No, I’m not talking about Miley Cyrus, great artist as she is. Cyrus II, or Cyrus the Great, ruled Persia from 600 to 530 B.C. On this day in 539 B.C. he marched into Babylon, freeing Jewish captives and allowing them to return home. Records of Babylon stretch back as far as the twenty-third century B.C. That’s even before Boney M had a hit with Rivers of Babylon. The ruins of Babylon are on the bank of the River Euphrates near the town of Al-Hillah, about fifty-five miles south of Baghdad in Iraq.
Even though he conquered much of the known world, Cyrus was known for respecting the customs and religious traditions of the people that he conquered. He issued an Edict of Restoration which authorised and encouraged the Jewish people to return to Judah. According to Isaiah chapter 45 verse 1, Cyrus was anointed by Yahweh (God) for this task as a biblical Messiah. He is the only non-Jewish figure to be revered in this way. Cyrus’s successor was Cambyses II. Bardiya succeeded Cambyses II, and in turn, Darius the Great succeeded Bardiya.
I posted about my new writing circle Milktown Writers recently. The writing prompt that we have been given for our next meeting is Marathon. So I’ve written the most dreadful poem about the Battle of Marathon. It really is un-printable but I enjoyed the research. The connection is that Darius was the Persian king defeated by the Athenians at the Battle of Marathon in 490 B.C.
I had not appreciated how important the Battle of Marathon is for us today. If you include the armed oarsmen and sailors that Persia had in reserve at the battle, the the Athenians were outnumbered around thirteen to one. The Athenian general Militades made himself the bait for the Persians by weakening the centre of his line and putting his best forces on the flanks. When the Persians attacked his centre, they were swooped on and crushed by his flanks. It was an incredible act of courage and military strategy. Athens was the birthplace of both philosophy and democracy, so without Militades would we have the democracy we enjoy today?
If we did not have democracy, but were still ruled by absolute monarchy, then I could but hope that they ruled in the style of Cyrus the Great, respecting the traditions and religious customs of the people conquered.