Vor 2553 Jahren – Oktober 539 v. Chr.: Perser erobern Babylon

Die »Mutter aller Städte« fällt an die Perser 

Ausgehend von seinem Stammland am Persischen Golf eroberte der iranische Stamm der Perser im 6. vorchristlichen Jahrhundert innerhalb weniger Jahrzehnte ein Reich, das sich schließlich vom Nil bis nach Indien, vom Schwarzen Meer bis zum Arabischen Meer erstreckte. 

Rekonstruierter Palast des Nebukadnezar in Babylon (Foto, 2002)

Der Begründer und Eroberer dieses persischen Großreichs war Kyros II. (600-530 v. Chr.). Er schaltete zunächst die »inneriranische Konkurrenz« aus und besiegte dann den Lyderkönig Krösus, womit er auch die griechischen Städte an der Küste Kleinasiens unter persische Kontrolle brachte. Im Osten gab es kaum Widerstand gegen den persischen Expansionsdrang und in wenigen Jahren war die Grenze zu China erreicht. Schließlich wandte sich Kyros dem Babylonischen Reich zu, das innerlich zerrissen war. Fast ohne Kampfhandlungen gab sich das einst mächtige Reich dem Angreifer preis: Im Oktober 539 v. Chr. zog Kyros mit der persischen Armee in Babylon ein, wo er mit Blumen begrüßt wurde und dem Volk eine Zeit des Friedens verkündete. Der König ging als Kyros der Große, Begründer des ersten Weltreichs, in die Geschichte ein. 

Was am 6. Oktober noch geschah: 
1981: Bei einer Militärparade wird der ägyptische Staatspräsident Anwar as-Sadat von radikalen Moslems ermordet.

 Harenberg – Abenteuer Geschichte 2014

The Assassination of Anwar El Sadat {2:33}

WorldsAssasinations
Hochgeladen am 18.11.2008

On 6 October 1981, the month after the crackdown, Sadat was assassinated during the annual victory parade in Cairo. A fatwā approving the assassination had been obtained from Omar Abdel-Rahman, a cleric later convicted in the U.S. for his role in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Sadat was protected by four layers of security and the army parade should have been safe due to ammunition-seizure rules. However, the officers in charge of that procedure were on hajj to Mecca.

As air force Mirage jets flew overhead, distracting the crowd, a troop truck halted before the presidential reviewing stand, and a lieutenant strode forward. Sadat stood to receive his salute, whereupon the assassins rose from the truck, throwing grenades and firing assault rifle rounds. The attack lasted about two minutes. Photographer Bill Foley captured one of the last shots of a living Sadat. The photograph is titled "The Last Smile." The lead assassin Khalid Islambouli shouted "Death to Pharaoh!" as he ran towards the stand and shot Sadat. After he fell to the floor people around Sadat threw chairs on his body to try to protect him from the bullets. Eleven others were killed, including the Cuban ambassador a Omani general and a Coptic Orthodox bishop, and 28 were wounded, including James Tully, the Irish Minister for Defence, and four U.S. military liaison officers. Sadat was then rushed to a hospital, but was declared dead within hours. This was the first time in Egyptian history that the head of state had been assassinated by an Egyptian citizen. Two of the attackers were killed and the others were arrested by military police on-site. Islambouli was later found guilty and was executed in April 1982.

In conjunction with the assassination, an insurrection was organized in Asyut in Upper Egypt. Rebels took control of the city for a few days and 68 policemen and soldiers were killed in the fighting. Government control was not restored until paratroopers from Cairo arrived. Most of the militants convicted of fighting received light sentences and served only three years in prison.