Cyrus

5 definitions found

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  Cyrus
       n : Persian prince who was defeated in battle by his brother
           Artaxerxes II (424-401 BC) [syn: {Cyrus the Younger}]

From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]:



  Cyrus
     (Heb. Ko'resh), the celebrated "King of Persia" (Elam) who was
     conqueror of Babylon, and issued the decree of liberation to the
     Jews (Ezra 1:1, 2). He was the son of Cambyses, the prince of
     Persia, and was born about B.C. 599. In the year B.C. 559 he
     became king of Persia, the kingdom of Media being added to it
     partly by conquest. Cyrus was a great military leader, bent on
     universal conquest. Babylon fell before his army (B.C. 538) on
     the night of Belshazzar's feast (Dan. 5:30), and then the
     ancient dominion of Assyria was also added to his empire (cf.,
     "Go up, O Elam", Isa.21:2).
     
       Hitherto the great kings of the earth had only oppressed the
     Jews. Cyrus was to them as a "shepherd" (Isa. 44:28; 45:1). God
     employed him in doing service to his ancient people. He may
     posibly have gained, through contact with the Jews, some
     knowledge of their religion.
     
       The "first year of Cyrus" (Ezra 1:1) is not the year of his
     elevation to power over the Medes, nor over the Persians, nor
     the year of the fall of Babylon, but the year succeeding the two
     years during which "Darius the Mede" was viceroy in Babylon
     after its fall. At this time only (B.C. 536) Cyrus became actual
     king over Palestine, which became a part of his Babylonian
     empire. The edict of Cyrus for the rebuilding of Jerusalem
     marked a great epoch in the history of the Jewish people (2 Chr.
     36:22, 23; Ezra 1:1-4; 4:3; 5:13-17; 6:3-5).
     
       This decree was discovered "at Achmetha [R.V. marg.,
     "Ecbatana"], in the palace that is in the province of the Medes"
     (Ezra 6:2). A chronicle drawn up just after the conquest of
     Babylonia by Cyrus, gives the history of the reign of Nabonidus
     (Nabunahid), the last king of Babylon, and of the fall of the
     Babylonian empire. In B.C. 538 there was a revolt in Southern
     Babylonia, while the army of Cyrus entered the country from the
     north. In June the Babylonian army was completely defeated at
     Opis, and immediately afterwards Sippara opened its gates to the
     conqueror. Gobryas (Ugbaru), the governor of Kurdistan, was then
     sent to Babylon, which surrendered "without fighting," and the
     daily services in the temples continued without a break. In
     October, Cyrus himself arrived, and proclaimed a general
     amnesty, which was communicated by Gobryas to "all the province
     of Babylon," of which he had been made governor. Meanwhile,
     Nabonidus, who had concealed himself, was captured, but treated
     honourably; and when his wife died, Cambyses, the son of Cyrus,
     conducted the funeral. Cyrus now assumed the title of "king of
     Babylon," claimed to be the descendant of the ancient kings, and
     made rich offerings to the temples. At the same time he allowed
     the foreign populations who had been deported to Babylonia to
     return to their old homes, carrying with them the images of
     their gods. Among these populations were the Jews, who, as they
     had no images, took with them the sacred vessels of the temple.
     

From Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary (late 1800's) [hitchcock]:

  Cyrus, as miserable; as heir
  

From U.S. Gazetteer (1990) [gazetteer]:

  Cyrus, MN (city, FIPS 14446)
    Location: 45.61514 N, 95.73698 W
    Population (1990): 328 (162 housing units)
    Area: 0.8 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
    Zip code(s): 56323

From U.S. Gazetteer Places (2000) [gaz-place]:

  Cyrus, MN -- U.S. city in Minnesota
     Population (2000):    303
     Housing Units (2000): 164
     Land area (2000):     0.288414 sq. miles (0.746990 sq. km)
     Water area (2000):    0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km)
     Total area (2000):    0.288414 sq. miles (0.746990 sq. km)
     FIPS code:            14446
     Located within:       Minnesota (MN), FIPS 27
     Location:             45.615099 N, 95.738747 W
     ZIP Codes (1990):     56323
     Note: some ZIP codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
     Headwords:
      Cyrus, MN
      Cyrus