Cyrus the Great: A Short Bio (part 2 of 2)

 

An Enemy and an Ally

 The fledgling Persian Empire was to face its first serious challenge. The Lydian kingdom, situated in western Anatolia, contained extensive gold fields, so much so that the name of its ruler King Croesus remains heavily associated with wealth. As with the Persians, knowledge of the Lydians has been almost exclusively channeled through Greek sources, to the point that they can be confused with Greeks themselves. Over 35 years earlier, the Lydians and Medes were embroiled in a massive war. On May 28 in 585 BC, a solar eclipse suddenly came and frightened the two sides into a truce, with Astyages marrying the daughter of the Lydian king. Now, with Astyages dead and the Medes subsumed into a new empire, Croesus saw an opportunity to finish the war that the gods had seemingly put to an end (Herodotus makes the alternate claim that he sought to avenge Astyages, who was his brother-in-law). He believed that Cyrus would not be ready to repel a Lydian invasion, and was emboldened in his plans by the Oracles of Apollo. These prophets had divined that he would destroy an empire.

Golden coin of Croesus.

Though seemingly encouraged by the gods, Croesus bettered his odds through alliances with his neighbors. He gained the support of Babylon, Egypt, and Sparta, a grand alliance that threatened to destroy the new Persian Empire. These were defensive alliances, meaning they would not march into Persian territory with him, but they would come to his aid if the roles of attacker and defender were reversed. Croesus struck for Pteria, a city near the Black Sea. Cyrus responded quickly and effectively. To ensure that his army was well supplied, he purchased thousands of camels from the Arabs and gave each regiment of men its own baggage train.

The two sides camped within view of each other outside Pteria. On the day of battle, Cyrus formed the bulk of his army into a large box formation, hoping this would make Croesus attempt a double flanking assault. Croesus did so and weakened his center. Cyrus pushed his army forward and it blasted through the first Lydian ranks. The Persians did not achieve a decisive breakthrough, however, and the two sides settled into their camps for the night. Still, it had been a costly fight and things had not gone as easily for Croesus as the oracles had indicated. The King of Lydia withdrew back to his lands, believing he had time to collect his allies.

Cyrus then surprised Croesus. He felt that he had a narrow opportunity to decisively defeat the Lydians before their alliance could fully come together. “…He marched his army into Lydia with such speed that he was himself the first to announce his coming to Croesus.” Croesus had no choice but to send his army out again.

Cyrus had his chariot horses outfitted with armor. This truly turned chariots into the tanks of the ancient world. Before they were mounted platforms for hit-and-run attacks by archers and javelin throwers.

The Lydians’ best weapon was their cavalry, highly regarded horsemen armed with long spears. Harpagus approached Cyrus with a tactic to deprive the enemy of his advantage. He reasoned that horses had a fear of camels (because of their smell), and thus Cyrus should take all the pack camels and re-outfit them into a new cavalry force. When the Battle of Sardis (or Thymbra) began the horses caught scent of the camels and grew disorganized. Their riders did not panic, however, and chose to dismount and make a stand on foot. As a result they were able to put up a good fight, alongside a complement of Egyptian allies. They could not win against Cyrus’ armored chariots, even the Egyptians with their large shields. The Lydians retreated into the safety of Sardis. Cyrus ordered any Lydian left on the field killed, but spared the Egyptians and even let them depart for their home.

The battle. Note the prominent placement of the camels.

14 days into the siege Cyrus, knowing he needed to get the city soon before any of Lydia’s allies reached him, proclaimed that he would generously reward the first man to scale Sardis’ walls or at least discover a way in. This inspired his army to a furious assault, but it was repelled. The Persian horsemen rode all around the city, but saw no vulnerable point. After these failures, however, a man named Hyroiades made his way to a certain segment of the wall. This wall was deemed so unassailable that it was often undefended. It was so overlooked that the Lydians usually came there to, in cases of siege or disease, throw out dead bodies for scavenging birds to feed on. Hyroiades had seen a Lydian soldier descend it to recover a dropped helmet and then use an obscured path to get back up. Deeming it climbable, he got started and soon others in Cyrus’ army followed. This turned into a flood which overwhelmed the city.

Cyrus had asked Croesus to be taken alive. What happened next is up for debate. One ancient artistic depiction showed Croesus immolating himself on a pyre. However Herodotus offers a different take, more accepted by ancient Greek historians. Cyrus ordered Croesus bound atop a pyre, along with 14 Lydian youths. They were to be burned alive in honor of an unidentified god. The reasoning for this torturous execution has caused some confusion. Cyrus usually kept conquered kings alive so he could benefit from their knowledge, and when he did kill them he did not resort to such horrific methods. One recent history suggests that in fact he rescued Croesus from attempted self-immolation and that Herodotus’ account was derived from Persian myth.

Image from a vase of Croesus ordering his own immolation.

As the flames began to lick at him and his fellow human sacrifices, Croesus cried out the name of Solon, a famed Greek philosopher. Cyrus asked to know what he was shouting about. Croesus resisted, but finally related how Solon had visited him. Croesus had asked him who the happiest man in the world was, expecting Solon to name him because of his vast wealth. However, Solon “made light” of his wealth and claimed that true happiness came from other sources. Croesus then went on to say that nothing which men possessed was secure, and thus his wealth had not brought him true happiness and now was not saving him from death. Cyrus was so moved by this display of philosophical humility that he ordered the fires extinguished. According to legend the fires refused to fail and only divine intervention via rain saved Croesus and the youths.

Cyrus then asked Croesus what drove him to declare war on Persia. Croesus said it was the Oracles at Delphi. In fact Croesus was displeased at what he perceived to be the prophets’ failure, or worse lies. He sent the fetters which had bound him on the pyre to Delphi with a message demanding to know why they had misled him into losing his kingdom. They worked to retain their reputation by stating they had only prophesied the death of a great empire without clearly stating which one. They also claimed to have known of Lydia’s doom, but had striven to postpone its fate out of respect for Croesus’ frequent patronage. Reportedly Croesus was satisfied with their excuses and the Oracles of Delphi were not exposed as frauds.

Cyrus kept Croesus on as an advisor, chiefly in matters of administering his new western provinces. Croesus even helped him put down a revolt from his former subjects. Cyrus also recognized that Grecian culture was very superstitious when it came to oracular prophecy and sought to buy off the oracles to control his new subjects.

The aforementioned revolt was led by Pactyas. Pactyas was one of many Lydian officials generously placed into power by Cyrus. He oversaw Lydia’s still extensive treasury. Unlike others who tasted Cyrus’ mercy and generosity, Pactyas incited a Lydian revolt. Cyrus was deeply offended that the people he spared would show such ingratitude and resolved to wipe out Sardis this time. Croesus changed his mind, insisting that they only target the ringleaders. They would then disarm the rest of the rebels and institute laws that would render them lax and “effeminate.” Cyrus took his advice and the revolt faltered. Pactyas fled west, where he sought refuge among the Greek coastal cities. These Greek colonies had fallen under Lydian rule, but enjoyed great economic success and did not consider themselves tyrannized. Cyrus had earlier offered them a place in his expanding empire, but they refused. Now, on the advice of the oracles, they harbored Pactyas. Cyrus ordered his army west. One by one they captured the cities, enslaving or destroying them. Finally one city betrayed Pactyas into Persian hands. Harpagus won the satrapy of these provinces. Cyrus also conquered more to the east, subduing the remaining Iranian peoples.

 

The Conquering Liberator

 Nabonidus assumed power over Babylon in 555 BC. He was not actually of the famed Nebuchadnezzar’s royal line, and not even fully Babylonian. He was born to Adda-Guppi, a high priestess of Sin. Adda-Guppi was an Assyrian woman and had a major influence on her son’s religion. Some sources portray Nabonidus as incompetent, but recent scholars believe he must have been a capable ruler since he ruled for 30 years without serious crisis. He was deeply interested in old history and the restoration of neglected temples. He took his interests too far for the people’s liking, as he ditched the popular patron of Babylon Marduk for the once heavily worshipped moon god Sin. Between his neglect of Marduk and his Assyrian heritage, he was seen as an ill-fitted ruler by many. One surviving source, the Nabonidus Cylinder, extolled the king’s many construction and restoration projects. In addition to prioritizing Sin over Marduk, he also restored the temples of Samas, the heavenly judge, and Anunitu, the war goddess. One temple he devoted Babylon’s resources to was Sin’s at Harran. His mother was the high priestess there.

Ironically, Nabonidus first saw Cyrus as an agent of Marduk, only that he was chosen to defeat the Medes rather than himself. The Medes occupied the temple at Harran, which Nabonidus claimed Marduk had ordered him to restore. Then a prophecy came saying that Cyrus would destroy the Medes. Although the Medes were absorbed rather than destroyed, Nabonidus celebrated that Babylon’s main rival had been removed and now he could claim Harran for himself. Nabonidus’ various restoration programs drained much of the royal treachery, and furthered resentment amongst the people.

In 552 BC Nabonidus, suffering from an unexplained illness, surprised his subjects by moving from Babylon to Taima, a city 560 miles southwest in the Arabian desert. Taima was certainly a good-looking city, constructed as a new capital. His son Belshazzar took command in Babylon. However, the king’s absence from Babylon, the center of the country, was widely criticized. Worse, his absence meant that the people could not properly carry out the Spring Festival. They were thus deprived of their favorite holiday. Nabonidus stayed away for ten years. Belshazzar ruled in his absence. In Taima Nabonidus restored another temple to Sin and installed his daughter Bel-shalti-Nannar as high priestess. Theories for Nabonidus’ withdrawal are several. Some say he went there to recover from his illness. Others say he was distancing himself from his subjects, who continued to favor Marduk over his god of choice, Sin. A less anti-Nabonidus theory suggests that the king was trying to establish a trading empire based on the caravans that passed through Arabia.

Nabonidus Cylinder

Cyrus saw a golden opportunity to expand his rule while knocking out another neighboring threat. He saw that the people of Babylon might welcome a new ruler if their religion was restored to its primary place. He thus marched west and defeated the Babylonian army. Though they lost in the field, Babylonians still had their city, which was supplied with enough reserves of food and water to withstand a years-long siege. Cyrus of course could not afford such an undertaking and resolved to find a quick victory. He struck upon the idea of draining the Euphrates River, which ran through Babylon. By digging trenches along the river, he would lower its level so that a stealthy force could literally march along the river and past the city walls.

According to Xenophon, this stealth force was guided by Gubara, a Babylonian nobleman and defector who would lead the way to the palace. By seizing the palace immediately, Cyrus hoped to force a quick surrender and avoid a bloody massacre within the city. Gubara also helped time the operation so that it coincided with a feast. Gubara’s reward was to be the satrapy of the Babylonian province. Other pro-Cyrus subjects prepared the way with anti-Nabonidus propaganda. They portrayed their king as a heretic, boastful liar, and madman. This propaganda extended into Persian accounts. According to the Cyrus Cylinder “He put an end to the regular offerings and he interfered in the cultic centers…By his own plan, he did away with the worship of Marduk, the king of the gods.” The Cyrus cylinder also accused Nabonidus of imposing oppressive taxes on Babylon’s people in order to fund his projects.

Both Xenophon and the Biblical book of Daniel agree that Belshazzar was feasting at this time. According to the latter source, Belshazzar had collected vessels previously used in God’s Jerusalem temple and used them to hold wine for partying. This so displeased God that he sent a vision, a hand that appeared and wrote a mysterious message. Daniel, a Jewish official, was called in to translate and informed Belshazzar that his reign was to come to an abrupt, surprising end. Xenophon does not mention the famed Biblical tale, but credits the drunken revelry with masking the influx of Persian invaders. The Persians fell upon the first royal guards they saw and started a fight for the palace. The city was so large that festival-goers further away did not realize that their fate was being decided in a battle. Right after listening to Daniel, Belshazzar was alerted to the fight encroaching on the palace. He gathered whoever he could and prepared a defense. The Persians came upon his small group. They fought bravely, but quickly fell. Cyrus’ men now held the palace and by extension the city.

A famous Rembrandt painting depicting the Writing on the Wall.

Cyrus’ takeover was perhaps the least devastating in ancient history, as he was keen to play the role of liberator and ease the transition. There was no looting or destruction. Indeed he returned property, allowing idols and images of deities, previously confiscated by Nabonidus, to be returned to their previous places. “In addition, at the command of Marduk, the great lord, I settled in their habitations, in pleasing abodes, the gods of Sumer and Akkad, whom Nabonidus, to the anger of the lord of the gods, had brought into Babylon.” The only damage done was against Nabonidus’ name. It was chiseled off of all the monuments and temples he had overseen, and his images were effaced as well. According to limited sources the people were grateful for his takeover. “All the people of Babylon, all the land of Sumer and Akkad, princes and governors, bowed to him and kissed his feet. They rejoiced at his kingship and their faces shone.” He delighted them further by reestablishing the old religious order. “I returned the images of the gods, who had resided there, to their places and I let them dwell in eternal abodes. I gathered all their inhabitants and returned to them their dwellings.”

Cyrus enters Babylon.

Resettling the Levant

 Cyrus also allowed many peoples to return to their homelands. The Assyrians and Babylonians would march conquered peoples around to other parts of their empire in an attempt to shatter their cultural and ethnic identity. Many were taken to capitals such as Babylon to serve their new masters. Cyrus furthered his popularity by allowing and even funding these peoples’ returns. Mithredath, a Mede, oversaw the Jews’ return in particular. He had his men go around to the various shrines and temples and recover Israelite religious artifacts. Many Jews remained around Babylon. They had entered into prosperous lives and had no intention of roughing it back in their homeland.

According to the Book of Ezra, Cyrus issued the following decree. It should be noted that his invocation of God might actually be a reference to Marduk, his at least publicly favored deity, and that he conflated the two deities. More likely, based on other discovered decrees, he likely tailored his resettlement decrees differently to different peoples to bolster his popularity among the various groups.

Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth the Lord God of heaven has given me. And he has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judah. Who is among you of all His people? May his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel (He is God), which is in Jerusalem. And whoever is left in any place where he dwells, let the men of his place help him with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, besides the freewill offerings for the house of God which is in Jerusalem.

Jewish opinions of the Persian Empire were largely favorable. They did not seem to feel the yoke of oppression as they had under the Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, and various other conquering powers. This could be attributed to the Persian system of rule, where the various satrapies were able to exercise considerable autonomy. While doubtlessly required to pay Persian taxes like everyone else, the Jews now had relative freedom. Cyrus’ reason for allowing the Jews and other peoples to resettle in the Levant may have had a practical purpose other than encouraging submission through generosity. Rebuilt cities would provide a strong buffer in case of war with Egypt. However many scholars have also pointed out that Persian and Hebrew religion shared many similarities that may have resulted in amicable relations. Many Persians were polytheistic, but their gods, just like the Hebrew God, were invisible and not represented by images. The Zoroastrians in particular worshipped (and still worship) only one god, the omniscient creator and ruler of the cosmos Ahura Mazda. Ahura Mazda is also said to be completely good and without blemish, and he is in conflict with Angra Mainyu, a force of destruction and lies. Other divine beings exist, but only as servants of Ahura Mazda’s will. There is enough similarities that some believe the Zoroastrians influenced the development of Hebrew and thus future Christian religion.

Jews work on reconstructing their city. One stands guard with a spear in response to Samaritan threats.

Cyrus’ generosity only went so far. The Jews’ northern neighbors, the Samaritans, sought to derail the reconstruction of Jerusalem and the temple. They wrote to Cyrus claiming that the Jews sought to puff themselves up and disregard Persian rule. Cyrus, far away to the east, accepted these accusations and ordered the halt of Jerusalem’s construction. This event coincided with Cyrus’ rearrangement of his satrapies in 535 BC. Not until after Cyrus’ death would they receive authorization to finish the city.

The Last Battle

Cyrus was still not satisfied with the extent of his empire. To have total Persian dominance, a Pax Persia if you will, he needed to take over the last remaining major power of the Near East: Egypt. It is not fully clear how far Cyrus got in preparing the way for invasion, but some scholars think that he created the grand strategy that his son Cambyses would implement. Egypt traditionally used the Levant as a buffer between itself and the eastern empires, but by this point it had been under Babylonian and now Persian control. Still, it benefitted from a large desert in the east and supplies from the island of Cyprus. There is some evidence that Cyrus made several further captures in hopes of neutralizing these advantages.

Cyrus, age 70, had more pressing military concerns. In 530 BC a faction of Scythians called the Massagetae threatened northeastern Persia (other sources suggest that it was Cyrus who had the invasive ambitions). The Scythians were a nomadic horse people who frequently raided their neighbors. At one time they had actually served in Astyages’ army and were thus likely to switch sides if it promised the glory of battle or better loot. Sources say that the leader of the Massagetae was Queen Tomyris. Tomyris presided over a large territory, and had an army large enough to seriously threaten the Persian Empire. Tomyris denied that she had any intention of mounting a serious invasion and asked Cyrus to let her rule her people on her side of the Araxes River (a present day boundary between Turkey and Armenia) while he tended to his own kingdom.

Cyrus sent a message to Tomyris requesting that they marry. This offer kept in line with his philosophy of easing conquest through more peaceful methods. Tomyris would have none of it. She responded with an invitation to battle. If Cyrus did not lead his army across the Araxes River to face her within three days, then she would invade. Establishing that his son Cambyses would succeed him if he died, the elderly Cyrus speeded north to confront the Massagetae. Taking up a suggestion from Croesus, he set up a trap, laying out a sumptuous feast with large quantities of wine. He left a small unfortunate force to defend the camp. Spargapises, one of Tomyris’ sons, took the bait and slaughtered the camp guard. The victorious Scythians fell into disorder, consuming the vast quantities of food and wine. Cyrus then returned and attacked the overfed and drunk Massagetae. Spargapises became his prisoner. He was in chains and, feeling humiliated, begged to be loosed from them. Cyrus agreed, only for his captive to commit suicide.

Tomyris sent a furious message to Cyrus promising that he would have his “fill of blood.” Against the backdrop of winter, the main Massagetae and Persian forces met. After throwing arrows at each other, they went to close-quarters fighting. Cyrus’ opponents had some advantage in this fight, likely their axes, better in melee battle, and superior armor. Tomyris’s men gained the upper hand and slaughtered the bulk of the Persians. The victors found Cyrus’ body and took it to their queen. Tomyris had his head taken off and drenched in blood. At some point the Persians recovered their ruler’s body, likely without its head. Cambyses oversaw his father’s burial at Pasargadae and instituted a Magi guard. Cyrus’ body rested on a golden coffin.

A typically anachronistic painting from the 17th century shows Tomyris dunking Cyrus' head in blood.

The inscription on the tomb reads thus: “Oh man, I am Cyrus, who founded the empire of the Persians and was king of Asia. Grudge me therefore this monument.” Plutarch’s version replaces the second sentence with “Grudge me not, therefore, this little earth that covers my body.”

The Tomb of Cyrus still stands, if a little weathered.

Cyrus’ Legacy

 

Cyrus’ Persian Empire became a model of many subsequent empires. Many adopted his policy of allowing a good deal of autonomy among captured provinces, though Cyrus in fact adopted some of this from earlier Median policy. Alexander the Great made a point to visit his tomb while conquering the empire he had created. He found that the tomb had actually been broken into and robbed. Even Cyrus’ remains had been thrown on the ground. “…This act of profanation caused him much distress.” Alexander had the tomb restored and tortured the Magi to learn why they had been so neglectful and who was responsible for the desecration. They did not crack under torture and he released them, content to simply honor one of his imperial forbearers.

As the Persians lost and then rebuilt their empire in different guises, Cyrus remained a popular figure. Up to the 1970s Iranian leaders invoked his name. In 1971 Shah Mohammed Reza called for a 2,500^th anniversary celebration of the empire-maker and delivered a speech in which he claimed that he was the latest in a centuries-old line of monarchs, starting with Cyrus himself. He also staged a dramatic parade in which he and other officials dressed in ancient Persian garb. In a moment of karmic irony he was the last king as well. In 1978 an Islamic Revolution sent him into exile and the Ayatollah Khomeini took charge of an Iran that now saw its roots in the Muslim tradition rather than Cyrus.

Cyrus is often regarded as an advancer of humanitarianism. His actions of generosity and mercy appear to have had pragmatic reasoning behind them, but one cannot deny that his governance over subject peoples was less oppressive than his contemporaries’. While sources on him are actually scarce, he holds a special place in Greek, Iranian, and Biblical history and is one of the great rulers of world history.

 

Bibliography

 Abbott, Jacob. Cyrus the Great. New York: Harpers, 1904.

Arrian (translated by Aubrey de Selincourt). The Campaigns of Alexander. Penguin Books, 1971.

Crompton, Samuel Etinde. Cyrus the Great. New York: Chelsea House, 2008.

“Cyrus Cylinder,” https://www.livius.org/sources/content/cyrus-cylinder/cyrus-cylinder-translation/.

Dando-Collins, Stephen. Cyrus the Great: Conqueror, Liberator, Anointed One. Nashville: Turner Publishing Company, 2020.

Editors of Time-Life Books. Persians: Masters of Empire. Time-Life Books, 1995.

Gill, Anton. The Rise and Fall of Babylon: Gateway of the Gods. New York: Metro Books, 2008.

Holy Bible (New Jing James Version). Thomas Nelson Inc. 1995.

Macaulay, G.C (translated). The History of Herodotus Vol. I. London: Macmillan and Co.: 1914.

“Nabonidus Cylinder,” https://www.livius.org/sources/content/nabonidus-cylinder-from-sippar/; Editors, 54-55.

“Verse Account of Nabonidus,” https://www.livius.org/sources/content/anet/verse-account-of-nabonidus/

Xenophon (translated by Walter Miller). Cyropoaedia. Harvard University Press, 1914.

Zarghamee, Reza. Discovering Cyrus: The Persian Conqueror Astride the Ancient World. Washington, D.C.: Mage Publishers, 2014.