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Croesus Crosses the Halys River

Type Event Region Lydia Time c. -547–-546

Around 547 BCE, King Croesus of Lydia led his army east across the Halys River to attack the Persian Achaemenid Empire, triggering a decisive clash w…

Timeline

  1. c. -548–-547Sardis · LydiaAt the height of Lydia's power, Croesus decided to campaign east against Persia, assembling an army and seeking the support of the Delphic oracle in order to check Persian expansion in eastern Anatolia.
  2. c. -547Halys River · AnatoliaThe Lydian army crossed the Halys River eastward into Cappadocia and engaged the Persian forces. Thereafter the Halys River became an important geographical symbol of the east–west divide of Anatolia in classical literature.
  3. c. -546Sardis · LydiaAfter the Lydian army was defeated and retreated, the Persian forces pursued and besieged Sardis; Croesus was captured, the Kingdom of Lydia was extinguished, and western Anatolia came under Achaemenid rule.

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