Histories

But while he was preparing to march against the Persians, a certain Lydian, who was already held to be a wise man, and who, from the advice which he now gave, won a great name among the Lydians, advised him as follows (his name was Sandanis): “O King, you are getting ready to march against men who wear trousers of leather and whose complete wardrobe is of leather, and who eat not what they like but what they have; for their land is stony.

Further, they do not use wine, but drink water, have no figs to eat, or anything else that is good. Now if you conquer them, of what will you deprive them, since they have nothing? But if on the other hand you are conquered, then look how many good things you will lose; for once they have tasted of our blessings they will cling so tightly to them that nothing will pry them away.

For myself, then, I thank the gods that they do not put it in the heads of the Persians to march against the Lydians.” Sandanis spoke thus but he did not persuade Croesus. Indeed, before they conquered the Lydians, the Persians had no luxury and no comforts.

Now the Cappadocians are called by the Greeks Syrians, and these Syrians before the Persian rule were subjects of the Medes, and, at this time, of Cyrus.

For the boundary of the Median and Lydian empires was the river Halys River (river), Turkey, Asia Halys, which flows from the Armenian mountains first through Cilicia [34.333,36.666] (region (general)), Turkey, AsiaCilicia and afterwards between the Matieni on the right and the Phrygians on the other hand; then, passing these and still flowing north, it separates the Cappadocian Syrians on the right from the Paphlagonians on the left.

Thus the Halys River (river), Turkey, Asia Halys river cuts off nearly the whole of the lower part of Asia (continent)Asia from the Cyprian to the Black Sea [38,42] (sea)Euxine sea. Here is the narrowest neck of all this land; the length of the journey across for a man traveling unencumbered is five days.[*](th=s *)asi/hs ta\ ka/ta means here and elsewhere in Hdt. the western part of Asia (continent)Asia, west of the Halys River (river), Turkey, Asia Halys ( +Kizil Irmak (river), Turkey, Asia Kizil Irmak). The width from sea to sea of the au)xh/n is obviously much underestimated by Hdt., as also by later writers; the actual distance at the narrowest part is about 280 miles as the crow flies; much more than a five days' march.)