BABYLON, 539 B.C.

The Fall of Babylon denotes the end of the Neo-Babylonian Empire after it was conquered by the Achaemenid Empire in 539 B.C. Nabonidus, son of the Assyrian priestess Adda-Guppi, came to the throne in 556 B.C., after overthrowing the young king Labashi-Marduk. For long periods he entrusted rule to his son, prince Belshazzar, who was a capable soldier, but a poor politician. As a result, he was somewhat unpopular with many of his subjects, particularly the priesthood and the military class. To the east, the Achaemenid Empire had been growing in strength. In October 539 B.C., after the Battle of Opis, Cyrus the Great invaded Babylonia. Greek historians Herodotus and Xenophon report that the city was besieged. The biblical Book of Daniel notes that the king was killed. The subject provinces soon recognized Cyrus as their legitimate ruler. Since he was already lord of peripheral regions in modern Turkey and Iran, it is not exaggerated to say that the conquest of Babylonia meant the birth of a true world empire. The Achaemenid Empire was to last for more than two centuries, until it was divided by the successors of the Macedonian king Alexander the Great. “A battle was fought at a short distance from the city, in which the Babylonians were defeated by the Persian king, whereupon they withdrew within their defenses. Here they shut themselves up, and made light of his siege, having laid in a store of provisions for many years in preparation against this attack; for when they saw Cyrus conquering nation after nation, they were convinced that he would never stop, and that their turn would come at last.” – Herodotus.