Changes

The details of the text are probably not entirely factual – it seems difficult to believe that the Babylonian King Nabonidus would have defiled the god of his city – but it was politically important for the conquering Achaemenid king to patronize Marduk to some extent. <ref> Krebsbach, Jared. “Achaemenid Persian Patronage of Egyptian Cults and Religious Institutions in the Twenty-Seventh Dynasty: A Study of Political Acumen in the Ancient World.” In <i>Religion in the Achaemenid Persian Empire: Emerging Judaisms and Trends.</i> Edited by Diana Edelman, Anne Fitzpatrick-McKinley and Philippe Guillaume. (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2016), p. 330</ref> The concept of religious tolerance for political gain established by Cyrus was followed and expanded by Darius the Great during his long reign.

===Darius the Great and Religion===