Last and most famous king of ancient Lydia, the richest man in the ancient world. Brother-in-law of the Median king Astyages. Defeated by Cyrus the Great, founder of the Achaemenid dynasty in (traditionally) 547 BC.

Croesus (IPA pronunciation: , CREE-sus) (595 BC – c. 546 BC) was the king of Lydia from 560/561 BC until his defeat by the Persians in about 547 BC. The English name Croesus come from the Latin transliteration of the Greek , in Arabic and Persian قارون, Qârun. Croesus was renowned for his wealth— Pausanias noted his gifts preserved at Delphi— and in Greek and Persian cultures his name became a synonym for a wealthy man; in English, expressions such as "rich as Croesus" or "richer than Croesus" are used to indicate great wealth.