In 539 BC Cyrus conquered Mesopotamia. No subsequent ruler of the land claimed to be Mesopotamian, or claimed a common heritage with the populace, though being ‘king of Babylon’ continued to hold great significance throughout the Achaemenid period and well into the Hellenistic (Sherwin-White 1987: 8–9).3 Between 334 and 331 BC, Alexander the Great swept across Asia, initiating Macedonian/Greek rule in Mesopotamia until c. 143 BC.4 After a period of uncertainty Mesopotamia fell under stable Parthian rule from 125 BC. Following Roman involvement from AD 115–199, Mesopotamia came to be controlled by the Sassanians from AD 226 until AD 642, when the Arab caliphs came to power.