Battle of Thymbra

Battle of Thymbra
Part of the Campaigns of Cyrus the Great
Defeat of Croesus at the Battle of Thymbra, 546 BC
Date December, 547 BC Location Thymbra, Lydia (modern-day Manisa, Turkey) 38°40′00″N 27°50′00″E / 38.66667°N 27.83333°E / 38.66667; 27.83333 Result Achaemenid victory Territorial changes Anatolia annexed by Persia
Belligerents
Lydian Kingdom Arabian mercenaries Babylonian mercenaries Egyptian mercenaries	Achaemenid Empire
Commanders and leaders
Croesus of Lydia Artacamas of Phrygia Aribaeus of Cappadocia Aragdus of Arabia Gabaedus of Hellespont unknown others	Cyrus the Great Harpagus Abradatas unknown others
Strength
420,000 total (Xenophon) 300,000 soldiers[a] 240,000 Infantry 60,000 Cavalry 120,000 Egyptian Phalanx 300 chariots Modern Estimates: Over 100,000[1]	196,000 total (Xenophon) 31,000–70,000 Persians 20,000 Infantry, archers and slingers 10,000 Persian Immortals 20,000 Peltasts 20,000 Pikemen 126,000 Infantry[b] 300 Camel cavalry 700 chariots (300 engaged) 5-6 siege towers Modern Estimates: 20,000–50,000[2]
Casualties and losses
Heavy	Light
class=notpageimage| Approximate location of the Battle of Thymbra

The Battle of Thymbra was the decisive battle in the war between Croesus of the Lydian Kingdom and Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid Empire. Cyrus, after he had pursued Croesus into Lydia after the drawn Battle of Pteria, met the remains of Croesus' partially-disbanded army in battle on the plain north of Sardis in December 547 BC. Croesus' army was about twice as large and had been reinforced with many new men, but Cyrus still utterly defeated it. That proved to be decisive, and after the 14-day Siege of Sardis, the city and possibly its king fell, and Lydia was conquered by the Persians.

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