The site of the battle was at the city of Opis on the river Tigris, located about 50 miles (80 km) north of modern Baghdad. The city is thought to have been a preferred point to cross the river; Xenophon describes a bridge there. The timing of the invasion may have been determined by the ebb of the Mesopotamian rivers, which are at their lowest levels - and therefore are easiest to cross - in the early autumn.
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| - The site of the battle was at the city of Opis on the river Tigris, located about 50 miles (80 km) north of modern Baghdad. The city is thought to have been a preferred point to cross the river; Xenophon describes a bridge there. The timing of the invasion may have been determined by the ebb of the Mesopotamian rivers, which are at their lowest levels - and therefore are easiest to cross - in the early autumn.
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dbkwik:military/pr...iPageUsesTemplate
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Partof
| - the Campaigns of Cyrus the Great
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Date
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Commander
| - Cyrus the Great
- unknown others
- Belshazzar of Babylonia? †?,
- Gobryas of Gutium,
- Nabonidus of Babylonia,
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Territory
| - Neo-Babylonian Empire annexed by Persia.
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Caption
| - The ancient Near East in 540 BC, prior to the Persian invasion of Babylonia
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Casualties
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Result
| - Decisive Persian victory.
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combatant
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Place
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Conflict
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abstract
| - The site of the battle was at the city of Opis on the river Tigris, located about 50 miles (80 km) north of modern Baghdad. The city is thought to have been a preferred point to cross the river; Xenophon describes a bridge there. The timing of the invasion may have been determined by the ebb of the Mesopotamian rivers, which are at their lowest levels - and therefore are easiest to cross - in the early autumn. Opis was a place of considerable strategic importance; apart from the river crossing, it was at one end of the Median Wall, a fortified defensive barrier north of Babylon that had been built several decades earlier by Nebuchadnezzar II. Control of Opis would have enabled Cyrus to break through the Median Wall and open the road to the capital.
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