lydia became part of the Persian Empire. Vocabulary: Which word above means: 1. gold, silver, etc. 2. different, other 3. moving with one end fixed and the other swinging 4. probably not true 5. the opposite of factual 6. as a result, following 7. group of military men with equipment or animals 8. foot soldiers 9. confronted, had a battle with 10. collecting of monies from citizens | 