Cyrus
      n : Persian prince who was defeated in battle by his brother
          Artaxerxes II (424-401 BC) [syn: Cyrus the Younger]


 Cyrus
    (Heb. Ko'resh), the celebrated "King of Persia" (Elam) who was
    conqueror of Babylon, and issued the decree of liberation to the
    Jews (Ezra 1:1, 2). He was the son of Cambyses, the prince of
    Persia, and was born about B.C. 599. In the year B.C. 559 he
    became king of Persia, the kingdom of Media being added to it
    partly by conquest. Cyrus was a great military leader, bent on
    universal conquest. Babylon fell before his army (B.C. 538) on
    the night of Belshazzar's feast (Dan. 5:30), and then the
    ancient dominion of Assyria was also added to his empire (cf.,
    "Go up, O Elam", Isa.21:2).

      Hitherto the great kings of the earth had only oppressed the
    Jews. Cyrus was to them as a "shepherd" (Isa. 44:28; 45:1). God
    employed him in doing service to his ancient people. He may
    posibly have gained, through contact with the Jews, some
    knowledge of their religion.

      The "first year of Cyrus" (Ezra 1:1) is not the year of his
    elevation to power over the Medes, nor over the Persians, nor
    the year of the fall of Babylon, but the year succeeding the two
    years during which "Darius the Mede" was viceroy in Babylon
    after its fall. At this time only (B.C. 536) Cyrus became actual
    king over Palestine, which became a part of his Babylonian
    empire. The edict of Cyrus for the rebuilding of Jerusalem
    marked a great epoch in the history of the Jewish people (2 Chr.
    36:22, 23; Ezra 1:1-4; 4:3; 5:13-17; 6:3-5).

      This decree was discovered "at Achmetha [R.V. marg.,
    "Ecbatana"], in the palace that is in the province of the Medes"
    (Ezra 6:2). A chronicle drawn up just after the conquest of
    Babylonia by Cyrus, gives the history of the reign of Nabonidus
    (Nabunahid), the last king of Babylon, and of the fall of the
    Babylonian empire. In B.C. 538 there was a revolt in Southern
    Babylonia, while the army of Cyrus entered the country from the
    north. In June the Babylonian army was completely defeated at
    Opis, and immediately afterwards Sippara opened its gates to the
    conqueror. Gobryas (Ugbaru), the governor of Kurdistan, was then
    sent to Babylon, which surrendered "without fighting," and the
    daily services in the temples continued without a break. In
    October, Cyrus himself arrived, and proclaimed a general
    amnesty, which was communicated by Gobryas to "all the province
    of Babylon," of which he had been made governor. Meanwhile,
    Nabonidus, who had concealed himself, was captured, but treated
    honourably; and when his wife died, Cambyses, the son of Cyrus,
    conducted the funeral. Cyrus now assumed the title of "king of
    Babylon," claimed to be the descendant of the ancient kings, and
    made rich offerings to the temples. At the same time he allowed
    the foreign populations who had been deported to Babylonia to
    return to their old homes, carrying with them the images of
    their gods. Among these populations were the Jews, who, as they
    had no images, took with them the sacred vessels of the temple.



 Cyrus, as miserable; as heir