e gloomy vault contained
nothing but the dead body of the queen, and a label with this
inscription: "If your avarice were not as insatiable as it is base,
you would not have intruded on the repose of the dead."

It was not surprising that Cyrus, having been so successful in his
enterprises thus far, should now begin to turn his thoughts toward
this great Babylonian empire, and to feel a desire to bring it under
his sway. The first thing, however, was to confirm and secure his
Lydian conquests. He spent some time, therefore, in organizing and
arranging, at Sardis, the affairs of the new government which he
was to substitute for that of Croesus there. He designated certain
portions of his army to be left for garrisons in the conquered cities.
He appointed Persian officers, of course, to command these forces;
but, as he wished to conciliate the Lydians, he appointed many of the
municipal and civil officers of the country from among them. There
would appear to be no danger in doing this, as, by giving the command
of the army to Persians, he retained all the real power directly in
his own hands.

One of these civil officers, the most important, in fact, of all, was
the grand treasurer. To him Cyrus committed the charge of the stores
of gold and silver which came into his possession at Sardis, and of
the revenues which were afterward to accrue. Cyrus appointed a Lydian
named Pactyas to this trust, hoping by such measures to conciliate the
people of the country, and to make them more ready to submit to his
sway. Things being thus arranged, Cyrus, taking Croesus with him,
set out with the main army to return toward the East.

As soon as he had left Lydia, Pactyas excited the Lydians to revolt.
The name of the commander-in-chief of the military forces which Cyrus
had left was Tabalus. Pactyas abandoned the city and retired toward
the coast where he contrived to raise a large army, formed partly of
Lydians and partly of bodies of foreign troops, which he was enabled
to hire by means of the treasures which Cyrus had put under his
charge. He then advanced to Sardis, took possession of the town, and
shut up Tabalus, with his Persian troops, in the citadel.

When the tidings of these events came to Cyrus, he was very much
incensed, and determined to destroy the city. Croesus, however,
interceded very earnestly in its behalf. He recommended that Cyrus,
instead of burning Sardis, should send a sufficient force to disarm
the popula