Abstract
From mid-539 Bc, Babylonia was preparing for an attack that was to bring about the end of its last indigenous dynasty. It was only in Tasrītu, the seventh month of the local calendar, that the Persian army under Cyrus II the Great ultimately entered Babylonia. Early in that month, Cyrus defeated the Babylonian army at the border town of Opis. Shortly afterwards, on the fourteenth of Tasrītu, the Persians captured Sippar, and in another two days they entered the city of Babylon.1 Thanks to an unusual wealth of sources, the months preceding the Persian Blitzkrieg may be restored in remarkable detail, revealing a fascinating picture of a state on the eve of an invasion. The textual evidence on the period shortly before and after the major Babylonian cities were taken by the Persians was first put together by R. A. Parker and W. H. Dubberstein in
Published Version
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