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 c...View all