Battle of Pteria

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Battle of Pteria

Part of the Wars of Cyrus the Great

Date	547 BC
Location	Pteria, Cappadocia
Result	Stalemate; Lydian retreat
Territorial changes	Pteria part of Anatolia, lost by Media, recaptured by Persia.

Belligerents

Lydian Empire

Achaemenid Empire

Commanders

Croesus,
unknown others

Cyrus the Great,
Harpagus,
Abradates,
unknown others

Strength

Unknown¹

Casualties and losses

Heavy²

¹ Herodotus states that the Lydian forces "fell very short of the enemy."
² "[...] upon both sides the number of the slain was great; nor had victory declared in favour of either party, [...]"

v • d • e Wars of Cyrus the Great

Persia (552 BC) – Hyrba (552 BC) – Median Border(551 BC) – Pasargadae Hill (551 BC) – Pasargadae (550 BC) – Pasargadae Plain (550 BC) – Ecbatana (549 BC) – Pteria (547 BC) – Thymbra (547 BC) – Sardis (546 BC) – Kapisa (540)? – Tigris (539 BC) – Opis (539 BC)

At the Battle of Pteria in 547 BC, the Persian forces of Cyrus the Great fought a drawn battle with the invading Lydian forces of Croesus, forcing Croesus to withdraw back west into his own kingdom. Formerly, the Lydians and Medes had arranged that the natural boundary between the two empires would be the Halys River. Croesus learned of the sudden Persian uprising and defeat of his long time rivals, the Medes. He attempted to opportunistically use these set of events to expand his borders upon the eastern frontier of Lydia.

Concerning the battle however, the Persians reclaimed the land of the Medes in their name. And as Herodotus refers to how the Lydians fell short in defeating the Persians, it seems clear that partly because of the unsuccessful battle, and having less troops than the Persians, it was enough for Croesus to retreat. So it could be counted as a strategic victory for the Persia, for acquiring that land into the newly formed Achaemenid Empire, but if a stalemate too, it would explain the heavy casualities on the Lydians and Persians. So in the outcome of the battle, it's debatable and unclear, even to historians. Before all of this, and prior to his invasion, Croesus asked the Oracle of Delphi for advice. The Oracle suggested vaguely that, "if King Croesus should cross the Halys River, a great empire would be destroyed." Croesus took these words with delight, instigating a war that would ironically and eventually end not the Persian Empire but terminate his own.

This battle was shortly followed by the Battle of Thymbra, which ended in a decisive victory for Cyrus the Great.