In 546 BCE, the Battle of Thymbra was fought in Anatolia between the Persians under Cyrus the Great against the Lydians under Croesus during the Conquests of Cyrus the Great.
Why did it happen?
In 559 BCE, Cyrus II became the king of the Achaemenid Dynasty in Persia. Although descended from the legendary ruler Achaemenes, by the sixth century BCE, the lands formerly ruled by his distant ancestor were under the rule of the Medes. In 550 BCE, Cyrus set out to change this by inciting the people of the Median Empire to rise against their ruler, Astyages, before invading and conquering it. Greeted as a liberator, Cyrus then turned his attention toward the Lydian Empire, which was situated in western Anatolia (modern-day Turkey). Its ruler, Croesus, who was the brother-in-law of Astyages, first consulted the Delphic Oracle before deciding whether to go to war and was told by the Oracle, “if he should send an army against the Persians he would destroy a great empire” (Hdt. 1.53.3). Believing the empire that would be destroyed referred to the Persian Empire, Croesus marched into Media in 547 BCE and fought an inconclusive engagement with Cyrus at the Battle of Pteria. After being pursued back into Anatolia, Croesus called up his reserves and confronted Cyrus outside the Lydian capital Sardis on the plain of Thymbra.
Who was involved?
The Persian army at Thymbra numbered 40,000 infantry, 10,000 cavalry, and 300 camels. The Persian infantry was arrayed in a hollow square with camels in front of it and archers behind the infantry. The Persian infantry was under the command of Abradatas, while the Persian cavalry was placed behind the infantry square, with Harpagus on the left wing and Cyrus on the right wing. The Persian plan at Thymbra was to use the Persian camels to disrupt the Lydian cavalry charge through their unusual sight and odour before the Persian cavalry counterattacked and routed the Lydian army. The Lydian army at Thymbra numbered 80,000 infantry, 20,000 cavalry and 300 chariots. According to Herodotus, the Lydian army was one of the finest military forces in West Asia and “It was their custom to fight on horseback, carrying long spears, and they were skilful at managing horses” (Hdt. 1.79.3). The Lydians placed their infantry (comprised of mercenaries from Egypt, Babylon, and Sparta) and chariots in the centre with the cavalry on the wings. The Lydian plan at Thymbra was to execute a double envelopment of the Persian army with their cavalry. At the same time, the Babylonian, Egyptian and Spartan infantry would attack the Persian front line and overwhelm them through their deeper ranks.
What happened?
After Croesus gave the signal to advance, the Lydian cavalry attempted to envelop the Persian infantry while the Lydian infantry moved against the Persian centre. However, as the Lydian wings wheeled around to envelop the Persian infantry, the Lydian horses panicked and fled at the sight and smell of the Persian camels stationed in the vanguard of the Persian army. The Lydian riders dismounted from their horses to fight the Persian army on foot. With the Lydian horses neutralised, Cyrus and Harpagus saw their opportunity and charged the Lydian wings with their own cavalry and routed them. Having defeated both wings of the Lydian army, the Persian infantry attacked the Lydian centre from the front while the Persian cavalry outflanked and attacked them in the rear. After fierce fighting, the remaining Lydian infantry surrendered to Cyrus.
What changed as a result?
The Battle of Thymbra was a decisive Persian victory. In the aftermath of the battle, Croesus retreated to Sardis, which surrendered to the Persians after a two-week siege, thus fulfilling the Delphic Prophecy of a great empire being destroyed. With the Lydian Empire conquered, Cyrus continued to expand the Persian Empire south into Babylon, which was captured in 539 BCE, and east into central Asia. By the time of Cyrus’ death in 530 BCE, the Persian Empire stretched from Anatolia in the west to Pakistan in the east. Under Cyrus’ successors, Cambyses II and Darius I, the Persian Empire expanded into Egypt and Thrace, where they encountered the Greek city-states. After its failed invasions of Greece in 490 BCE and 480-79 BCE, the Persian Empire declined until it was defeated and conquered by Alexander the Great at the Battle of Gaugamela in 331 BCE.
Bibliography
Grant, R.G. 1001 Battles That Changed the Course of History. London, Cassell Illustrated, 2011.
Grant, R.G. Battle: A Visual Journey Through 5,000 Years of Combat. London, Dorling Kindersley, 2005.
Herodotus. The Histories. Translated by A.D. Godley. Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1920.
History of Persia. “Battle of Thymbra formations and attack.” Wikimedia Commons. Last revised August 28, 2015. www.commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Battle_of_Thymbra_formations_and_attack.png
Xenophon. Cyropaedia. Translated by Walter Miller. Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1914.