Cyrus II Cyrus II, king of Persia (559–530 BC), founded the great Persian Empire. His father was king of Persia, a small nation that was subject to Media, and his mother was the daughter of the king of the Medes. Cyrus conquered the Medes in 549 BC and combined the two nations into one. He conquered Lydia in Asia Minor in 547 BC, then turned to the east and brought Parthia and part of India into the Persian Empire. Finally, on October 29, 539 BC, Cyrus conquered the city of Babylon and brought Babylonia into his empire (see Dan 5:30-31). After conquering Babylon, Cyrus issued a decree that allowed the Jewish people to return home and rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. The part of this decree dealing with the Jews has been recorded in 2 Chronicles 36:22-23 and Ezra 1:1-4. This practice is confirmed by the Cyrus Cylinder, a barrel that was discovered at Babylon in 1879–82, which describes Cyrus’s policy regarding conquered peoples. Isaiah named Cyrus as Judah’s future deliverer (Isa 44:28–45:13) and even called him the Lord’s anointed (Isa 45:1, Hebrew mashiakh, “messiah”). Israel regarded Cyrus as called and empowered by God to free them. Cyrus was not the Messiah, but what h...

The Medes and Persians The Medes (around 850–549 BC) The early Medes left no written records. According to an inscription from Shalmaneser III of Assyria (858–824 BC), the Medes had settled around Ecbatana, their capital (modern Hamadan, Iran), by the mid-800s BC. The Medes were renowned horse breeders, so Shalmaneser raided their territory to steal large herds of fine horses. The Medes were subject to the Assyrians until the late 600s, when they gained their independence as Assyria weakened. The Persians (around 700–549 BC) Around 700 BC, a small kingdom of Persia was established under Achaemenes, who ruled around 700~675 BC. His son Teispes (675~640 BC) was under the domination of the Medes, who were gathering forces to overthrow Assyria. But trouble for the Medes later freed Teispes from their control. Cambyses (600~559 BC), son of Cyrus I and grandson of Teispes, married the daughter of the Median king Astyages; their son was Cyrus II (559–530 BC), who ascended the throne of Persia in 559 BC. The Medo-Persian Empire (549–331 BC) Cyrus II fought and defeated his grandfather, Astyages of Media, in 549 BC. He made Ecbatana in Media his capital and set up his arch...