Fall of Babylon
The fall of Babylon was the decisive event that marked the total defeat of the Neo-Babylonian Empire to the Achaemenid Empire in 539 BCE. Nabonidus, the final Babylonian king and son of the Assyrian priestess Adad-guppi, ascended to the throne in 556 BCE, after overthrowing his predecessor Labashi-Marduk. For long periods, he would entrust rule to his son Belshazzar, a capable soldier but a poor politician who lost the support of the priesthood and the military class. The Persians had been growing in strength to the east under the leadership of Cyrus the Great, who soon led a military expedition to conquer Babylon. In October 539, after the Battle of Opis, the Persian army triumphantly entered the capital city of Babylon and Babylonia was incorporated into the Persian empire as a satrapy. As recorded in the Cyrus Cylinder, Cyrus vowed to respect the Babylonian people. He also allowed exiled peoples to return to their homelands, including the captives from Judah. He won the loyalty of the Babylonian elite and was viewed as the legitimate successor of the ancient Babylonian kings.
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