Cyrus the Great

Cyrus the Great
King of Aryavrata, King of Persia, King of Anshan, King of Media, King of Babylon, King of Sumer and Akkad, King of the four corners of the World
File:Portrait of Cyrus the Great.jpg
Reign	559 BC–530 BC (30 years)
Coronation	Anshan, Persis
Predecessor	Cambyses I
Successor	Cambyses II
Burial	Pasargadae
Issue	Cambyses II Bardiya Artystone Atossa Unnamed unknown
House	Achaemenid
Father	Cambyses I
Mother	Mandane of Media or Argoste of Persia

Cyrus the Great (Old Persian: 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁, IPA: [kʰuːruʃ], Kūruš, Persian: کوروش بزرگ, Kūrosh-e-Bozorg) (c. 600 BC or 576 BC – December 530 BC), also known as Cyrus II or Cyrus of Persia, was the founder of the Persian Empire under the Achaemenid dynasty.

It was under his own rule that the empire embraced all the previous civilized states of the ancient Near East, expanded vastly and eventually conquered most of Southwest Asia and much of Central Asia, parts of Europe and Caucasus. From the Mediterranean sea and the Hellespont in the west to the Indus River in the east, Cyrus the Great created the largest empire the world had yet seen.

The reign of Cyrus the Great lasted between 29 and 31 years. Cyrus built his empire by conquering first the Median Empire, then the Lydian Empire and eventually the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Either before or after Babylon, he led an expedition into central Asia, which resulted in major campaigns that brought "into subjection every nation without exception." Cyrus did not venture into Egypt, as he himself died in battle, fighting the Massagetae along the Syr Darya in December 530 BC. He was succeeded by his son, Cambyses II, who managed to add to the empire by conquering Egypt, Nubia, and Cyrenaica during his short rule.

Cyrus the Great respected the customs and religions of the lands he conquered. It is said that in universal history, the role of the Achaemenid empire founded by Cyrus lies in its very successful model for centralized administration and establishing a government working to the advantage and profit of its subjects. In fact, the administration of the empire through satraps and the vital principle of forming a government at Pasargadae, were the works of Cyrus. Aside from his own nation, Persia (modern Iran), Cyrus the Great also left a lasting legacy on the Jewish religion through his Edict of Restoration, where because of his policies in Babylonia, he is refered to by the people of the jewish faith, as "the anointed of the Lord."

Cyrus the Great is also well recognized for his achievements in human rights, politics, and military strategy, as well as his influence on both Eastern and Western civilizations. To date Cyrus the Great and his historical signature define the national identity for many Iranians. Cyrus and indeed the Achaemenid influence in the ancient world also extended as far as Athens, where many Athenians, adopted aspects of the Achaemenid Persian culture as their own, in a reciprocal cultural exchange.

Background

Etymology

Main article: Etymology of Cyrus

"I am Cyrus the king, an Achaemenid." in Old Persian, Elamite and Aramaic languages. It is carved in a column in Pasargadae.

The word Cyrus is the latinized version derived from the ancient Greek form, originally derived from the Old Persian (likely originally from the Elamite) word Kurash, meaning to bestow care.

The name has been recorded in ancient inscriptions in many different languages. The ancient Greek historians Ctesias and Plutarch noted that Cyrus was named from Kuros, the Sun, a concept which has been interpreted as meaning "like the Sun" by noting its relation to the Persian noun for sun, khor, while using -vash as a suffix of likeness. However, Karl Hoffmann and Rüdiger Schmitt of the Encyclopædia Iranica have suggested the translation "humiliator of the enemy in verbal contest."

In Iran, Cyrus the Great is always referred to as "Kūrošé Bozorg" and/or "Kūrošé Kabīr" —meaning "Cyrus the Great". In the Bible, he is known as simply Koresh (Hebrew: כורש).

Dynastic history

See also: Achaemenes and Teispids

The four winged guardian figure representing Cyrus the Great, a bas-relief found at Pasargadae on top of which was once inscribed in three languages the sentence "I am Cyrus the king, an Achaemenian."

The Persian domination and kingdom in the Iranian plateau started by an extension of the Achaemenid dynasty, who expanded their earlier domination possibly from the 9th century BC onward. The eponymous founder of this dynasty was Achaemenes (from Old Persian Haxāmaniš). Achaemenids are "descendants of Achaemenes" as Darius the Great, the ninth king of the dynasty, traces his genealogy to him and declares "for this reason we are called Achaemenids". Achaemenes built the state Parsumash in the southwest of Iran and was succeeded by Teispes, who took the title "King of Anshan" after seizing Anshan city and enlarging his kingdom further to include Pars proper. Ancient documents mention that Teispes had a son called Cyrus I, who also succeeded his father as "king of Anshan". Cyrus I had a full brother whose name is recorded as Ariaramnes.

In 600 BC, Cyrus I was succeeded by his son Cambyses I who reigned until 559 BC. Cyrus the Great was a son of Cambyses I, who named his son after his father, Cyrus I. There are several inscriptions of Cyrus the Great and later kings that refer to Cambyses I as the "great king" and "king of Anshan". Among these are some passages in the Cyrus cylinder where Cyrus calls himself "son of Cambyses, great king, king of Anshan". Another inscription (from CM's) mentions Cambyses I as "mighty king" and "an Achaemenian", which according to bulk of scholarly opinion was engraved under Darius and considered as a later forgery by Darius. However "Cambyses II"'s maternal grandfather Pharnaspes is named by Herodotus as "an Achaemenian" too. Xenophon's account in Cyropædia further names Cambyses's wife as Mandane and mentions Cambyses as king of Persia. These agree with Cyrus's own inscriptions, as Anshan and Parsa were different names of the same land. These also agree with other non-Iranian accounts, except at one point from Herodotus stating that Cambyses was not a king but a "Persian of good family". However, in some other passages, Herodotus's account is wrong also on the name of the son of Chishpish, which he mentions as Cambyses but, according to modern scholars, should be Cyrus I.

The traditional view based on archaeological research and the genealogy given in the Behistun Inscription and by Herodotus holds that Cyrus the Great was an Achaemenian. However it has been suggested by M. Waters that Cyrus is unrelated to Achaemenes or Darius the Great and that his family was of Teispid and Anshanite origin instead of Achaemenid.

Early life

The best-known date for the birth of Cyrus the Great is either 600-599 BC or 576-575 BC. Little is known of his early years, as there are only a few sources known to detail that part of his life, and they have been damaged or lost.

Herodotus' story of Cyrus's early life belongs to a genre of legends in which abandoned children of noble birth, such as Oedipus and Romulus and Remus, return to claim their royal positions. Similar to other culture's heroes and founders of great empires, folk traditions abound regarding his family background. According to Herodotus, he was the grandson of the Median king Astyages and was brought up by humble herding folk. In another version, he was presented as the son of a poor family that worked in the Median court. These folk stories are, however, contradicted by Cyrus's own testimony, according to which he was preceded as king of Persia by his father, grandfather and great-grandfather.

After the birth of Cyrus the Great, Astyages had a dream that his Magi interpreted as a sign that his grandson would eventually overthrow him. He then ordered his steward Harpagus to kill the infant. Harpagus, morally unable to kill a newborn, summoned the Mardian Mitradates (which the historian Nicolaus of Damascus calls Atradates), a royal bandit herdsman from the mountainous region bordering the Saspires, and ordered him to leave the baby to die in the mountains. Luckily, the herdsman and his wife (whom Herodotus calls Cyno in Greek, and Spaca-o in Median) took pity and raised the child as their own, passing off their recently stillbirth infant as the murdered Cyrus. For the origin of Cyrus the Great's mother, Herodotus identifies Mandane of Media, and Ctesias insists that she is fully Persian but gives no name, while Nicolaus gives the name "Argoste" as Atradates' wife; whether this figure represents Cyno or Cambyses' unnamed Persian queen has yet to be determined. It is also noted that Strabo has said that Cyrus was originally named Agradates by his step-parents; therefore, it is probable that, when reuniting with his original family, following the naming customs, Cyrus's father ,Cambyses I, names him (or had named him before the separation) Cyrus after Cyrus the Great's father, who was Cyrus I.

Herodotus claims that when Cyrus the Great was ten years old, it was obvious that Cyrus was not a herdsman's son, stating that his behavior was too noble. Astyages interviewed the boy and noticed that they resembled each other. Astyages ordered Harpagus to explain what he had done with the baby, and, after Harpagus confessed that he had not killed the boy, Astyages tricked him into eating his own broiled and chopped up son. Astyages was more lenient with Cyrus and allowed him to return to his biological parents, Cambyses and Mandane. While Herodotus's description may be a legend, it does give insight into the figures surrounding Cyrus the Great's early life.

Cyrus the Great had a wife named Cassandane. She was an Achaemenian and daughter of Pharnaspes. From this marriage, Cyrus had four children: Cambyses II, Bardiya, Atossa, and another daughter whose name is not attested to in the ancient sources. Also, Cyrus had a fifth child named Artystone, the sister or half-sister of Atossa, who may not have been the daughter of Cassandane. Cyrus the Great had a special dearly love for Cassandane. Cassandane also loved Cyrus to the point that upon her death bed she is noted as having found it more bitter to leave Cyrus, than to depart her life. According to the chronicle of Nabonidus, when Cassandane died, all the nations of Cyrus's empire observed "a great mourning", and, particularly in Babylonia, there was probably even a public mourning lasting for six days (identified from 21–26 March 538 BC). Her tomb is suggested to be at Cyrus's capital, Pasargadae. There are other accounts suggesting that Cyrus the Great also married a daughter of the Median king Astyages, named Amytis. This name may not be the correct one, however. Cyrus probably had married once, after the death of Cassandane, to a Median woman in his royal family. Cyrus the Great's sons Cambyses II and Smerdis both later became kings of Persia, respectively, and his daughter Atossa married Darius the Great and bore him Xerxes I.

Rise and military campaigns

Median Empire

The Standard of Cyrus the Great

The Median Empire, Lydian Empire, and Neo-Babylonian Empire, prior to Cyrus the Great's conquests.

Further information: Persian Revolt, Battle of Hyrba, Battle of the Persian Border, and Battle of Pasargadae

Though his father died in 551 BC, Cyrus the Great had already succeeded to the throne in 559 BC. However, Cyrus was not yet an independent ruler. Like his predecessors, Cyrus had to recognize Median overlordship. During Astyages's reign, the Median Empire may have ruled over the majority of the Ancient Near East, from the Lydian frontier in the west to the Parthians and Persians in the east.

In Herodotus's version, Harpagus, seeking vengeance, convinced Cyrus to rally the Persian people to revolt against their feudal lords, the Medes. However, it is likely that both Harpagus and Cyrus rebelled due to their dissatisfaction with Astyages's policies. From the start of the revolt in summer 553 BC, with his first battles taking place from early 552 BC, Harpagus, with Cyrus, led his armies against the Medes until the capture of Ecbatana in 549 BC, effectively conquering the Median Empire.

While Cyrus the Great seems to have accepted the crown of Media, by 546 BC, he officially assumed the title "King of Persia" instead. With Astyages out of power, all of his vassals (including many of Cyrus's relatives) were now under his command. His uncle Arsames, who had been the king of the city-state of Parsa under the Medes, therefore would have had to give up his throne. However, this transfer of power within the family seems to have been smooth, and it is likely that Arsames was still the nominal governor of Parsa, under Cyrus's authority—more of a Prince or a Grand Duke than a King. His son, Hystaspes, who was also Cyrus' second cousin, was then made satrap of Parthia and Phrygia. Cyrus the Great thus united the twin Achamenid kingdoms of Parsa and Anshan into Persia proper. Arsames would live to see his grandson become Darius the Great, Shahanshah of Persia, after the deaths of both of Cyrus' sons. Cyrus's conquest of Media was merely the start of his wars.

Lydian Empire and Asia Minor

Further information: Battle of Pteria, Battle of Thymbra, and Siege of Sardis

Croesus on the pyre. Attic red-figure amphora, 500–490 BC, Louvre (G 197)

The exact dates of the Lydian conquest are unknown, but it must have taken place between Cyrus's overthrow of the Median kingdom (550 BC) and his conquest of Babylon (539 BC). It was common in the past to give 547 BC as the year of the conquest due to some interpretations of the Nabonidus Chronicle, but this position is currently not much held. The Lydians first attacked the Achaemenid Empire's city of Pteria in Cappadocia. Croesus besieged and captured the city enslaving its inhabitants. Meanwhile, the Persians invited the citizens of Ionia who were part of the Lydian kingdom to revolt against their ruler. The offer was rebuffed, and thus Cyrus levied an army and marched against the Lydians, increasing his numbers while passing through nations in his way. The Battle of Pteria was effectively a stalemate, with both sides suffering heavy casualties by nightfall. Croesus retreated to Sardis the following morning.

While in Sardis, Croesus sent out requests for his allies to send aid to Lydia. However, near the end of the winter, before the allies could unite, Cyrus the Great pushed the war into Lydian territory and besieged Croesus in his capital, Sardis. Shortly before the final Battle of Thymbra between the two rulers, Harpagus advised Cyrus the Great to place his dromedaries in front of his warriors; the Lydian horses, not used to the dromedaries' smell, would be very afraid. The strategy worked; the Lydian cavalry was routed. Cyrus defeated and captured Croesus. Cyrus occupied the capital at Sardis, conquering the Lydian kingdom in 546 BC. According to Herodotus, Cyrus the Great spared Croesus' life and kept him as an advisor, but this account conflicts with some translations of the contemporary Nabonidus Chronicle (the King who was himself subdued by Cyrus the Great after conquest of Babylonia), which interpret that the king of Lydia was slain.

Before returning to the capital, a Lydian named Pactyas was entrusted by Cyrus the Great to send Croesus' treasury to Persia. However, soon after Cyrus's departure, Pactyas hired mercenaries and caused an uprising in Sardis, revolting against the Persian satrap of Lydia, Tabalus. With recommendations from Croesus that he should turn the minds of the Lydian people to luxury, Cyrus sent Mazares, one of his commanders, to subdue the insurrection but demanded that Pactyas be returned alive. Upon Mazares's arrival, Pactyas fled to Ionia, where he had hired more mercenaries. Mazares marched his troops into the Greek country and subdued the cities of Magnesia and Priene. The end of Pactyas is unknown, but after capture, he was probably sent to Cyrus and put to death after a succession of tortures.

Mazares continued the conquest of Asia Minor but died of unknown causes during his campaign in Ionia. Cyrus sent Harpagus to complete Mazares's conquest of Asia Minor. Harpagus captured Lycia, Cilicia and Phoenicia, using the technique of building earthworks to breach the walls of besieged cities, a method unknown to the Greeks. He ended his conquest of the area in 542 BC and returned to Persia.

Neo-Babylonian Empire

Further information: Battle of Opis

Superimposed on modern borders, the Achaemenid Empire under Cyrus's rule extended approximately from Turkey, Israel, Georgia and Arabia in the west to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Indus River (Pakistan) and Oman in the east. Persia became the largest empire the world had ever seen.

By the year 540 BC, Cyrus captured Elam (Susiana) and its capital, Susa. The Nabonidus Chronicle records that, prior to the battle(s), Nabonidus had ordered cult statues from outlying Babylonian cities to be brought into the capital, suggesting that the conflict had begun possibly in the winter of 540 BC. Near the beginning of October, Cyrus fought the Battle of Opis in or near the strategic riverside city of Opis on the Tigris, north of Babylon. The Babylonian army was routed, and on October 10, Sippar was seized without a battle, with little to no resistance from the populace. It is probable that Cyrus engaged in negotiations with the Babylonian generals to obtain a compromise on their part and therefore avoid an armed confrontation. Nabonidus was staying in the city at the time and soon fled to the capital, Babylon, which he had not visited in years.

Two days later, on October 7 (proleptic Gregorian calendar), Gubaru's troops entered Babylon, again without any resistance from the Babylonian armies, and detained Nabonidus. Herodotus explains that to accomplish this feat, the Persians, using a basin dug earlier by the Babylonian queen Nitokris to protect Babylon against Median attacks, diverted the Euphrates river into a canal so that the water level dropped "to the height of the middle of a man's thigh", which allowed the invading forces to march directly through the river bed to enter at night. On October 29, Cyrus himself entered the city of Babylon and detained Nabonidus.

Prior to Cyrus's invasion of Babylon, the Neo-Babylonian Empire had conquered many kingdoms. In addition to Babylonia itself, Cyrus probably incorporated its subnational entities into his Empire, including Syria, Judea, and Arabia Petraea, although there is no direct evidence of this fact.

After taking Babylon, Cyrus the Great proclaimed himself "king of Babylon, king of Sumer and Akkad, king of the four corners of the world" in the famous Cyrus cylinder, an inscription deposited in the foundations of the Esagila temple dedicated to the chief Babylonian god, Marduk. The text of the cylinder denounces Nabonidus as impious and portrays the victorious Cyrus pleasing the god Marduk. It describe how Cyrus had improved the lives of the citizens of Babylonia, repatriated displaced peoples and restored temples and cult sanctuaries. Although some have asserted that the cylinder represents a form of human rights charter, historians generally portray it in the context of a long-standing Mesopotamian tradition of new rulers beginning their reigns with declarations of reforms.

Cyrus the Great's dominions comprised the largest empire the world had ever seen. At the end of Cyrus's rule, the Achaemenid Empire stretched from Asia Minor in the west to the northwestern areas of India in the east.

Death

The details of Cyrus's death vary by account. The account of Herodotus from his Histories provides the second-longest detail, in which Cyrus met his fate in a fierce battle with the Massagetae, a tribe from the southern deserts of Khwarezm and Kyzyl Kum in the southernmost portion of the steppe regions of modern-day Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, following the advice of Croesus to attack them in their own territory. The Massagetae were related to the Scythians in their dress and mode of living; they fought on horseback and on foot. In order to acquire her realm, Cyrus first sent an offer of marriage to their ruler, Tomyris, a proposal she rejected. He then commenced his attempt to take Massagetae territory by force, beginning by building bridges and towered war boats along his side of the river Jaxartes, or Syr Darya, which separated them. Sending him a warning to cease his encroachment in which she stated she expected he would disregard anyway, Tomyris challenged him to meet her forces in honorable warfare, inviting him to a location in her country a day's march from the river, where their two armies would formally engage each other. He accepted her offer, but, learning that the Massagetae were unfamiliar with wine and its intoxicating effects, he set up and then left camp with plenty of it behind, taking his best soldiers with him and leaving the least capable ones. The general of Tomyris's army, who was also her son Spargapises, and a third of the Massagetian troops killed the group Cyrus had left there and, finding the camp well stocked with food and the wine, unwittingly drank themselves into inebriation, diminishing their capability to defend themselves, when they were then overtaken by a surprise attack. They were successfully defeated, and, although he was taken prisoner, Spargapises committed suicide once he regained sobriety. Upon learning of what had transpired, Tomyris denounced Cyrus's tactics as underhanded and swore vengeance, leading a second wave of troops into battle herself. Cyrus the Great was ultimately killed, and his forces suffered massive casualties in what Herodotus referred to as the fiercest battle of his career and the ancient world. When it was over, Tomyris ordered the body of Cyrus brought to her, then decapitated him and dipped his head in a vessel of blood in a symbolic gesture of revenge for his bloodlust and the death of her son. However, some scholars question this version, mostly because Herodotus admits this event was one of many versions of Cyrus's death that he heard from a supposedly reliable source who told him no one was there to see the aftermath.

Ctesias, in his Persica, has the longest account, which says Cyrus met his death while putting down resistance from the Derbices infantry, aided by other Scythian archers and cavalry, plus Indians and their elephants. According to him, this event took place northeast of the headwaters of the Syr Darya. An alternative account from Xenophon's Cyropaedia contradicts the others, claiming that Cyrus died peaceably at his capital. The final version of Cyrus's death comes from Berossus, who only reports that Cyrus met his death while warring against the Dahae archers northwest of the headwaters of the Syr Darya.

Burial

Cyrus' tomb lies in Pasargadae, Iran, a UNESCO World Heritage Site (2006).

Main article: Tomb of Cyrus

Cyrus the Great' remains were interred in his capital city of Pasargadae, where today a limestone tomb (built around 540-530 BCE) still exists which many believe to be his. Both Strabo and Arrian give nearly equal descriptions of the tomb, based on the eyewitness report of Aristobulus of Cassandreia, who at the request of Alexander the Great visited the tomb two times. Though the city itself is now in ruins, the burial place of Cyrus the Great has remained largely intact; and the tomb has been partially restored to counter its natural deterioration over the years. According to Plutarch, his epitaph said,

O man, whoever you are and wherever you come from, for I know you will come, I am Cyrus who won the Persians their empire. Do not therefore begrudge me this bit of earth that covers my bones.

Cuneiform evidence from Babylon proves that Cyrus died around December 530 BC, and that his son Cambyses II had become king. Cambyses continued his father's policy of expansion, and managed to capture Egypt for the Empire, but soon died after only seven years of rule. He was succeeded either by Cyrus' other son Bardiya or an impostor posing as Bardiya, who became the sole ruler of Persia for seven months, until he was killed by Darius the Great.

The translated ancient Roman and Greek accounts give a vivid description of the tomb both geometrically and aesthetically; The tomb's geometric shape has changed little over the years, still maintaining a large stone of quadrangular form at the base, followed by a pyramidal succession of smaller rectangular stones, until after a few slabs, the structure is curtailed by an edifice, with an arched roof composed of a pyramidal shaped stone, and a small opening or window on the side, where the slenderst man could barely squeeze through.

Within this edifice was a golden coffin, resting on a table with golden supports, inside of which the body of Cyrus the Great was interred. Upon his resting place, was a covering of tapestry and drapes made from the best available Babylonian materials, utilizing fine Median worksmanship; below his bed was a fine red carpert, covering the narrow rectangular area of his tomb. Translated Greek accounts describe the tomb as having been placed in the fertile Pasargadae gardens, surrounded by trees and ornamental shrubs, with a group of Achaemenian protectors called the "Magi", stationed nearby to protect the edifice from theft or damage.

Years later, in the ensuing chaos created by Alexander the Great's invasion of Persia and after the defeat of Darius III, Cyrus the Great's tomb was broken into and most of its luxuries were looted. When Alexander reached the tomb, he was horrified by the manner in which the tomb was treated, and questioned the Magi and put them to court. On some accounts, Alexander's decision to put the Magi on trial was more about his attempt to undermine their influence and his show of power in his newly conquered empire, than a concern for Cyrus's tomb. Regardless, Alexander the Great ordered Aristobulus to improve the tomb's condition and restore its interior. Despite his admiration for Cyrus the Great, and his attempts at renovation of his tomb, Alexander would eventually ransack Persepolis, the opulent city that Cyrus had helped build, and order its burning in 330 B.C.

The edifice has survived the test of time, through invasions, internal divides, successive empires, regime changes and revolutions. The last prominent Persian figure to bring attention to the tomb was Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (Shah of Iran) the last official monarch of Persia, during his celebrations of 2,500 years of monarchy. Just as Alexander the Great before him, the Shah of Iran wanted to appeal to Cyrus's legacy to legitimize his own rule by extension.

After the Iranian revolution, the tomb of Cyrus the Great survived the initial chaos and vandalism propogated by the revolutionary hardliners who equated Persian imperial historical artifacts with the late Shah of Iran. There are allegations of the tomb being in danger of damage from the construction of a dam and flooding, but there is no official acknowledgement of this claim. This has nontheless, caused a petition to be drafted to the U.N. demanding protection of this historical entity. United Nations recognizes the tomb of Cyrus the Great and Pasargadae as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Legacy

Cyrus the Great liberated the Hebrew exiles to resettle and rebuild Jerusalem, earning him an honored place in Judaism.

In scope and extent his achievements ranked far above that of the Macedonian king,
Alexander who was to demolish the empire in the 320s but fail to provide
any stable alternative.

— Charles Freeman in 'The Greek Achievement'

The achievements of Cyrus the Great throughout antiquity is well reflected in the way he is remembered today. His own nation, the Iranians, have regarded him as "The Father", the very title that had been used during the time of Cyrus himself, by the many nations that he conquered, as according to Xenophon:

"What other man but 'Cyrus', after having overturned an empire, ever died with the title of 'The Father' from the people whom he had brought under his power? For it is plain fact that this is a name for one that bestows, rather than for one that takes away!"

The Babylonians regarded him as "The Liberator". After his conquest of Babylon, followed Cyrus' help for the return of Jews; for this, Cyrus is addressed in the Jewish Tanakh as the "Lord's Messiah". Glorified by Ezra, and by Isaiah, Cyrus is the one to whom "Yahweh, the God of heaven" has given "all the Kingdoms of the earth".

Cyrus was distinguished equally as a statesman and as a soldier. By pursuing a policy of generosity instead of repression, and by favoring local religions, he was able to make his newly conquered subjects into enthusiastic supporters. Due in part to the political infrastructure he created, the Achaemenid empire endured long after his death.

The rise of Persia under Cyrus's rule had a profound impact on the course of world history. Iranian philosophy, literature and religion all played dominant roles in world events for the next millennia. Despite the Islamic conquest of Persia in the 7th century CE by the Islamic Caliphate, Persia continued to exercise enormous influence in the Middle East during the Islamic Golden Age, and was particularly instrumental in the growth and expansion of Islam.

Many of the Iranian dynasties following the Achaemenid empire and their kings saw themselves as the heirs to Cyrus the Great and have claimed to continue the line begun by Cyrus. However there are different opinions among scholars whether this is also the case for the Sassanid Dynasty.

Even today many consider Cyrus greater than Alexander in his accomplishment. In fact Alexander the Great was himself infatuated with and admired Cyrus the Great, from an early age reading Xenophon's Cyropaedia, which described Cyrus's heroism in battle and governance and his abilities as a king and a legislator. Alexander respected Cyrus to the point, that during his visit to Pasargadae, he paid significant homage to the memory of Cyrus the Great by ordering Aristobulus to decorate the interior of the sepulchral chamber of his tomb.

According to Professor Richard Nelson Frye:

It is a testimony to the capability of the founder of the Achaemenian empire that it continued to expand after his death and lasted for more than two centuries. But Cyrus was not only a great conqueror and administrator; he held a place in the minds of the Persian people similar to that of Romulus and Remus in Rome or Moses for the Israelites. His saga follows in many details the stories of hero and conquerors from elsewhere in the ancient world. The manner in which the baby Cyrus was given to a shepherd to raise is reminiscent of Moses in the bulrushes in Egypt, and the overthrow of his tyrannical grandfather has echoes in other myths and legends. There is no doubt that the Cyrus saga arose early among the Persians and was known to the Greeks. The sentiments of esteem or even awe in which Persians held him were transmitted to the Greeks, and it was no accident that Xenophon chose Cyrus to be the model of a ruler for the lessons he wished to impart to his fellow Greeks. In short, the figure of Cyrus has survived throughout history as more than a great man who founded an empire. He became the epitome of the great qualities expected of a ruler in antiquity, and he assumed heroic features as a conqueror who was tolerant and magnanimous as well as brave and daring. His personality as seen by the Greeks influenced them and Alexander the Great, and, as the tradition was transmitted by the Romans, may be considered to influence our thinking even now. In the year 1971, Iran celebrated the 2,500th anniversary of the founding of the monarchy by Cyrus.

On another account, Professor Patrick Hunt states:

If you are looking at the greatest personages in History who have affected the World, 'Cyrus the Great' is one of the few who deserves that epithet, the one who deserves to be called 'the Great'. The empire over which Cyrus ruled was the largest the Ancient World had ever seen and may be to this day the largest empire ever.

Religion and Philosophy

Main articles: Cyrus in the Judeo-Christian tradition and Cyrus the Great in the Qur'an

File:German cyrus relief sketch.jpg

Dhul-Qarnayn is thought to refer to Cyrus by some Qur'anic commentators.

Although there is no doubt about the influence of Zarathushtra's teachings on Cyrus's acts and policies, so far there has not been a clear evidence indicating that Cyrus practiced a specific religion. However, his liberal and tolerant views towards other religions have made some scholars consider Cyrus a Zoroastrian king. The religious policies of Cyrus is well documented in Babylonian texts as well as Jewish sources and the historians accounts. Cyrus initiated a general policy that can be described as a policy of permitting religious freedom throughout his vast empire. He brought peace to the Babylonians and is said to have kept his army away from the temples and restored the statues of the Babylonian gods to their sanctuaries. Another example of his religion, as evidenced by the Cyrus cylinder (see below),

'û-mi-Ša-am ma- h ar iluBel ù iluNabu Š a a-ra-ku ume-ia li-ta-mu-ú lit-taŠ-ka-ru a-ma-a-ta du-un-ki-ia ù a-na iluMarduk beli-ia li-iq-bu-ú Ša mKu-ra-aŠ Šarri pa-li- hi-ka u mKa-am-bu-zi-ia mari- Šu' (Cylinder,Akkadian language line:35)

'pray daily before Bêl and Nabû for long life for me, and may they speak a gracious word for me and say to Marduk, my lord, "May Cyrus, the king who worships you, and Cambyses, his son,' (Cylinder,English Translation line:35)

His religious policy was his treatment of the Jews during their exile in Babylon after Nebuchadnezzar II destroyed Jerusalem. The Jewish Bible's Ketuvim ends in Second Chronicles with the decree of Cyrus, which returned the exiles to the Promised Land from Babylon along with a commission to rebuild the temple.

'Thus saith Cyrus, king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth hath Yahweh, the God of heaven, given me; and He hath charged me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whosoever there is among you of all His people -- may Yahweh, his god, be with him -- let him go there.' (2 Chronicles 36:23)

This edict is also fully reproduced in the Book of Ezra.

"In the first year of King Cyrus, Cyrus the king issued a decree: ‘Concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, let the temple, the place where sacrifices are offered, be rebuilt and let its foundations be retained, its height being 60 cubits and its width 60 cubits; with three layers of huge stones and one layer of timbers. And let the cost be paid from the royal treasury. ‘Also let the gold and silver utensils of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be returned and brought to their places in the temple in Jerusalem; and you shall put them in the house of God.’ (Ezra 6:3-5)

As a result of Cyrus' policies, the Jews honored him as a dignified and righteous king. He is the only Gentile to be designated as Messiah, a divinely appointed leader, in the Tanakh (Isaiah 45:1-6). Isaiah 45:13: "I will raise up Cyrus in my righteousness: I will make all his ways straight. He will rebuild my city and set my exiles free, but not for a price or reward, says Yahweh Almighty." As the text suggests, Cyrus did ultimately release the nation of Israel from its exile without compensation or tribute. Traditionally, the entire book of Isaiah is believed to pre-date the rule of Cyrus by about 120 years. These particular passages (Isaiah 40-55, often referred to as Deutero-Isaiah) are believed by most modern critical scholars to have been added by another author toward the end of the Babylonian exile (ca. 536 BC). Whereas Isaiah 1-39 (referred to as Proto-Isaiah) saw the destruction of Israel as imminent, and the restoration in the future, Deutero-Isaiah speaks of the destruction in the past (Isa 42:24-25), and the restoration as imminent (Isa 42:1-9). Notice, for example, the change in temporal perspective from (Isa 39:6-7), where the Babylonian Captivity is cast far in the future, to (Isa 43:14), where the Israelites are spoken of as already in Babylon.

Cyrus was praised in the Tanakh (Isaiah 45:1–6 and Ezra 1:1–11) for the freeing of slaves, humanitarian equality and costly reparations he made. However, there was Jewish criticism of him after he was lied to by the Cuthites, who wanted to halt the building of the Second Temple. They accused the Jews of conspiring to rebel, so Cyrus in turn stopped the construction, which would not be completed until 515 BC, during the reign of Darius I. According to the Bible it was King Artaxerxes who was convinced to stop the construction of the temple in Jerusalem. (Ezra 4:7-24)

Some contemporary Muslim scholars have suggested that the Qur'anic figure of Dhul-Qarnayn is Cyrus the Great. This theory was proposed by Sunni scholar Abul Kalam Azad and endorsed by Shi'a scholars Allameh Tabatabaei, in his Tafsir al-Mizan and Makarem Shirazi.

Statue of Cyrus the great at Olympic Park in Sydney.

Politics and Management

Cyrus founded the empire as a multi-state empire governed by four capital states; Pasargadae, Babylon, Susa and Ekbatana. He allowed a certain amount of regional autonomy in each state, in the form of a satrapy system. A satrapy was an administrative unit, usually organized on a geographical basis. A 'satrap' (governor) was the vassal king, who administered the region, a 'general' supervised military recruitment and ensured order, and a 'state secretary' kept the official records. The general and the state secretary reported directly to the satrap as well as the central government. During his reign, Cyrus maintained control over a vast region of conquered kingdoms, achieved through retaining and expanding the satrapies. Further organization of newly conquered territories into provinces ruled by satraps, was continued by Cyrus's successor Darius the Great. Cyrus's empire was based on tribute and conscripts from the many parts of his realm.

Through his military savvy, Cyrus created an organized army including the Immortals unit, consisting of 10'000 highly trained soldiers. He also formed an innovative postal system throughout the empire, based on several relay stations called Chapar Khaneh.

Cyrus's conquests began a new era in the age of empire building, where a vast superstate, comprising many dozens of countries, races, religions, and languages, were ruled under a single administration headed by a central government. This system lasted for centuries, and was retained both by the invading Seleucid dynasty during their control of Persia, and later Iranian dynasties including the Parthians and Sassanids.

On December 10, 2003, in her acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize, Shirin Ebadi evoked Cyrus, saying:

I am an Iranian, a descendant of Cyrus the Great. This emperor proclaimed at the pinnacle of power 2,500 years ago that he 'would not reign over the people if they did not wish it.' He promised not to force any person to change his religion and faith and guaranteed freedom for all. The Charter of Cyrus the Great should be studied in the history of human rights.

Cyrus has been known for his innovations in building projects; he further developed the technologies that he found in the conquered cultures and applied them in building the palaces of Pasargadae. He was also famous for his love of gardens; the recent excavations in his capital city has revealed the existence of vast royal gardens and a network of irrigation canals. Pasargadae was place for two magnificent palaces surrounded by a majestic royal park and vast formal gardens; among them was the four-quartered wall gardens of "Paradisia" with over 1000 meters of channels made out of carved limestone, designed to fill small basins at every 16 meters and water various types of wild and domestic flora. The design and concept of Paradisia were exceptional and have been used as a model for many ancient and modern parks, ever since.

Cyrus's legacy has been felt even as far away as Iceland and colonial America. Many of the forefathers of the United States of America sought inspiration from Cyrus the Great through works such as Cyropaedia. Thomas Jefferson, for example, owned a copy.

Cyrus cylinder

Main article: Cyrus cylinder

One of the few surviving sources of information that can be dated directly to Cyrus's time is the Cyrus cylinder, a document in the form of a clay cylinder inscribed in Akkadian cuneiform. It had been placed in the foundations of the Esagila (the temple of Marduk in Babylon) as a foundation deposit following the Persian conquest in 539 BC. It was discovered in 1879 and is kept today in the British Museum in London.

The text of the cylinder denounces the deposed Babylonian king Nabonidus as impious and portrays Cyrus as pleasing to the chief god Marduk. It goes on to describe how Cyrus had improved the lives of the citizens of Babylonia, repatriated displaced peoples and restored temples and cult sanctuaries. Although not mentioned in the text, the repatriation of the Jews from their "Babylonian captivity" was part of this policy.

The United Nations has declared the relic to be an "ancient declaration of human rights" since 1971, approved by then Secretary General Mr. Sithu U Thant. The British Museum describes the cylinder as "an instrument of ancient Mesopotamian propaganda" that "reflects a long tradition in Mesopotamia where, from as early as the third millennium BC, kings began their reigns with declarations of reforms." The cylinder emphasizes Cyrus's continuity with previous Babylonian rulers, asserting his virtue as a traditional Babylonian king while denigrating his predecessor.

File:Cyrus cilinder.jpg

The Cyrus cylinder, a contemporary cuneiform script proclaiming Cyrus as legitimate king of Babylon.

In the 1970s the Shah of Iran adopted it as a political symbol, using it "as a central image in his own propaganda celebrating 2500 years of Iranian monarchy." and asserting that it was "the first human rights charter in history". This view has been disputed by some as "rather anachronistic" and tendentious, as the modern concept of human rights would have been quite alien to Cyrus's contemporaries and is not mentioned by the cylinder. The cylinder has, nonetheless, become seen as part of Iran's cultural identity.

Family tree

Further information: Achaemenid family tree

Cyrus family tree
Achaemenes King of Persia Teispes King of Persia Ariaramnes Ruler of Persia Cyrus I Ruler of Anshan Arsames Ruler of Persia Cambyses I Ruler of Anshan Hystaspes Prince Cyrus the Great (Cyrus II) King of Persia Darius the Great (Darius I) King of Persia Cambyses II King of Persia Bardiya (Smerdis) Prince (imposter Gaumata ruled as Smerdis) Artystone Princess Atossa Princess
Notes:

See also

• History of Iran
• Greater Iran
• Cyrus the Great in the Qur'an
• Iranian Architecture
• Immortals (Persian Empire)

References

Ancient sources

• The Nabonidus Chronicle of the Babylonian Chronicles
• The Verse account of Nabonidus
• The Prayer of Nabonidus (one of the Dead Sea scrolls)
• The Cyrus Cylinder
• Herodotus (The Histories)
• Ctesias (Persica)
• The biblical books of Isaiah, Daniel, Ezra and Nehemiah
• Flavius Josephus (Antiquities of the Jews)
• Thucydides (History of the Peloponnesian War)
• Plato (Laws (dialogue))
• Xenophon (Cyropaedia)
• Quintus Curtius Rufus (Library of World History)
• Plutarchos (Plutarch's Lives)
• Fragments of Nicolaus of Damascus
• Arrian (Anabasis Alexandri)
• Polyaenus (Stratagems in War)
• Justin (Epitome of the Philippic History of Pompeius Trogus) Template:En icon
• Polybius (The Histories (Polybius))
• Diodorus Siculus (Bibliotheca historica)
• Athenaeus (Deipnosophistae)
• Strabo (History)
• Quran (Dhul-Qarnayn, Al-Kahf)

Modern sources

• Herodotus; Church, Alfred J., Stories of the East From Herodotus (1891). ISBN 0-7661-8928-7
• Schmitt, Rüdiger. "Achaemenid dynasty". Encycloaedia Iranica. Vol. vol. 3. Routledge & Kegan Paul. {{cite encyclopedia}}: |volume= has extra text (help)
• Cardascia, G. "Babylon under Achaemenids". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Vol. Vol. 3. ISBN 0939214784. {{cite encyclopedia}}: |volume= has extra text (help); Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month=, |accessmonth=, and |accessyear= (help)
• Schmitt, Rüdiger; Shahbazi, A. Shapur; Dandamayev, Muhammad A.; Zournatzi, Antigoni. "Cyrus". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Vol. Vol. 6. ISBN 0939214784. {{cite encyclopedia}}: |volume= has extra text (help); Cite has empty unknown parameters: |accessyear=, |month=, |accessmonth=, and |coauthors= (help)
• Freeman, Charles (1999). The Greek Achievement: The Foundation of the Western World. Allen Lane. ISBN 0713992247.
• The Cambridge History of Iran: Vol. 2 ; The Median and Achaemenian periods. Cambridge University Press. 1985. ISBN 0521200911.
• The Cambridge Ancient History IV: Persia, Greece, and the Western Mediterranean, C. 525-479 B.C. ISBN 0521228042.
• Dandamaev, M. A. (1989). A political history of the Achaemenid empire. BRILL. p. 373. ISBN 9004091726.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
• Frye, Richard N., The Heritage of Persia. Weidenfeld and Nicolson (1962), 40, 43-4, 46-7, 70, 75, 78-90, 93, 104, 108, 122, 127, 206-7. ISBN 1-56859-008-3
• Moorey, P.R.S., The Biblical Lands, VI. Peter Bedrick Books, New York (1991). ISBN 0-87226-247-2
• Olmstead, A. T., History of the Persian Empire [Achaemenid Period]. University of Chicago Press (1948). ISBN 0-226-62777-2
• Palou, Christine; Palou, Jean, La Perse Antique. Presses Universitaires de France (1962).
• Nos ancêtres de l'Antiquité, 1991, Christian Settipani, p. 146, 152 and 157
• Seven Wonders of the Ancient Middle East by Michael Woods, Mary B. Woods
• The ancient Near East: historical sources in translation by Mark William Chavalas
• Rituals of royalty: power and ceremonial in traditional societies by David Cannadine, Simon Price
• Light from the East Or the Witness of the Monuments by C. J. Ball
• Cyrus the Messiah? The Historical Background to Isaiah 45:1 Author(s): Lisbeth S. Fried. Source: The Harvard Theological Review, Vol. 95, No. 4 (Oct., 2002), pp. 373–393
• "Cyrus the Great" by Samuel W. Crompton, Arthur M. Schlesinger. ISBN 978-0-7910-9636-9
• "Cyrus the Great" by Jacob Abbott
• Babylonia, A history of ancient Babylon - A project by History World International 2004

External links

• The Day of Cyrus The Great (Cyrus Day) The Day of Cyrus The Great in Cambridge/UK
• Historic Personalities - Cyrus the Great Iran Chamber Society
• Cyropaedia of Xenophon Iran Chamber Society
• PersianDNA Cyrus The Great - Persian Empire & The Greatest King of the History
• Pictures of Tomb of Cyrus the Great
• Cyrus Cylinder Full Babylonian text of the Cyrus Cylinder as it was known in 2001; translation; brief introduction
• Cylinder of Cyrus, Persian text منشور کوروش هخامنشی
• Who Was Zulqarnain?
• Cyrus The Great
• International Committee to Save the Archaeological Sites of Pasargadae.
• Images of Cyrus the Great's tomb
• Cyrus Cylinder to be returned to Iran Cultural Heritage News Agency, Tehran, June 2008
• Iran, The Forgotten Glory - Documentary Film About Ancient Persia (Achaemenids & Sassanids)
• http://www.vohuman.org/Article/The%20First%20Declaration%20of%20Human%20Rights.htm
• http://www.mainlesson.com/display.php?author=abbott&book=cyrus&story=restoration
• http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/gutbook/lookup?num=2085
• http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=135&letter=C&search=Babylonian%20captivity
• http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+chronicles%2036:22-36:23&version=CEV
• http://www.gospelhall.org/bible/bible.php?passage=&search=Cyrus&ver1=kjv&ver2=&commentary=&submit
• http://www.spentaproductions.com/Cyrus-the-Great-English/cyruspreview_english.htm
• A short sample of the documentary film In Search of Cyrus the Great, directed by Cyrus Kar, in production, hosted by International Committee to Save the Archaeological Sites of Pasargadae (9 min 58 sec).
• Xenophon, Cyropaedia: the education of Cyrus, translated by Henry Graham Dakyns and revised by F.M. Stawell, Project Gutenberg.

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