page_title: Battle of Thymbra
section_title: The battle
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Thymbra / The battle
caption_attribution_description: English: battle formations and strategy used at the battle of thrymbra + a legend
context_page_description: 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, having pursued Croesus into Lydia following the drawn Battle of Pteria, met the remains of Croesus' partly disbanded army in battle on the plain north of Sardis in December, 547 BC. Even though Croesus' army was reinforced with many new men, Cyrus utterly defeated it, despite being outnumbered more or less 2:1. This proved decisive, and after the 14-day Siege of Sardis, the city and possibly its king fell, and Lydia was conquered by the Persians.
context_section_description: Cyrus deployed his troops with flanks withdrawn in a square formation. The flanks were covered by chariots, cavalry, and infantry. Cyrus also used baggage camels to create a barrier around his archers. The smell of the camels disrupted the Lydian horses and scattered their cavalry charge as the archers fired upon Lydian forces.
  As Cyrus expected, the wings of the Lydian army wheeled inward to envelop this novel formation. As the Lydian flanks swung in, gaps appeared at the hinges of the wheeling wings. Disorder was increased by the effective overhead fire of the Persian archers and mobile towers, stationed within the square. Cyrus then gave the order to attack, his flank units smashing into Croesus' disorganized wings. Not long after, the Lydian cavalry lost many soldiers and were forced to retreat. With most of Cryrus' army intact, and the loss of most of the Lydian cavalry, Cyrus orders all cavalry and infantry to attack what remained of Croesus' forces. Most of the infantry soon surrender but Croesus and a small part of the infantry retreated and headed for the Lydian capital of Sardis, thus a decisive victory for the Persians. Herodotus gives an account of the battle but does not give any numbers. His account of the battle's progress and outcome, however, confirms that which Xenophon gives later.
caption: Strategies used in the battle
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