PORTRAITS OF THE PAST/Cyrus the Great

 According to our modern calendar, on the night of October 5/6, 539 B.C.E., the seemingly impossible happened to that city of Babylon, capital of the Babylonian Empire. On that fateful night, the city was overthrown  by an army of Medes and Persians, commanded by Persian King Cyrus, also known as Cyrus the Great. His strategy was brilliant.

HOW CYRUS CAPTURED BABYLON

"When Cyrus set his sights on Babylon it was already the most venerable of Middle Eastern cities-perhaps of all cities in the world," states the book Ancient World Leaders-Cyrus the Great.  Babylon sat on the Euphrates River, which also filled moats surrounding  the city's massive walls-a combination of defenses that made the city seem impregnable.

 Upstream from Babylon, Cyrus' men diverted the Euphrates, causing the water level  in the city to fall.  The soldiers waded into the river to the city gates, which had been left open, and took Babylon with little resistance. According to Greek historians Herodotus and Xenophon, the Babylonians felt so secure behind the city's defenses that on the night of the attack, many were feasting, including the king! (See the box "The Handwriting on the Wall.")  Moreover, Cyrus's conquest fulfilled some amazing Bible prophecies. 

Next time: PORTRAITS OF THE PAST/Cyrus the Great - AMAZING PREDICTIONS

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