A report on Achaemenid Empire, Cyrus the Great and Nabonidus

Cyrus the Great with a Hemhem crown, or four-winged Cherub tutelary divinity, from a relief in the residence of Cyrus in Pasagardae

Nabonidus as depicted in the Harran Stela

The Achaemenid Empire at its greatest territorial extent under the rule of Darius I (522 BC–486 BC)

The four-winged guardian figure representing Cyrus the Great or a four-winged Cherub tutelary deity. Bas-relief found on a doorway pillar at Pasargadae on top of which was once inscribed in three languages the sentence "I am Cyrus the king, an Achaemenian." Scholars who doubt that the relief depicts Cyrus note that the same inscription is written on other palaces in the complex.

"I am Cyrus the King, an Achaemenian" in Old Persian, Elamite and Akkadian languages. It is known as the "CMa inscription", carved in a column of Palace P in Pasargadae. These inscriptions on behalf of Cyrus were probably made later by Darius I in order to affirm his lineage, using the Old Persian script he had designed.

Relief of Ashurbanipal, who ruled as king of Assyria 669–631 BC. Nabonidus emulated elements of Ashurbanipal and his dynasty, the Sargonids. Some historians believe that Nabonidus was a descendant of Ashurbanipal, or Ashurbanipal's father Esarhaddon.

Painting of king Astyages sending Harpagus to kill young Cyrus

Locations of some major Mesopotamian cities

Map of the expansion process of Achaemenid territories

Detail of Cyrus Hunting Wild Boar by Claude Audran the Younger, Palace of Versailles

Nabonidus as depicted in a stele from Harran

Cyrus the Great is said, in the Bible, to have liberated the Hebrew captives in Babylon to resettle and rebuild Jerusalem, earning him an honored place in Judaism.

Victory of Cyrus over Lydia's Croesus at the Battle of Thymbra, 546 BC

The tomb of Cyrus the Great, founder of the Achaemenid Empire. At Pasargadae, Iran.

Croesus on the pyre. Attic red-figure amphora, 500–490 BC, Louvre (G 197)

Map of the Neo-Babylonian Empire under Nabonidus. Tayma is in northern Arabia, in the south-west of the empire.

The Achaemenid Empire at its greatest extent, c. 500 BC

Ancient Near East circa 540 BC, prior to the invasion of Babylon by Cyrus the Great

The Persian queen Atossa, daughter of Cyrus the Great, sister-wife of Cambyses II, Darius the Great's wife, and mother of Xerxes the Great

Achaemenid soldiers (left) fighting against Scythians, 5th century BC. Cylinder seal impression (drawing).

The Harran Stela, depicting Nabonidus as praying to the moon (i.e. Sîn), the sun and Venus

Map showing events of the first phases of the Greco-Persian Wars

Queen Tomyris of the Massagetae receiving the head of Cyrus

The Verse Account of Nabonidus, a biased document written about Nabonidus's reign, probably in the reign of Cyrus the Great

Greek hoplite and Persian warrior depicted fighting, on an ancient kylix, 5th century BC

Tomb of Cyrus in Pasargadae, Iran, a UNESCO World Heritage Site (2015)

Cyrus the Great, who conquered Babylon in 539 BC, depicted with a Hemhem crown, or four-winged Cherub tutelary divinity

Achaemenid king fighting hoplites, seal and seal holder, Cimmerian Bosporus.

Cyrus the Great is said in the Bible to have liberated the Jews from the Babylonian captivity to resettle and rebuild Jerusalem, earning him an honored place in Judaism.

Map of the path of Cyrus the Great during his 539 BC invasion of Babylonia

Achaemenid gold ornaments, Brooklyn Museum

Cyrus the Great (center) with his General Harpagus behind him, as he receives the submission of Astyages (18th century tapestry)

Nebuchadnezzar (1795) by William Blake. The painting depicts Nebuchadnezzar II as nude and mad, living like a wild animal. The story of Nebuchadnezzar II's madness originally referred to Nabonidus.

Persian Empire timeline including important events and territorial evolution – 550–323 BC

Terracotta cylinder of Nabonidus, recording the restoration work on the temple of Shamash at Larsa

Relief showing Darius I offering lettuces to the Egyptian deity Amun-Ra Kamutef, Temple of Hibis

Painting of Daniel and Cyrus before the Idol Bel

The 24 countries subject to the Achaemenid Empire at the time of Darius, on the Egyptian statue of Darius I.

Statue of Cyrus the great at Olympic Park in Sydney

The Battle of Issus, between Alexander the Great on horseback to the left, and Darius III in the chariot to the right, represented in a Pompeii mosaic dated 1st century BC – Naples National Archaeological Museum

17th-century bust of Cyrus the Great in Hamburg, Germany

Alexander's first victory over Darius, the Persian king depicted in medieval European style in the 15th century romance The History of Alexander's Battles

The Cyrus cylinder, a contemporary cuneiform script proclaiming Cyrus as legitimate king of Babylon

Frataraka dynasty ruler Vadfradad I (Autophradates I). 3rd century BC. Istakhr (Persepolis) mint.

Dārēv I (Darios I) used for the first time the title of mlk (King). 2nd century BC.

Winged sphinx from the Palace of Darius in Susa, Louvre

Volume of annual tribute per district, in the Achaemenid Empire, according to Herodotus.

Achaemenid tax collector, calculating on an Abax or Abacus, according to the Darius Vase (340–320 BC).

Letter from the Satrap of Bactria to the governor of Khulmi, concerning camel keepers, 353 BC

Relief of throne-bearing soldiers in their native clothing at the tomb of Xerxes I, demonstrating the satrapies under his rule.

Achaemenid king killing a Greek hoplite. c. 500 BC–475 BC, at the time of Xerxes I. Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Persian soldiers (left) fighting against Scythians. Cylinder seal impression.

Color reconstruction of Achaemenid infantry on the Alexander Sarcophagus (end of 4th century BC).

Seal of Darius the Great hunting in a chariot, reading "I am Darius, the Great King" in Old Persian (𐎠𐎭𐎶𐏐𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁𐎴 𐏋, "adam Dārayavaʰuš xšāyaθiya"), as well as in Elamite and Babylonian. The word "great" only appears in Babylonian. British Museum.

Achaemenid calvalryman in the satrapy of Hellespontine Phrygia, Altıkulaç Sarcophagus, early 4th century BC.

Armoured cavalry: Achaemenid Dynast of Hellespontine Phrygia attacking a Greek psiloi, Altıkulaç Sarcophagus, early 4th century BC.

Reconstitution of Persian landing ships at the Battle of Marathon.

Greek ships against Achaemenid ships at the Battle of Salamis.

Iconic relief of lion and bull fighting, Apadana of Persepolis

Achaemenid golden bowl with lioness imagery of Mazandaran

A section of the Old Persian part of the trilingual Behistun inscription. Other versions are in Babylonian and Elamite.

A copy of the Behistun inscription in Aramaic on a papyrus. Aramaic was the lingua franca of the empire.

The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, one of the Seven wonders of the ancient world, was built by Greek architects for the local Persian satrap of Caria, Mausolus (Scale model)

Reconstruction of the Palace of Darius at Susa. The palace served as a model for Persepolis.

Lion on a decorative panel from Darius I the Great's palace, Louvre

Apadana Hall, Persian and Median soldiers at Persepolis

Lateral view of tomb of Cambyses II, Pasargadae, Iran

Plaque with horned lion-griffins. The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Achaemenid Empire, also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire based in Western Asia that was founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. It reached its greatest extent under Xerxes I, who conquered most of northern and central ancient Greece.

- Achaemenid Empire

Nabonidus (Babylonian cuneiform: Nabû-naʾid, meaning "May Nabu be exalted" or "Nabu is praised") was the last king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, ruling from 556 BC to the fall of Babylon to the Achaemenid Empire under Cyrus the Great in 539 BC. Nabonidus was the last native ruler of ancient Mesopotamia, the end of his reign marking the end of thousands of years of Sumero-Akkadian states, kingdoms and empires.

- Nabonidus

600–530 BC; Kūruš), commonly known as Cyrus the Great and also called Cyrus the Elder by the Greeks, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, the first Persian empire.

- Cyrus the Great

In October 539 BC, Cyrus won a battle against the Babylonians at Opis, then took Sippar without a fight before finally capturing the city of Babylon on 12 October, where the Babylonian king Nabonidus was taken prisoner.

- Achaemenid Empire

The Nabonidus Chronicle records that, prior to the battle(s), Nabonidus had ordered cult statues from outlying Babylonian cities to be brought into the capital, suggesting that the conflict had begun possibly in the winter of 540 BC. Near the beginning of October 539 BC, Cyrus fought the Battle of Opis in or near the strategic riverside city of Opis on the Tigris, north of Babylon.

- Cyrus the Great

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Neo-Babylonian Empire

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The last of the Mesopotamian empires to be ruled by monarchs native to Mesopotamia.

The Neo-Babylonian Empire under Nabonidus ((r. undefined – undefined) 556–539 BC)

Map of the Old Babylonian Empire under Hammurabi ((r. undefined – undefined)c. undefined 1792–1750 BC).

The so-called "Tower of Babel stele", depicting Nebuchadnezzar II in the top-right and featuring a depiction of Babylon's great ziggurat (the Etemenanki) to his left.

Stele of Nabonidus exhibited in the British Museum. The king is shown praying to the Moon, the Sun and Venus and is depicted as being the closest to the Moon.

Illustration of the inhabitants of Babylon deriding the Achaemenid king Darius I during the revolt of Nebuchadnezzar III in 522 BC. From the History of Darius the Great (1900) by Jacob Abbott.

Major cities of Lower Mesopotamia in the 1st century BC.

Partial view of the ruins of Babylon in modern-day Iraq.

9th century BC depiction from a cylinder seal of the Statue of Marduk, Babylon's patron deity Marduk's main cult image in the city.

Cylinder by Nabonidus, commemorating restoration work done on a temple dedicated to the god Sîn in Ur. Exhibited at the British Museum.

Tablet concerning a legal dispute over barley, from Uruk and dated to the reign of Nabonidus (544 BC). Exhibited at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.

Striding lions from the Processional Street of Babylon. Exhibited at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin.

Neo-Babylonian terracotta figurine depicting a nude woman. Exhibited at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore.

Tablet containing a 6th-century BC Babylonian "map of the world", featuring Babylon at its center. Exhibited at the British Museum.

The Babylonian marriage market, painting by Edwin Long (1875)

Tablet recording a silver payment from the temple dedicated to the god Shamash in Sippar, written during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II. Exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Irrigation canal from modern-day Iraq, near Baghdad

Approximate borders of the Neo-Babylonian Empire (red) and neighboring states in the 6th century BC.

Babylonian soldier as represented on the tomb of the Achaemenid king Xerxes I, c. 480 BC.

The Ishtar Gate, one of Babylon's eight inner city gates, was constructed by King Nebuchadnezzar II c. undefined 575 BC. The reconstructed gate is exhibited at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin.

City plan of Babylon, showcasing the locations of major points of interest. The outer walls and the northern Summer Palace are not shown.

Reconstruction of the Etemenanki, Babylon's great ziggurat.

Mud-brick from the Processional Street of Babylon stamped with the name of Nebuchadnezzar II.

Beginning with Nabopolassar's coronation as King of Babylon in 626 BC and being firmly established through the fall of the Neo-Assyrian Empire in 612 BC, the Neo-Babylonian Empire and its ruling Chaldean dynasty were short-lived, conquered after less than a century by the Persian Achaemenid Empire in 539 BC.

Religious policies introduced by the Neo-Babylonian Empire's final king, Nabonidus, who favored the moon god Sîn over Babylon's patron deity Marduk, eventually provided a casus belli that allowed the Achaemenid king Cyrus the Great to invade Babylonia in 539 BC, portraying himself as a champion of Marduk divinely restoring order to the region.

Cyrus Cylinder

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Map of the site of Babylon in 1829. Hormuzd Rassam's diggers found the Cyrus Cylinder in the mound of Tell Amran-ibn-Ali (marked with an "E" at the centre of the map) under which lay the ruined Esagila temple.

Extract from the Cyrus Cylinder (lines 15–21), giving the genealogy of Cyrus and an account of his capture of Babylon in 539 BC (E. A. Wallis Budge, 1884).

Sample detail image showing cuneiform script.

Stele depicting Nabonidus praying to the moon, sun and the planet Venus. The Babylonian king's religious practices were harshly condemned by the Cyrus Cylinder's inscription.

Places in Mesopotamia mentioned by the Cyrus Cylinder. Most of the localities it mentions in connection with the restoration of temples were in eastern and northern Mesopotamia, in territories that had been ruled by the deposed Babylonian king Nabonidus (excepting Susa).

Cyrus Cylinder at the center of the official emblem of 2,500 year celebration of the Persian Empire at Pahlavi Iranian imperial era

The Cyrus Cylinder in Room 52 of the British Museum in London

The Cyrus Cylinder is an ancient clay cylinder, now broken into several pieces, on which is written a declaration in Akkadian cuneiform script in the name of Persia's Achaemenid king Cyrus the Great.

The Babylonian king Nabonidus, who was defeated and deposed by Cyrus, is denounced as an impious oppressor of the people of Babylonia and his low-born origins are implicitly contrasted to Cyrus' kingly heritage.

Lydia

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Iron Age kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the modern western Turkish provinces of Uşak, Manisa and inland Izmir.

Portrait of Croesus, last King of Lydia, Attic red-figure amphora, painted ca. 500–490 BC.

Tripolis on the Meander is an ancient Lydian city in Turkey.

Büyük Menderes River also known as Maeander is river in Lydia.

The Pactolus river, from which Lydia obtained electrum, a combination of silver and gold.

Early 6th century BC Lydian electrum coin (one-third stater denomination).

Lydian delegation at Apadana, circa 500 BC

Lydia's borders under the reign of Alyattes's son Croesus

Bin Tepe royal funeral tumulus (tomb of Alyattes, father of Croesus), Lydia, 6th century BC.

Croesus at the stake. Side A from an Attic red-figure amphora, ca. 500–490 BC

Lydia, including Ionia, during the Achaemenid Empire.

Xerxes I tomb, Lydian soldier of the Achaemenid army, circa 480 BC

Photo of a 15th-century map showing Lydia

Church of St John, Philadelphia (Alaşehir)

In 546 BC, it became a province of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, known as the satrapy of Lydia or Sparda in Old Persian.

Croesus was defeated in battle by Cyrus II of Persia in 546 BC, with the Lydian kingdom losing its autonomy and becoming a Persian satrapy.

Croesus also established trade and diplomatic relations with the Neo-Babylonian Empire of Nabonidus, and he further increased his contacts with the Greeks on the European continent by establishing relations with the city-state of Sparta.

Xenophon

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Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian, born in Athens.

Route of Xenophon and the Ten Thousand (red line) in the Achaemenid Empire. The satrapy of Cyrus the Younger is delineated in green.

Xenophon leading his Ten Thousand through Persia to the Black Sea. 19th-century illustration

Bas-reliefs of Persian soldiers together with Median soldiers are prevalent in Persepolis. The ones with rounded caps are Median.

Fragments of Xenophon's Hellenica, Papyrus PSI 1197, Laurentian Library, Florence.

Statue of Xenophon in front of the Austrian parliament

Xenophon dictating his history, illustration from 'Hutchinson's History of the Nations', 1915

King's Peace, promulgated by Artaxerxes II, 387 BC, as reported by Xenophon.

At the age of 30, Xenophon was elected commander of one of the biggest Greek mercenary armies of the Achaemenid Empire, the Ten Thousand, that marched on and came close to capturing Babylon in 401 BC. As the military historian Theodore Ayrault Dodge wrote, "the centuries since have devised nothing to surpass the genius of this warrior".

On the topic of campaigns in Asia Minor and in Babylon, Xenophon wrote Cyropaedia outlining both military and political methods used by Cyrus the Great to conquer the Neo-Babylonian Empire in 539 BC. Anabasis and Cyropaedia inspired Alexander the Great and other Greeks to conquer Babylon and the Achaemenid Empire in 331 BC.

There is an echo of this statement, verifying Xenophon and contradicting Herodotus, in the Harran Stele, a document from the court of Nabonidus.

Opis

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Ancient Babylonian city near the Tigris, not far from modern Baghdad.

In October 539 BC, the troops of the Babylonian king Nabonidus (556–539 BC) defended Opis against the Persians commanded by Cyrus the Great (559–530 BC).