war specially against the
Lydians, and have crossed the Halys professedly in order to chastise
them; but he could only reach Lydia through the territories of other
nations, which he was evidently intending to conquer on his way; and
it was thus apparent that he was activated, not by anger against a
particular power, but by a general design of extending his dominions in
this direction. A league seems therefore to have been determined on. We
have not indeed any positive evidence of its existence till the close of
the war; but the probabilities are wholly in favor of its having taken
effect from the first. Prudence would have dictated such a course; and
it seems almost implied in the fact that a successful resistance was
made to the Median attack from the very commencement. We may conclude
therefore that the princes of Asia Minor, having either met in conclave
or communicated by embassies, resolved to make common cause, if the
Medes crossed the Halys; and that, having already acted under Lydia in
the expulsion of the Cimmerians from their territories, they naturally
placed her at their head when they coalesced for the second time.

Cyaxares on his part, was not content to bring against the confederates
merely the power of Media. He requested and obtained a contingent from
the Babylonian monarch, Nabopolassar, and may not improbably have had
the assistance of other allies also. With a vast army drawn from various
parts of inner Asia, he invaded the territory of the Western Powers,
and began his attempt at subjugation. We have no detailed account of
the war; but we learn from the general expressions of Herodotus that the
Median monarch met with a most stubborn resistance; numerous engagements
were fought with varied results; sometimes the Medes succeeded in
defeating their adversaries in pitched battles; but sometimes, and
apparently as often, the Lydians and their allies gained decided
victories over the Medes. It is noted that one of the engagements took
place by night, a rare occurrence in ancient (as in modern) times. The
war had continued six years, and the Medes had evidently made no serious
impression, when a remarkable circumstance brought it suddenly to
a termination. The two armies had once more met and were engaged in
conflict, when, in the midst of the struggle, an ominous darkness fell
upon the combatants and filled them with superstitious awe. The sun
was eclipsed, either totally or at any rate considerably, so