Changes

=General History=

=General History=

Unfortunately the history of Cyrus the Great has not only had to stand the test of time, but also the essentially biased religious debates and onslaught of the literary genre of historical fiction.  Yet the undeniable fact is that people tend to choose the history that best fits their narrative in both the academic world and in the lives of private individuals.

Unfortunately the history of Cyrus the Great has not only had to stand the test of time, but also the essentially biased religious debates and onslaught of the literary genre of historical fiction.  Yet the undeniable fact is that people tend to choose the history that best fits their [[narrative]] in both the academic world and in the lives of private individuals.

Therefore in the below section ''Original Sources'' we shall try to provide some overview as an aid to the reader.

Therefore in the below section ''Original Sources'' we shall try to provide some overview as an aid to the reader.

In the late 1800s several cuneiform texts dealing with the end of the Neo-Babylonian Empire were found and translated. None of these texts named Cyaxares II, and, more than that, most of them had Cyrus taking over the kingship of Media and Persia directly from Astyages, with no room for an intervening Median king. The conclusion seemed obvious: Herodotus was correct in maintaining that Astyages had no male heir, and hence Xenophon, who had a great deal to say about Cyaxares II as the son of Astyages and uncle of Darius, must be rejected. It was now understood that Cyrus became king of both Media and Persia by defeating the Medes, including his grandfather Astyages, several years before the fall of Babylon in 539 BC, just as Herodotus said.

In the late 1800s several cuneiform texts dealing with the end of the Neo-Babylonian Empire were found and translated. None of these texts named Cyaxares II, and, more than that, most of them had Cyrus taking over the kingship of Media and Persia directly from Astyages, with no room for an intervening Median king. The conclusion seemed obvious: Herodotus was correct in maintaining that Astyages had no male heir, and hence Xenophon, who had a great deal to say about Cyaxares II as the son of Astyages and uncle of Darius, must be rejected. It was now understood that Cyrus became king of both Media and Persia by defeating the Medes, including his grandfather Astyages, several years before the fall of Babylon in 539 BC, just as Herodotus said.

Later scholarship, however, began pointing out some problems with the cuneiform texts. If the supposed coup of Cyrus was such a definite act, why could not these texts agree on when it happened, and the circumstances of the coup? The Dream Text of Nabonidus said that Cyrus and the Persians defeated the Medes in the third year of [[Nabonidus]] (553/552 BC); <ref>Paul-Alain Beaulieu, ''The Reign of Nabonidus, King of Babylon 556–539 B.C.'' (New Haven CT: Yale University Press, 1989), 108.</ref>the Nabonidus Chronicle seems to place it in Nabonidus’s sixth year (550/549);<ref>Pritchard, ''Ancient Near Eastern Texts'', 305b.</ref> and Herodotus, by giving Cyrus 29 years of reign, would place it in 559 BC (Histories 1.214.3). The Cyrus Cylinder, which is apparently the earliest of these documents, does not say that Cyrus defeated the Medes in war, claiming only that Marduk “made the Guti country  and all the Mandan hordes [Median troops] bow in submission to his (i.e. Cyrus’) feet.”<ref>Pritchard, ''Ancient Near Eastern Texts'', 315b.</ref> According to the Cyropaedia (4.6.1–11) the Gutians were not conquered militarily by Cyrus. Their governor Gobryas/Ugbaru submitted voluntarily because of the wrongs done to him by Belshazzar. The submission of the Medes to Cyrus could be similar, which would be more in keeping with Xenophon’s account that has the Median soldiery willingly serving Cyrus even while they were still under the ''de jure'' rule of their king, [[Cyaxares II]].

Later scholarship, however, began pointing out some problems with the cuneiform texts. If the supposed coup of Cyrus was such a definite act, why could not these texts agree on when it happened, and the circumstances of the coup? The Dream Text of Nabonidus said that Cyrus and the Persians defeated the Medes in the third year of [[Nabonidus]] (553/552 BC); <ref>Paul-Alain Beaulieu, ''The Reign of Nabonidus, King of Babylon 556–539 B.C.'' (New Haven CT: Yale University Press, 1989), 108.</ref>the Nabonidus Chronicle seems to place it in Nabonidus’s sixth year (550/549);<ref>Pritchard, ''Ancient Near Eastern Texts'', 305b.</ref> and Herodotus, by giving Cyrus 29 years of reign, would place it in 559 BC (Histories 1.214.3). The Cyrus Cylinder, which is apparently the earliest of these documents, does not say that Cyrus defeated the Medes in war, claiming only that Marduk “made the Guti country  and all the Mandan hordes [Median troops] bow in submission to his (i.e. Cyrus’) feet.”<ref>Pritchard, ''Ancient Near Eastern Texts'', 315b.</ref> According to the Cyropaedia (4.6.1–11) the Gutians were not conquered militarily by Cyrus. Their governor Gobryas/Ugbaru submitted voluntarily because of the wrongs done to him by Belshazzar. The submission of the Medes to Cyrus could be similar, which would be more in keeping with Xenophon’s account that has the Median soldiery willingly serving Cyrus even while they were still under the ''de jure'' rule of their king, [[Cyaxares II]].

 

=in the Bible=

=in the Bible=

In the Bible, Cyrus is mentioned in 2 Chronicles (36:22, 23) as the monarch who issued a decree allowing the Jews to return to their homeland from Babylon. His name appears repeatedly in the book of Ezra that relates details regarding those who returned from exile. The book of Daniel has three references (Daniel 1:21, 6:28, 10:1) that name him as reigning some time after the end of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, but apparently (according to the usual reading of the texts) with a Median king named [[Darius the Mede|Darius]] intervening between the Babylonian [[Belshazzar]] and the Persian Cyrus.

In the Bible, Cyrus is mentioned in 2 Chronicles (36:22, 23) as the monarch who issued a decree allowing the Jews to return to their homeland from Babylon. His name appears repeatedly in the book of Ezra that relates details regarding those who returned from exile. The book of Daniel has three references (Daniel 1:21, 6:28, 10:1) that name him as reigning some time after the end of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, but apparently (according to the usual reading of the texts) with a Median king named [[Darius the Mede|Darius]] intervening between the Babylonian [[Belshazzar]] and the Persian Cyrus.