Babylonian Chronology, 626 B.C. - A.D. 45 (Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization 24), “II. Kings' Reigns: Nabunaid and Cyrus”
“The Nabunaid Chronicle ... iii 14-18 states that Sippar fell to Persian forces VII/14/17 (Oct. 11, 539), that Babylon fell VII/16/17 (Oct. 13), and that Cyrus entered Babylon VIII/3/17 (Oct. 29). This fixes the end of Nabunaid's reign and the beginning of the reign of Cyrus.”
The date 539 BCE for the fall of Babylon is derived here from the Nabonidus Chronicle together with the last dated tablets of Nabonidus' seventeenth year, exactly the same two classes of document that yield 587/586 for the destruction of Jerusalem.
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Provenance and verification note for Babylonian Chronology, 626 B.C. - A.D. 45 (Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization 24), II. Kings' Reigns: Nabunaid and Cyrus
Confidence note. Read in the ISAC PDF on 19 September 2026; running head 'KINGS' REIGNS 11'. The page also lists Nabonidus tablets dated from 31 August to 14 October 539.
Scan provenance. Free PDF of the volume published by the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures (formerly the Oriental Institute), University of Chicago; CC BY-NC-ND 4.0; DOI https://doi.org/10.83354/68x5-8f30
Corroborated by. src-chr-e-ebl-bm35382, src-chr-e-w68-0815-absolute-539
Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-chr-e-pd-1942-p11-nabonidus-cyrus