82® 
LYDIA. 
pened between the light troops ; and at length a general 
engagement was fought with equal fury and perfeverance, 
and only terminated by the darknefs of night. The lofs 
on both tides hindered a renewal of the battle. The 
numbers, as well as the courage, of the Perfians, much 
exceeded the expectation of Crcnfus. As they difcovered 
not any intention to harafs his retreat, he determined to 
move back towards Sardis, to fpend the winter in the 
amufernents of his palace $ and, after fummoning his mi- 
merous allies to.his ftandard, to take the field early in the 
fpring with fuch increafe of force as feemed fufficient to 
overpower the Perfians. 
But this defign was defeated by the careful vigilance of 
Cyrus. That experienced leader allowed the enemy to 
retire without moleftation ; carefully informing liimfelf of 
every ftep which they took, and of every meafure which 
they feerned determined to purfue. Patiently watching 
the opportunity of a juft revenge, he waited until Crcefus 
had re-entered his capital, and had difbanded the foreign 
mercenaries who compofed the molt numerous divifion 
of liis army. It then feemed the proper time for Cyrus 
to put his Perfians in motion ; and fuch was his celerity, 
that he broug-ht the firft news of his own arrival in the 
plain of Sardis. Croefus, whofe firmnefs might well have 
been fhaken by the imminence of this unforfeen danger, 
■was not wanting on the prefent occafion to the duties 
which lie owed to his fame and the luftre of the Lydian 
throne. Though his mercenaries were dilbanded, his own 
fubje&s, who ferved him from attachment, who had been 
long accuftomed to viflory, and who were animated with 
a high fenfe of national honour, burned with a defire of 
enjoying an opportunity to check the daring infolence of 
the invaders. Crcefus indulged and encouraged this ge¬ 
nerous ardour. The Lydians in that age fought on horfe- 
. back, armed with long fpears; the firengtli of the Perfians 
confided in infantry. They were fo little accuftomed to 
the ufe of horfes, that camels were almoft the only ani¬ 
mals which they employed as beafts of burden. This cir- 
cumftance fuggefted to a Mede, by name Harpagus, a ftra- 
tagem, which being communicated to Cyrus, was imme¬ 
diately adopted with approbation by that prince. Har¬ 
pagus, having obferved that liorfes had a ftrong averfion 
€o the ftiape and fmell of camels, advifed the Perlian army 
to be drawn up in the following order: All the camels 
which had been employed to carry baggage and provilions 
were collected into one body, arranged in a long line 
fronting the Lydian cavalry. The foot-foldiers of the 
Perfians were polled immediately behind the line, and 
placed at a due diftance. The Median horfe (for a'few 
fquadrons of thefe followed the ftandard of Cyrus) formed 
the rear of the army. As the troops on both fides ap¬ 
proached to join battle, the Lydian cavalry, terrified at 
the unufual appearance of the camels, mounted with men 
in arms, were thrown into diforder, and, turning their 
heads, endeavoured to efcape from the field. Crcelus, 
who perceived the confufion, was ready to defpair of his 
fortune j but the Lydians, abandoning their horfes, pre¬ 
pared with uncommon bravery to attack the enemy on 
foot. Their courage deferved a better fate ; but, unac- 
cnffomed as they were to this mode of fighting, they were 
received and repelled by the experienced valour of the 
Perfian infantry, and obliged to take refuge within the 
fortified ftrength of Sardis, where they imagined them- 
felves fecure. The walls of that city bade defiance to the 
rude art of attack, as then praftifed by the molt warlike 
nations. If the Perfian army ftiould inveft it, the Lydians 
were provided with provifions for feveral years; and there 
was reafon to expefft, that in a few months, and even 
weeks, they would receive fuch afliftance from Egypt, 
Babylonia, and Greece, (to which countries they had al¬ 
ready lent atnbafl’adors,) as would oblige the Perfians'to 
raife the liege. The Lydian minifters difpatched into 
Greece met with great lympathy from the Spartan3. 
That people were particularly obfervant of the faith of 
treaties ; and, while they punilhed their enemies with un¬ 
exampled feverity, they behaved with generous companion 
towards thofe whom they ltad once accepted for allies. 
They immediately refolved therefore to fend him a fpeedy 
and effedhial relief; and for this purpofe alfembled their 
troops, made ready their velfels, and prepared every thing 
neceflary for the expedition. The valour of the Spartans 
might perhaps have upheld the finking empire of Lydia j 
but, before their armament could let fail, Crcefus was no 
longer a fovereign. Notwithftanding the ftrength of 
Sardis, that city had been taken by ftorm on the twentieth 
day of the fiege; the walls having been fcaled in a quarter, 
which, appearing altogether inacceflible, was too carelefsly 
guarded. This was effected by theenterprife of Hyreades 
a Mede, who accidentally obferved a centinel defcend 
part of the rock in order to recover his helmet. Hyreades 
was a native of the mountainous province of Mardia ; and, 
being accuftomed to clamber over the dangerous preci¬ 
pices of his native country, refolved to try his activity in 
palfing the rock upon which he had difcovered the Ly¬ 
dian. The defign was more eafily accomplifhed than he 
had reafon to expect: emulation and fuccefs encouraged, 
the braveft of the Perfians to follow his example; thefe 
were i'upported by great numbers of their countrymen ; 
the garriion of Sardis was furprifed 5 the citadel ftormed ; 
the rich capital of Lower Afia fubjefted to the vengeful 
rapacity of an indignant victor. Thus ended the ancient 
kingdom of Lydia, which continued lubjeCt to the Per- 
lians till they alfo were conquered by the Macedonians. 
For the fate of the Lydian monarch, fee the article 
Crcesus, vol. v- p. 372, 3. 
The religion of the Lydians feems to have been much 
the fame with that of the Phrygians: they worlhipped 
Diana, Jupiter, and Cybele, at Magnefia. Their cuftoms 
were fimilar to thofe of the Greeks, except that they ufed 
to proftitute their daughters, who had no other fortune 
but what they earned in this way. They puniflied idle- 
nefs as a crime, and inured their children from their 
infancy to hardlhips. Their arms were not fo much bows 
and arrows as long fpears ufed by the cavalry; and, if we 
may believe Herodotus, the Lydians excelled all other 
nations in horlemanlhip. They were the firft that intro¬ 
duced the art of coining gold and filver, for facilitating 
trade; the firft that fold by retail, that kept eating-houfes 
and taverns, and that invented public fports and Ihows, 
which were therefore called ludi by the Romans, who bor¬ 
rowed them of the Tufcans, the defendants of the Ly¬ 
dians. To thefe diverfions they recurred for relief at a 
time, during the reign of Atys, when a great fcarcity of 
provifions prevailed through the whole kingdom of Lydia. 
Having contrived various kinds of diverfions, as Hero¬ 
dotus informs us, they ufed t£> play one whole day with¬ 
out intermifiion, eating and drinking the next day with¬ 
out other amufement. After they had continued thus al¬ 
ternately falling and feafting, and finding that their cala¬ 
mities increaled rather than abated, the king divided the 
whole nation into two bodies, commanding them to de¬ 
termine by lot, which of the two fliould remain at home, 
and which lhould go abroad in queft of new habitations, 
fince their native country could not afford them fufficient 
maintenance. Thofe who by lot were conftrained to aban¬ 
don their country, after many adventures, arrived in that 
part of Italy which was then called Umbria, and is now- 
named Tufcany. Thus they changed their name, being 
no longer called Lydians, but Tyrrhenians, from their 
leader Tyrrhenus. 
Although the trade of the Lydians is no where particu¬ 
larly mentioned, we may well imagine that it was confi¬ 
dence, efpecially under their latter kings, when Lydia 
was in the meridian of its glory ; on account of the fplen- 
dour of this monarchy and the advantageous fituation of 
the country. The fame inference is jultified by adverting 
to the immenfe riches, not only of the Lydian princes, 
but of feveral private perfons. Herodotus (lib. vii. c. 23.) 
mentions one, named Pythius, who not only entertained 
Xerxes and his whole army, while he was marching with 
innumerable forces to invade Greece, but made him an 
offer of 2000 talents of filver, 3,9933000 pieces of gold, 
hearing 
