Croesus
Croesus (546 BC), King of Lydia in Asia Minor, whose friendliness and generosity towards his Greek subjects made him a popular overlord. His great wealth, gained from his gold mines and from trade, gave rise to the saying “as rich as Croesus”. According to legend, Croesus was condemned to death by the conquering Cyrus of Persia, but was saved from being burnt alive by a miraculous rainstorm. Cromwell, Oliver (1599-1658). English general and statesman. He entered Parliament in 1628 and distinguished himself as a military leader during the civil war. His strongly disciplined force, the Ironsides, secured victory over the royalists at Marston Moor (1644) and provided the model for the parliamentary army. A devout Puritan, Cromwell was convinced that the execution of Charles I was predestined by God and led the commission that condemned the king to death From 1653 until his death he ruled England, Scotland, and Ireland under the title of Lord Protector. He was buried in Westminster Abbey but at the Restoration his body was disinterred and hanged at Tyburn.
“A devotee of law, he was forced to be often lawless; a civilian to the core, he had to maintain himself by the sword; with a passion to construct, his task was chiefly to destroy… John Buchan, Oliver Cromwell”
