Croesus, (595?–546? B.C.), the last king of Lydia in Asia Minor (560–546 B.C.). Croesus extended his kingdom and amassed a great fortune from trade and the refining of gold He became famous for his wealth, and his capital, Sardis, became a center of culture. Lydia was overwhelmed by Cyrus the Great of Persia in 546 B.C. Croesus had been told by the oracle at Delphi that a great empire would be destroyed if he attacked Persia. It was his own empire that was crushed.
Croesus
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