The Watchtower, “When Was Ancient Jerusalem Destroyed?-Part One, box 'A Pivotal Date in History'”
“The date 539 B.C.E. when Cyrus II conquered Babylon is calculated using the testimony of: Ancient historical sources and cuneiform tablets: Diodorus of Sicily ... Herodotus ... Cuneiform tablets show that Cyrus ruled Babylon for nine years before his death. ... Confirmation by a cuneiform tablet: A Babylonian astronomical clay tablet (BM 33066) confirms the date of Cyrus' death in 530 B.C.E.”
In the same article that questions classical historians, Ptolemy's canon and astronomical tablets, the organisation establishes its own pivotal date from two classical historians and a Babylonian astronomical tablet.
Official source (opens in new tab)
Provenance and verification note for The Watchtower, When Was Ancient Jerusalem Destroyed?-Part One, box 'A Pivotal Date in History'
Confidence note. Read in full in the Watchtower Online Library text on 19 September 2026; the box is marked '[Box/Pictures on page 28]'. The credit line reads 'Tablet: (c) The Trustees of the British Museum'.
Corroborated by. src-chr-e-ebl-bm33066, src-chr-e-w68-0815-absolute-539
Notes. The article also concedes of BM 33066 that 'this tablet contains some errors regarding the astronomical positions' while still using it.
Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-chr-e-w11-1001-pivotal-539