Bible scholars, in what year did we first realize that Cyrus took Babylon in 539 B.C.E.?
Any additional details, such as who made that discovery, would be greatly appreciated,
Any additional details, such as who made that discovery, would be greatly appreciated,
User
Well...who do you mean by "we"?
Obviously it was first realized in 539 B.C.E.
http://www.livius.org/ct-cz/cyrus_I/babylon01.html
As far as I know, historical documents dating the conquest to that date have always existed (been in circulation) in the intervening centuries. Of course there was probably some difficultly in accurately relating (translating) the date given in those ancient historical documents to our modern dating system.
Note that this 1799 tract (pg 83) dates it to 538, so we (English speakers) have had a pretty good idea of the date at least for several hundred years.
https://books.google.com/books?id=Cctvu3VfMpAC&pg=PA80&dq=cyrus+babylon&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjKyYm6wabRAhVpwVQKHaxQByAQ6AEIIjAB#v=onepage&q=scepter%20departed%20from%20his%20house&f=false
Annsan_In_Him
Cyrus II, the Great, was king of Persia from 559 to 529/530 B.C. and he was the founder of that great Persian empire. From Near Eastern texts, historians know that he was king of Persia while it was still a small nation. His father was king of Persia and his mother was the daughter of the king of the Medes.
Cyrus conquered the Medes in 549 B.C. and combined the two nations into one. He conquered Lydia in Asia Minor in 547 B.C., then turned to the east and brought Parthia and part of India into the Persian empire. Then, on October 29th, 539 B.C., Cyrus conquered the city of Babylon as described in the Bible in Daniel 5:30-31, but historians have known all about that from independent artifacts. There is the Cyrus Cylinder which has his decree on it to allow the Jewish captives in Babylon to return to their land, to restore the city of Jerusalem and to build its walls and temple. The part of this decree involving the Jews has been recorded in the Old Testament in 2 Chronicles 36:22-23 and Ezra 1:1-3. Bear in mind that sometimes the Bible speaks of Cyrus II by his Median name, Darius (as in Daniel ch. 6).
Historians have long known of such events and dates. I have here a Cyclopedia first published in 1897 with some such details about Cyrus the Great. The Cyrus Cylinder was first discovered in 1879 (and is housed in the British Museum, London). Much earlier, The Cyropaedia, (The Education of Cyrus) sometimes spelled Cyropedia, was a partly fictional biography of Cyrus the Great, written around 370 BC by the Athenian gentleman-soldier, scholar and writer, Xenophon. You can find out about it at the link below. I just copy a small bit to show the kind of discrepancies in Xenophon, but I do not know if he gave a date for the Babylonian conquest.
"A number of the so-called “facts” included in it are in error. For example, the Median empire is said to have been led by a weak king and to have come to a peaceful end when Cyrus married the daughter of Cyaxares (8.5.28; cf. Breitenbach, col. 1709), yet a son of Astyages named Cyaxares, who succeeded his father as king of Media, is otherwise unknown. According to Babylonian sources (Nabonidus Chronicle I, pp. 24-32; inscription on the Cyrus cylinder, v. 13; see cyrus iv) and to Herodotus (1.127, 1.130), Cyrus overthrew the last king of the Medes, Astyages, in battle; Herodotus mentioned (1.76, 1.79-80) two battles between Cyrus and Croesus, whereas in the Cyropaedia only one, resulting in the conquest of Lydia, was reported (7.1, 7.2,2). ... Egypt was conquered not by Cyrus (pace Cyropaedia 8.6.20) but by his son and successor, Cambyses (529-22 b.c.e.), in 525. Many of the Persian names in the Cyropaedia are otherwise known only from the 4th century, if at all, or are even obvious fabrications by Xenophon (e.g., Alkeunas, Aglaitadas; for a discussion of the authenticity of such names, cf. Breitenbach, cols. 1712-14). Contrary to Herodotus’ report that Cyrus died in battle (1.214; cf. Ctesias, Jacoby, Fragmente no. 688 fr. 9.7), Xenophon described his dying at home, apparently of old age (8.7.1-28). This list of historical “errors” is scarcely counterbalanced by Xenophon’s better information on the identity of Cyrus’ father (in agreement with the Cyrus cylinder), the Persian king Cambyses (cf. Herodotus, 1.107: an ordinary Persian; Ctesias, apud Nicolaus Damascenus, Jacoby, Fragmente no. 90 fr. 66.3: a man of low birth married to a goatherd and driven by poverty to robbery). ... All these factors have led classical scholars of the Cyropaedia to judge it as a work of fiction, with scarcely any historical content." [quote ends]
lilly
read the old testament and look for yourself. Or better yet, research the true history and not biblical fanatics.
james o
You mean you believe he actually did - in THAT year???