Battle of Opis

E66459

The Battle of Opis was a decisive 539 BC engagement in which Cyrus the Great’s Persian forces defeated the Neo-Babylonian army, leading to the fall of Babylon and the expansion of the Achaemenid Empire.


Statements (41)

Predicate Object
instanceOf battle
military engagement
associatedWith Achaemenid Empire
Cyrus the Great
Nabonidus
Neo-Babylonian Empire
belligerent Achaemenid Empire
Neo-Babylonian Empire
campaignObjective conquest of the Neo-Babylonian Empire
chronologicalPosition shortly before the capture of Babylon in 539 BC
combatant Babylonian forces
surface form: Neo-Babylonian army

Persian forces
commander Cyrus the Great
conflictIn Neo-Babylonian–Persian War
consequence end of the Neo-Babylonian Empire
expansion of the Achaemenid Empire
Fall of Babylon (539 BCE)
surface form: fall of Babylon
date 539 BC
era 6th century BC
followedBy Fall of Babylon (539 BCE)
surface form: Fall of Babylon (539 BC)
geopoliticalImpact shifted regional dominance from Babylon to Persia
historicalPeriod Achaemenid conquest of Mesopotamia
legacy marked the transition from Neo-Babylonian to Persian rule in Mesopotamia
locatedInPresentDay Iraq
location near Opis
on the Tigris River
opposingCommander Nabonidus
outcome defeat of the Neo-Babylonian army
partOf Cyrus the Great’s conquest of Babylon
precededBy Persian advance into Mesopotamia
primarySource Babylonian chronicles
region Lower Mesopotamia
relatedEvent Fall of Babylon (539 BCE)
surface form: Cyrus’s entry into Babylon
relatedRuler Cyrus the Great
surface form: Cyrus II of Persia

Nabonidus
surface form: Nabonidus of Babylon
result decisive Persian victory
significance pivotal event in the rise of the Achaemenid Empire
secured Persian control over Mesopotamia
theatre Mesopotamia
typeOfWarfare land battle
year 539 BC

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Cyrus the Great battle Battle of Opis
Fall of Babylon (539 BCE) precededBy Battle of Opis