| Cyrus the Great (circa 600-529
BC), king of Persia (550-529 BC). He was the son of Cambyses I, a descendant
of Achaemenes (Hakhamanish) (flourished 7th century BC), and a member of
the Achaemenid dynasty. When Cyrus became (558 BC) ruler of the Persian
district of Anshan, the district was subject to the Medes; five years later
he led a rebellion against the Medes that resulted in the capture of King
Astyages (reigned about 584-c. 550 BC) and the overthrow (550 BC) of the
Median Empire. Thereafter Cyrus called himself king of Persia and ruled
a territory extending from the Halys River in Asia Minor, eastern border
of Lydia, to the Babylonian Empire on the south and east. Babylon, Egypt,
Lydia, and the city-state of Sparta in Greece combined to curb the power
of Cyrus, but in 546 BC the Persians added Lydia to their realm, and in
539 BC the kingdom of Babylon fell to Cyrus. The Persian Empire was the
most powerful state in the world until its conquest two centuries later
by Alexander the Great. Cyrus was an able and merciful ruler. Significant
among his deeds was his granting of permission to the Jews to return from
their exile in Babylon to their native Israel to rebuild the Temple of
Solomon. Cyrus died while leading an expedition against the eastern tribe,
the Massagetae, and was succeeded by his son, who became Cambyses II. "Cyrus
the Great," Microsoft(R) Encarta(R) 97 Encyclopedia. (c) 1993-1996 Microsoft
Corporation. All rights reserved. |
