Thales Predicts Solar Eclipse Halting Lydian-Median War
In the sixth century BCE, the Lydian kingdom under King Alyattes and the Median empire led by Cyaxares had been locked in a prolonged conflict along the Halys River in Anatolia. Greek philosopher Thales of Miletus reportedly forecasted a solar eclipse for that year based on patterns in Babylonian astronomical records. On May 28, 585 BCE, the eclipse darkened the sky during a fierce battle, interpreted by both sides as a divine omen. Fighting ceased immediately, and the two rulers negotiated a peace treaty that included a royal marriage alliance and established the river as their border. Ancient historian Herodotus later documented the event as one of the earliest precisely dated occurrences in recorded history.