King Croesus – one of history’s great lottery winners – ruled the fabulously rich kingdom of Lydia from 560 BC to 546 BC. Lydia was blessed with abundant natural resources and was handily placed to control highly lucrative trade routes. Its capital, Sardis, in modern-day Turkey, was a coveted centre of arts and culture renowned for its gleaming temples and marbled swimming pools. Croesus is said to have been the first to have hit on the idea of using gold coins to represent value and as a medium of exchange. His invention was quickly adopted by Greeks and Persians, then the Romans, and then all the rest of us.
We’re told by the Greek historian Herodotus that Croesus became troubled by the looming presence in the neighbourhood of a new power. His allies and courtiers whispered in his ear that the Persians under King Cyrus – a figure who would later be celebrated for different reasons by both Jews and Iranians – posed an imminent threat. Should he strike first, before this emerging empire became too powerful? Croesus turned for guidance to the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi, the equivalent in ancient Greece of consulting a focus group.
The Oracle’s answer – “If Croesus makes war on the Persians, he will destroy a great empire” – sounded to Croesus like a pretty clear thumbs up. The Lydian military crossed the Halys River in 547 BC to launch its pre-emptive strike on the Persians. What happened next has been the subject of centuries of debate among historians. No doubt the press secretaries of both Cyrus and Croesus claimed that their strategic objectives had been successfully achieved. Croesus’ spokesperson had the trickier job. Croesus had been captured, and Cyrus had ordered him to be burned alive. As he lay on the great pyre the Persians had prepared, Croesus prayed to Apollo for deliverance. Dark clouds gathered, and there was a torrential downpour, saving his life. The prophecy had turned out to be accurate. But the “great empire” Croesus was destined to destroy was not that of modern-day Iran. It was his own.
Brendan Walsh is editor of The Tablet magazine