Beacon Lights of History, Volume 04 | Page 9

feed not on what they like, but on what they
can get from a soil which is sterile and unfriendly; who do not indulge

in wine, but drink water; who possess no figs, nor anything which is
good to eat. If, then, thou conquerest them, what canst thou get from
them, seeing that they have nothing at all? But if they conquer thee,
consider how much that is precious thou wilt lose; if they once get a
taste of our pleasant things, they will keep such a hold of them that we
never shall be able to make them lose their grasp." We cannot consider
Croesus as utterly infatuated in not taking this advice, since war had
become inevitable, It was "either anvil or hammer," as between France
and Prussia in 1870-72,--as between all great powers that accept the
fortune of war, ever uncertain in its results. The only question seems to
have been who should first take the offensive in a war that had been
long preparing, and in which defeat would be followed by the utter ruin
of the defeated party.
The Lydians began the attack by crossing the Halys and entering the
enemy's territory. The first battle took place at Pteria in Cappadocia,
near Sinope on the Euxine, but was indecisive. Both parties fought
bravely, and the slaughter on both sides was dreadful, the Lydians
being the most numerous, and the Persians the most highly disciplined.
After the battle of Pteria, Croesus withdrew his army to his own
territories and retired upon his capital, with a view of augmenting his
forces; while Cyrus, with the instinct of a conqueror, ventured to cross
the Halys in pursuit, and to march rapidly on Sardis before the enemy
could collect another army. Prompt decision and celerity of movement
characterize all successful warriors, and here it was that Cyrus showed
his military genius. Before Croesus was fully prepared for another fight,
Cyrus was at the gates of Sardis. But the Lydian king rallied what
forces he could, and led them out to battle. The Lydians were superior
in cavalry; seeing which, Cyrus, with that fertility of resource which
marked his whole career, collected together the camels which
transported his baggage and provisions, and placed them in the front of
his array, since the horse, according to Herodotus, has a natural dread
of the camel and cannot abide his sight or his smell. The result was as
Cyrus calculated; the cavalry of the Lydians turned round and galloped
away. The Lydians fought bravely, but were driven within the walls of
their capital. Cyrus vigorously prosecuted the siege, which lasted only
fourteen days, since an attack was made on the side of the city which

was undefended, and which was supposed to be impregnable and
unassailable. The proud city fell by assault, and was given up to
plunder. Croesus himself was taken alive, after a reign of fourteen years,
and the mighty Lydia became a Persian province.
There is something unusually touching in the fate of Croesus after so
great prosperity. Saved by Cyrus from an ignominious and painful
death, such as the barbarous customs of war then made common, the
unhappy Lydian monarch became, it is said, the friend and admirer of
the Conqueror, and was present in his future expeditions, and even
proved a wise and faithful counsellor. If some proud monarchs by the
fortune of war have fallen suddenly from as lofty an eminence as that
of Croesus, it is certain that few have yielded with nobler submission
than he to the decrees of fate.
The fall of Sardis,--B.C. 546, according to Grote,--was followed by the
submission of all the States that were dependent on Lydia. Even the
Grecian colonies in Asia Minor were annexed to the Persian Empire.
The conquest of the Ionian cities, first by Croesus and then by Cyrus,
was attended with important political consequences. Before the time of
Croesus the Greek cities of Asia were independent. Had they combined
together for offence and defence, with the assistance of Sparta and
Athens, they might have resisted the attacks of both Lydians and
Persians. But the autonomy of cities and states, favorable as it was to
the development of art, literature, and commerce, as well as of
individual genius in all departments of knowledge and enterprise, was
not calculated to make a people politically powerful. Only a strong
central power enables a country to resist hostile aggressions on a great
scale. Thus Greece herself ultimately fell into the hands of Philip, and
afterward into those of the Romans.
The conquest of the Ionian cities also introduced into Asia Minor and
perhaps into Europe Oriental customs, luxuries, and wealth hitherto
unknown. Certainly when Persia became an irresistible power and ruled
the conquered countries by satraps and royal governors, it assimilated
the