Cyrus the Great Walked into Babylon as Though It Were His Own Home

Cyrus the Great walked into Babylon as though it were his own home. Quite literally: without a fight, by way of the river, past the guards. He conquered Babylon in 539 BC, exploiting the discontent of the population and diverting the course of the Euphrates so that his troops could enter the city along the dried-up riverbed. The capture passed almost without battle, and Cyrus was greeted as a liberator.

But John Martin (1789–1854), master of the epic and the gloomy canvas, painted it as an apocalypse all the same. Because dull invasions are not his style.

Everything in the picture is pure Martin: lightning, menacing skies, collapsing towers, panic in the streets. In the distance Belshazzar, the last Chaldean ruler, watches the approaching end of his world.

Although the subject of the canvas is inspired by the real events of 539 BC, Martin shows not merely a military victory but the catastrophe of a civilisation, and does so on a scale that Hollywood is still trying to match.

If next time someone tells you that "history is boring", show them how it is painted with lightning.