The Median & Persian Empires

The Median Empire

By 550 B.C.E., Media was controlled by Cyrus.  He then defeated an alliance of Egypt, Babylon, and Lydia by conquering Lydia in 546 B.C.E., Babylon in 539 B.C.E., and penetrating all the way to the Egyptian frontier by 538 B.C.E.

The Persian Empire

Israel’s return to the land was made possible by Cyrus the Great’s conquest of Babylon. In 530 BCE, Cyrus was killed, and his son Cambyses succeeded him.

Cambyses conquered Egypt in 525 BCE, completing the establishment of an empire that would dominate the Near East for 200 years.

In 522 BCE, there was a rebellion in the eastern part of the empire. Cambyses, for some reason, committed suicide. Darius, one of his officers, immediately claimed the throne.