Before all of this, and prior to his invasion, Croesus asked the Oracle of Delphi for advice. The Oracle suggested vaguely that, "if King Croesus crosses the Halys River, a great empire will be destroyed."[6] Croesus received these words with delight, instigating a war that would ironically and eventually end not the Persian Empire but his own. The dispersal of Croesus' army exposed Lydia to the unexpected invasion of Cyrus, who followed almost immediately on Croesus' steps, pursuing him to Sardis.[7] The rival kings fought again at the Battle of Thymbra, before Sardis, which ended in a decisive victory for Cyrus the Great.