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Cyrus

(Hebrew Ko'resh ) was the celebrated king of Persia who was

conqueror of Babylon, and issued the decree of liberation to the

Jews (Ezra 1:1, 2). See also History of Persia.

He was the son of Cambyses, the prince of

Persia, and was born about B.C. 599. In the year B.C. 559 he

became king of Persia, the kingdom of Media being added to it

partly by conquest. Cyrus was a great military leader, bent on

universal conquest. Babylon fell before his army (B.C. 538) on

the night of Belshazzar's feast, and then the

ancient dominion of Assyria was also added to his empire.

In B.C. 536 Cyrus became

king over Palestine, which became a part of his Babylonian

empire. The edict of Cyrus for the rebuilding of Jerusalem

marked a great epoch in the history of the Jewish people.

This decree was discovered "at Achmetha [R.V. marg.,

"Ecbatana"], in the palace that is in the province of the Medes"

(Ezra 6:2). A chronicle drawn up just after the conquest of

Babylonia by Cyrus, gives the history of the reign of Nabonidus

(Nabunahid), the last king of Babylon, and of the fall of the

Babylonian empire. In B.C. 538 there was a revolt in Southern

Babylonia, while the army of Cyrus entered the country from the

north. In June the Babylonian army was completely defeated at

Opis, and immediately afterwards Sippara opened its gates to the

conqueror. Gobryas (Ugbaru), the governor of Kurdistan, was then

sent to Babylon, which surrendered "without fighting," and the

daily services in the temples continued without a break. In

October, Cyrus himself arrived, and proclaimed a general

amnesty, which was communicated by Gobryas to "all the province

of Babylon," of which he had been made governor. Meanwhile,

Nabonidus, who had concealed himself, was captured, but treated

honourably; and when his wife died, Cambyses, the son of Cyrus,

conducted the funeral. Cyrus now assumed the title of "king of

Babylon," claimed to be the descendant of the ancient kings, and

made rich offerings to the temples. At the same time he allowed

the foreign populations who had been deported to Babylonia to

return to their old homes, carrying with them the images of

their gods. Among these populations were the Jews, who, as they

had no images, took with them the sacred vessels of the temple.

Initial text from Easton's Bible Dictionary, 1897 -- Please update as needed