King Cyrus the Great (circa 600 – 530 BC) founded Persia’s Achaemenid Empire, once the world’s biggest and mightiest realm. His conquests stretched from the Indus to the Mediterranean, and from the Persian Gulf to the Caucasus. Then he went to war with Queen Tomyris, and met with disaster. Below are some fascinating facts about that dramatic encounter between the conqueror and the warrior queen.

The Terrifying Tomyris

Queen Tomyris (flourished 500s BC) ruled the Massagetae, a nomadic confederation that stretched across the Central Asian Steppe from east of the Caspian Sea to the borders of China. A formidable warrior queen, she is credited with defeating Cyrus the Great, founder of the Persian Empire, and bringing his brilliant career of uninterrupted conquests to a screeching halt in 530 BC. According to ancient sources, the Massagetae were Iranian speaking nomads who led a hardy pastoral life on the Eurasian Steppe.

They made their living tending their herds most of the time, interspersed with raids into the surrounding civilized lands that bordered the Steppe. The Massagetae raids eventually grew too bothersome for Cyrus the Great, who had recently founded the Persian Empire, and whose realm now encompassed many of the territories being raided by the Massagetae. So the Persian monarch led an army into the Steppe to bring the nomads to heel.

Ending a Great Conqueror’s Career

Cyrus won an initial victory against a nomad contingent commanded by Tomyris’ son, following a ruse in which Cyrus “forgot” a huge stock of wine in an abandoned camp. The Massagetae captured the wine, and unused to the drink, got themselves rip roaring drunk. Cyrus then turned around and fell upon the inebriated nomads, killing many, including Tomyris’ son.Queen Tomyris sent Cyrus a message in which she challenged the Persian king to a second battle, which the overconfident Cyrus accepted. She personally led her army this time.

As described by Herodoutus:  “Tomyris mustered all her forces and engaged Cyrus in battle. I consider this to have been the fiercest battle between non-Greeks that there has ever been…. They fought at close quarters for a long time, and neither side would give way, until eventually the Massagetae gained the upper hand. Most of the Persian army was wiped out there, and Cyrus himself died too.” The Persian army was virtually wiped out. After the battle, Tomyris had Cyrus’ corpse beheaded and crucified. She then threw his severed head into a vessel filled with human blood. According to Herodotus, she is quoted as having addressed Cyrus the Great’s head as it bobbed in the blood: “I warned you that I would quench your thirst for blood, and so I shall”.

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Some Sources & Further Reading

Encyclopedia Iranica – Cyrus According to Herodotus

History Halls – Fighting Women: Queen Zenobia of Palmyra

Mayor, Adrienne – The Amazons: Lives and Legends of Warrior Women Across the Ancient World (2014)