Battle of Pteria

The Battle of Pteria - a military conflict between the Persian king Cyrus II the Lydian king Croesus and - is according to new research at the earliest dated to the year 541 BC. It took place at the modern Turkish Kerkenes.

Battle Record

Previous assumptions that the battle had taken place 547 BC, were made on basis of the reading of a fragment of the Nabonidus Chronicle by Sydney Smith in 1924 as Lu -u- [d- di] and its identification with Lydia. New research in the years 1996-2004 showed a reconstruction of the damaged fragment KURU [ Ras il -tu -li ] k, where Uraštu represents the cuneiform letters of Urartu.

After the survey of the Oracle of Delphi Croesus ordered the mobilization of his army, invaded the Persian Cappadocia and conquered its capital Pteria and other towns. Then he expected east of the Halys to the Median limit the army of Cyrus II (541 BC).

The battle between the two kings was very heavy losses on both sides, but did not yield any decision and was finished by nightfall.

The next day, Cyrus II put not to fight, Croesus then moved home to Sardis, but the Persian king followed him and threw quickly the Lyderreich.

According to the Greek historian Herodotus, Croesus had started the war because he had prophesied the oracle at Delphi that he would destroy a great empire by his attack. Thus, the oracle should be right, but other than it had imagined Croesus because he destroyed his own empire.