Battle of Thymbra

Cyrus the Great of Persia faced King Croesus of Lydia, one of the wealthiest rulers of the ancient world, on the plain of Thymbra near the Lydian capital of Sardis. Cyrus placed camels at the front of his formation, knowing that their unfamiliar scent would panic the Lydian horses. The tactic worked brilliantly, throwing the feared Lydian cavalry into chaos. Croesus retreated to Sardis, which fell after a brief siege. According to Herodotus, Croesus had consulted the Oracle at Delphi before the war and was told that if he attacked Persia, he would destroy a great empire. The empire destroyed was his own.