THE BATTLE OF THE ECLIPSE (MAY 28, 585 BC): A Discussion of the Lydo-Median treaty and the Halys border

In his Book I, Herodotus relates the war between Lydia of Alyattes and Media of Cyaxares. This war ended with the well-known occurrence of the total solar eclipse, which astronomical researchers propose to date to 585 BC. After these hostilities, a treaty between the two kingdoms was concluded, and was sealed by a royal wedding.
This paper analyzes this event, better known as the “battle of the eclipse”. It will revisit the problem of the location of the battle and that of the identity of the Lydian and Median kings who reigned during this conflict. The paper will study the role that the eclipse played on the conclusion of hostilities and its impact on the minds of the Greeks; it will also examine the nature of the treaty concluded between the Lydians and the Medes. Finally, the paper will examine the problem of the Halys border that separated the Lydian and the Median kingdoms, modern scholars asserting that this border was chosen during the Lydo-Median treaty. This examination will allow us to study the view of the ethnic, geographical and political space that the river played in Herodotus’s mind.