In 547 BC, Cyrus, the Great King of Persia was at war with Croesus, the fabulously rich king of Lydia.  Cyrus’s cavalry forces had beaten the Lydians in the field, but Croesus retreated and rallied his troops in a strong defense of Sardis within its stout walls, but at the same time had bottled himself and most of his army up in the capital.

Cyrus sat down to besiege it, but its walls were very high and strong, and the Persian army consisted mostly of cavalry.  The cause seemed pretty hopeless, and Cyrus was about to raise the siege when a silly accident gave him the town.

                                                                                                          standard of Cyrus the Great

One hot and hazy afternoon a sentry on the walls of Sardis took off his shinning bronze helmet and laid it on the parapet of the wall.  He stood there, chatting to a comrade with his back to the parapet, when, lifting his arm to wipe the sweat from his brow, his elbow caught the helmet and knocked it off the wall, and down the rocky slope below.  One of Cyrus’s men, idly watching the wall, saw the flash of the falling helmet – and soon saw a Lydian soldier lazily climb over the wall, down the slope below, pick up his helmet and leisurely climb up again.  There was obviously a path.

        gold coin of Croesus

 

by MRL Senior Writer Robin Chaudhuri