克罗伊斯

Croesus

卒于西元前546?年

English: Last king of Lydia, famous for his great wealth. He succeeded his father as king c. 560 BC, and after completing the conquest of mainland Ionia he faced the rising threat of the Persians under Cyrus the Great. He forged an alliance with Babylon, Egypt, and Sparta to combat the Persians, but after an inconclusive effort to invade Cappadocia, he returned to his capital at Sardis. The Persians pursued him, storming Sardis in 546 and conquering Lydia. Croesus' later fate is uncertain. Herodotus claims he was condemned to be burned alive but was saved by Apollo.

吕底亚的末代皇帝克罗伊斯制定的新币史塔特对后世影响久远。史塔特由二十四克拉纯金构成，还可以细分成三分之一、六分之一和十二分之一等更小的单位，因此促成了金衡盎司的发展。而且，克罗伊斯采用了金银复本位制度，银币用于交易数额较小的场合，成为以后的货币历史主流。另外，吕底亚人发明了我们今天挂在口上的“试金石”，它是种黑石头，金匠把金器在黑石上划出条痕，然后把条痕与一组二十四支由含有不同金、银、铜等组合的试金针划痕加以比较。若是符合第二十四支试金针所划出的条痕，就表示这个金器是纯金的。