Battle of Opis
Opis, on the Tigris River, Iraq
What happened
The Persian army of Cyrus the Great, with his general Gobryas, fought the army of the Babylonian king Nabonidus. Babylonia was the last great power in Western Asia not yet ruled by Persia. Cyrus's army met the Babylonian army at Opis, a key river crossing on the Tigris, and defeated it. Soon afterwards, the cities of Sippar and Babylon were taken without a fight.
Why it matters
Why it matters: It ended Babylonian independence and opened the road to Babylon. Cyrus became king of Babylonia and its lands.
What came next
Cyrus himself entered Babylon on 29 October. His clay inscription, the Cyrus Cylinder, describes a peaceful takeover and the return of displaced peoples and statues of gods to their homes.
Did you know?
The Cyrus Cylinder was found in 1879 and is now in the British Museum; it has been called the first charter of human rights, but historians mostly see it as a traditional royal building inscription.
Timeline
- September-October 539 BCEPersia wins at Opis.
- 6 October 539 BCESippar is taken without a battle.
- 12 October 539 BCEPersian troops enter Babylon.
- March 1879Hormuzd Rassam finds the Cyrus Cylinder.