A five year war between the Medes and the Lydians was
brought to an end when, Herodotus tells us, the day suddenly turned into night. This
Battle of the Eclipse, as it became known, was fought on May 28th, 585 BC.
The eclipse itself, according to Herodotus, was predicted to the
Ionians by Thales and was taken as a sign that the two empires should make peace. The Iron
Age city on Kerkenes can very probably be identified with ancient Pteria which was almost
certainly the base from which the Medes conducted their war and governed the western part
of their empire.
Both the battle and the eclipse would surely have been visible
from the city. The ensuing international treaty fixed the border between the two empires
at the Kizilirmak and was sealed by royal marriages. |
CONTENTS
Page 1
Kerkenes News
Page 2
The
Urban Survey
Page 3
Clearance of
Public Structures
Page 4
Geomorphological
Research
and Conclusions
Page 5
The Eclipse
Page 6
Location
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a |
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