Tomyris

The queen of the Massagetae who defeated the Persian army and killed the Persian king, Kyrus the Great.

When Kyrus was trying to expand his empire into eastern Asia, he encountered the Massagetae and demanded their surrender; queen Tomyris refused to negotiate with Kyrus and urged him to leave her country in peace.

Kyrus, on the advice of his captive advisor, Kroesus, devised a subtle plan to defeat the Massagetae with little or no bloodshed; Kyrus pretended to withdraw his troops but left wagons full of food and wine for the Massagetae to capture; the Massagetae army, commanded by the queen’s son, Spargapises, came upon the food and wine and proceeded to eat and drink themselves into a stupor; Kyrus fell upon the befuddled Massagetae and took Spargapises as a hostage.

Kyrus again demanded queen Tomyris to surrender; Tomyris again refused to negotiate and promised to drown Kyrus in blood if he did not withdraw; the Persians persisted in their assault on the Massagetae but when the battle was joined, the Persians suffered a devastating defeat and, true to her promise, Tomyris killed Kyrus and put a bag full of blood over his head.

• Histories, book 1, chapters 205-216