Page:Herodotus and the Empires of the East.djvu/91

Rh king, and upon his son, Cambyses. Furthermore, he states how he brought back to their old sanctuaries the images of the gods which had been removed from the different cities of the empire by Nabû-na'id; and, finally prays all these divinities to intercede for him and his son, Cambyses, before Merodach and Nebo, the tutelary gods of Babylon and Borsippa.

This whole account is in fullest accord with that Oriental despotism which refers all its doings to the councils of the Almighty, and considers itself as the instrument of Providence. The real motive which induced Cyrus was, doubtless, the instinct of self-preservation. When he saw Babylon, Lydia, Egypt, and Lacedæmon in alliance, and knew that an attack by the Babylonians would sooner or later be made against the Elamite provinces, the Persian king had to fight for his own existence.

Owing to the discordant elements in Babylon it is not unlikely that Cyrus was hailed by a part of the population as a deliverer from Babylonian servitude. The belief that Cyrus was a special factor in the hand of God to punish proud Babylon is repeatedly met with in the prophets of the Old Testament. (Isa. xli. 2 fg.; xliv. 28; xlv. i; 2 Chron. xxxvi. 22; Jer. xxv. 11.) Furthermore, the reproaches in the Cyrus cylinder directed against Nabû-na'id are clearly traceable to great dissatisfaction on the part of the Babylonians, especially on the part of the priesthood of Merodach. We are uncertain as to what was the "oppression" of the people referred to in this inscription. (1. 8.) Probably the king had laid heavy burdens upon them in order to indulge his fancy for building. That he should give over a part of his kingdom to his son