Page 57 - All About History - Issue 33-15

Cyrus the Great

“Cyrus had ruled
forsome30years,

and created an
empire more than
2,500 kilometres
across, the

largestinthe
worldtodate”

resistance.AccordingtoHerodotus,thePersians
didthisbydivertingtheEuphrates,loweringthe
water-level until they could march across the river-
bed. Nabonidus was captured, and vanished from
history, his fate unknown.
Cyrus recorded his conquest in the clay
document known as the Cyrus Cylinder, a blatant
pieceofPRdesignedtojustifyhisconquests.It
claims that Nabonidus had been unstable and
impious,andthatthegreatgodEnlilhadchosen
Cyrus as his instrument to bring peace by restoring
the shrines, allowing refugees to return and
The tomb of Cyrus the rebuilding the capital. The cylinder declares: “I
Great in Pasargadae in returnedtheimagesofthegods,whohadresided
modern-day Iran
there, to their places and I let them dwell in eternal
abodes.Igatheredalltheirinhabitantsandreturned
TheboyspenthischildhoodwithAstyages, Next in line was Lydia, which fell a few years to them their dwellings.” As a result, “all nobles and
being trained and educated. According to the Greek later. No details are recorded, though Herodotus has governorsboweddownbeforehim(Cyrus)and
historiananddiaristXenophon,hewasaboyof astorytofillthegap.TheLydiankingwasCroesus, kissedhisfeet,andtheirfacesshone.”
rare intelligence and charm: “[He] was something oflegendarywealth.Croesusconsultedthegreat His generosity did not apply only to the local
toomuchofatalker,inpart,maybe,becauseof oracle at Delphi and was told that if he attacked religions. The Jews, too, were allowed to return
hisbringing-up.Hehadbeentrainedbyhismaster, thePersianshewoulddestroy“agreatempire.” from their captivity to Israel. Possibly (as the Bible
wheneverhesatinjudgment,togiveareasonfor He attacked, and Cyrus, strengthened by Median says), Cyrus actually funded the rebuilding of
whathedid,andtolookforthelikereasonfrom troops,droveCroesusbackinsidehiscapital, thetempleinJerusalem.Infact,therebuilding
others. And moreover, his curiosity and thirst for Sardis. Persian troops then scaled a supposedly occurred under Cyrus’s grandson, Darius, but
knowledgeweresuchthathemustneedsinquire unscaleablewall,andthecityfell.Thegreatempire Cyrus’srolebecameacceptedasafact.Thefirst-
from every one he met the explanation of this, that Croesus destroyed was his own. century Jewish historian Josephus claimed to quote
that, and the other… talkativeness had become, as In540BCE,Cyrusturnedonhisnexttarget, aletterfromCyrus:“I have given leave to as many
it were, his second nature. But… the impression Babylon. Famous as the capital of a great empire oftheJewsthatdwellinmycountryaspleaseto
leftonthelistenerwasnotofarrogance,butof for more than 1,000 years, Babylon had fallen return to their own country, and to rebuild their
simplicityandwarmheartedness…However,ashe on hard times until its fortunes revived under city, and to build the temple of God at Jerusalem
grew in stature and the years led him to the time Nebuchadnezzar in the early 500s BCE, during onthesameplacewhereitwasbefore,”(though
when childhood passes into youth he became more whichhesackedJerusalem(587-586BCE)and Josephus was writing 500 years later, and presents
charyofhiswords…buthiscompanywasstillmost captured numerous Jews, an event vividly recorded no evidence for this).
fascinating,andlittlewonder:forwheneveritcame intheBible.ByCyrus’stime,though,Babylonhad In any event, the Jews developed huge
toatrialofskillbetweenhimselfandhiscomrades becomeasofttargetbecauseitsking,Nabonidus, admiration for Cyrus. The prophet Isaiah called
he would never challenge his mates to those hadbeenabsentfortenyears(553BCE–543BCE), CyrusGod’s‘anointed’–ineffecttheMessiah–and
featsinwhichhehimselfexcelled:hewouldstart leavingthecityinthehandsofhisson,Belshazzar. prophesied God-given victories over all nations.
precisely one where he felt his own inferiority… and His unexplained absence – perhaps trying to extend Another prophet, Ezra, has Cyrus saying that God
then,whenhewasworsted,hewouldbethefirstto traderoutesinArabia–seemstohavemadehim “hathgivenmeallthekingdomsoftheEarth.”
laughathisowndiscomfiture.” unpopular. Or perhaps he was unpopular because AfterBabylon,wherenow?Tothenorthand
Eventually,asayoungman,Cyrusreturnedto onhisreturnhehadalltheimagesofBabylonian eastlayanotherworldtoconquer,thelandof
his father’s court in Persia, where he acceded to the gods brought from their sanctuaries into the capital the nomadic horsemen, the Scythians. Having
throne in about 559 BCE. Herodotus picked up the for safekeeping. Whatever the reason, it gave Cyrus appointed governors and officials to rule the
story. To prevent his dream coming true, Astyages achancetopresenthimselfastheprotectorof differentprovincesandpeoplesofhisempire,
invaded Persia. But Cyrus defeated him, and in Babylonian religion. Cyrus probably died fighting the Scythians in 530
about 550 BCE, took Media. In revenge, Astyages Inautumn539BCE–oneofthefewfirmdatesin BCE. Again, we have no firm records, just stories,
summoned the son of the disobedient noble and the history of the time – Cyrus invaded Babylonia, thebestofwhichistoldbyHerodotus.
hadhimchopped,roastedandboiled,andthen wonabattleatOpis,tothenorthofthecapital,and OneoftheScythiantribeswascalled
trickedthenobleintoeatingtheboy. then entered Babylon, seemingly without further Massagetae, known for drinking fermented mares’
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