Sykes' History of Persia - Heritage Institute

i6o HISTORY OF PERSIA
The Eastern Campaigns of Cyrus.— Shortly after the
capture of Sardes, and before securing the submission of
the Greek cities of Asia Minor, Cyrus hastened due east ;
and for a period of five or six years, from 545 b.c. to
539 B.C., he is almost lost to sight, waging distant wars
some unrecorded
against almost unknown tribes.^ Perhaps
invasion threatened his Eastern provinces, or possibly he
was training an army needlessly great for the conquest of
Babylon, being overawed its by ancient name and
reputation and unaware of its utter weakness. Such
information as we possess concerning this period of his
career is of slight
historical value ; but the legend
according to which Bactria was first attacked and peace
was made when it was known that Cyrus had wedded the
daughter of Astyages may contain some nucleus of fact.
The Sakae, too, were subdued, and the
greater part of
what is now Afghanistan. The tradition that the Great
King lost an army in the wastes of Makran is of little
but this barren country was added to the Persian
weight ;
Empire, possibly after one or more successful expeditions.
The Surrender of Babylon^ 538
b.c.—We have seen that
the last king of Babylon was a tool of the priesthood.
His ruling passion was the discovery of the cylinders of
the ancient sanctuaries and their restoration at the cost
of much levying of taxes. Such a man would tend to
a mere cypher, and it appears that the real power lay
in the hands of his son, Belshazzar. The Babylonians
seem to have been weary of the prevailing discord. We
know that the Jews were excited by their prophets to
expect the downfall of Babylon, the oppressor, and we can
imagine that this feeling was shared by thousands of
exiles from other lands. Moreover, Nabonidus alienated I
a large section of the priests by bringing into Babylon the 1
gods of Ur, Uruk and Eridu, which lay outside the!
defended area of Nebuchadnezzar. This is clearly shown
in the so-called " cylinder of Cyrus." In this, his proclamation
to the people of Babylon, he represents himself
^ How and Wells, in op. cit. i. p. 135, are of opinion that this expedition took place
after the capture of Babylon.