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There have been reports of attempts by the directors of the British Museum and the [[National Museum of Iran]] in [[Tehran]] to arrange a loan of the Cyrus Cylinder to be temporarily displayed in the National Museum of Iran for a special exhibition.<ref>Cultural Heritage News Agency, ''Cyrus Cylinder to be returned to Iran'', Tehran, June 25, 2008, [http://www.chnpress.com/news/?section=2&id=7423].</ref>
There have been reports of attempts by the directors of the British Museum and the [[National Museum of Iran]] in [[Tehran]] to arrange a loan of the Cyrus Cylinder to be temporarily displayed in the National Museum of Iran for a special exhibition.<ref>Cultural Heritage News Agency, ''Cyrus Cylinder to be returned to Iran'', Tehran, June 25, 2008, [http://www.chnpress.com/news/?section=2&id=7423].</ref>


The Cyrus Cylinder is considered by some as the "world's first charter of human rights". The Cylinder has also attracted attention in the context of the repatriation of [[Jews]] to [[Jerusalem]] following their [[Babylonian captivity]]. More generally speaking, it was a work of political [[propaganda]] that has been described as a "skilled instrument of tendentious history", promoting Cyrus' deeds at the expense of his opponents.<ref name="Mallowan">Max Mallowan, "Cyrus the Great (558-529 B.C.)", in ''The Cambridge History of Iran'', pp. 409-411, eds. Richard Nelson Frye, William Bayne Fisher. Cambridge University Press, 1968. ISBN 0521200911</ref>
The Cyrus Cylinder is considered by some as the "world's first charter of human rights". The Cylinder has also attracted attention in the context of the repatriation of [[Jews]] to [[Jerusalem]] following their [[Babylonian captivity]].


==Description and content==
==Description and content==
Line 40: Line 40:
A replica of the cylinder was handed over by Iran to the UN Secretary General on [[October 14]], [[1971]] and has since then been kept at the [[United Nations Headquarters]] in [[New York City]] on the second floor hallway, <ref>United Nations Press Release 14 October 1971 ([http://www.livius.org/a/1/inscriptions/cyrus.pdf SG/SM/1553/HQ263])</ref> and the text has been translated into all six official U.N. languages.<ref name="Xenophon">Xenophon's cyrus the great: The Arts of Leadership and War - Page xiii by Xenophon, Larry Hedrick - History - 2007 - 320 pages</ref>
A replica of the cylinder was handed over by Iran to the UN Secretary General on [[October 14]], [[1971]] and has since then been kept at the [[United Nations Headquarters]] in [[New York City]] on the second floor hallway, <ref>United Nations Press Release 14 October 1971 ([http://www.livius.org/a/1/inscriptions/cyrus.pdf SG/SM/1553/HQ263])</ref> and the text has been translated into all six official U.N. languages.<ref name="Xenophon">Xenophon's cyrus the great: The Arts of Leadership and War - Page xiii by Xenophon, Larry Hedrick - History - 2007 - 320 pages</ref>


The notion of the cylinder as a "charter of human rights" has been characterized as "political propaganda" on the part of the Pahlavi rulers of Iran.<ref>A. Kuhrt, "The Cyrus Cylinder and Achaemenid imperial policy" in ''Journal of Studies of the Old Testament'' 25, p. 84; {{cite web | last = Lendering | first = Jona | authorlink = Jona Lendering |title = The Cyrus Cylinder | publisher = livius.org | date = [[2007-01-28]] | url = http://www.livius.org/ct-cz/cyrus_I/cyrus_cylinder.html | accessdate = 2008-07-30 }}</ref> [[Neil MacGregor]], the [[Director of the British Museum]], argues that Shah [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi]] sought to make the cylinder a symbol of a newly constructed national identity on the occasion of the celebrations of the 2,500th anniversary of the establishment of the Persian monarchy.<ref>Neil MacGregor, "The whole world in our hands", in ''Art and Cultural Heritage: Law, Policy, and Practice'', p. 383, ed. Barbara T. Hoffman. Cambridge University Press, 2006. ISBN 0521857643</ref> It has also been argued that the concept of "human rights" is an anachronism alien to the historical context, and at best serves as a [[simile]]. [[Elton L. Daniel]] critizes the interpretation of the cylinder as a "charter of human rights" as being both anachronistic and tendentious.<ref>Elton L. Daniel, ''The History of Iran'', p. 39. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2000. ISBN 0313307318</ref>
The notion of the cylinder as a "charter of human rights" has been characterized as "political propaganda" on the part of the Pahlavi rulers of Iran.<ref>A. Kuhrt, "The Cyrus Cylinder and Achaemenid imperial policy" in ''Journal of Studies of the Old Testament'' 25, p. 84; {{cite web | last = Lendering | first = Jona | authorlink = Jona Lendering |title = The Cyrus Cylinder | publisher = livius.org | date = [[2007-01-28]] | url = http://www.livius.org/ct-cz/cyrus_I/cyrus_cylinder.html | accessdate = 2008-07-30 }}</ref> It has also been argued that the concept of "human rights" is an anachronism alien to the historical context, and at best serves as a [[simile]]. [[Elton L. Daniel]] critizes the interpretation of the cylinder as a "charter of human rights" as being both anachronistic and tendentious.<ref>Elton L. Daniel, ''The History of Iran'', p. 39. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2000. ISBN 0313307318</ref>


Some scholars have assessed that, when viewed historical context, the text of the document stands in a Mesopotamian tradition, dating back to the third millennium BC, of kings making similar declarations of their own righteousness when beginning their reigns.<ref>A. Kuhrt "The Cyrus Cylinder and Achaemenid imperial policy" in ''Journal of Studies of the Old Testament'' 25 pp. 83-97; [[R.J. van der Spek]], "Did Cyrus the Great introduce a new policy towards subdued nations? Cyrus in Assyrian perspective" in ''Persica'' 10 pp. 273-285; M. Dandamaev ''A Political History of the Achaemenid Empire'', pp. 52-53 (with previous bibliography); P.-A. Beaulieu, "An Episode in the Fall of Babylon to the Persians", JNES vol. 52 n. 4 Oct. 1993. p. 243.; [[Josef Wiesehöfer|J. Wiesehöfer]], ''Ancient Persia from 550 BC to 650 AD'', 2006 1996 , p. 82; [[Pierre Briant|P. Briant]], ''From Cyrus to Alexander'', pp. 43-43.</ref><ref>[http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/me/c/cyrus_cylinder.aspx British Museum, The Cyrus Cylinder]</ref><ref name=livius>{{cite web | last = Lendering | first = Jona | authorlink = Jona Lendering | title = The Cyrus Cylinder | publisher = livius.org | date = [[2007-01-28]] | url = http://www.livius.org/ct-cz/cyrus_I/cyrus_cylinder.html | accessdate = 2008-07-30 }}</ref> Iranian sources have criticized this view as inconsistent with independent [[Mesopotamia]]n, Greek, and [[Bible|Biblical]] sources, as well as archaeological findings.<ref name="Response to Daily Telegraph"> {{cite web| last =Farokh | first = Kaveh| authorlink = | coauthors =
Viewed in a historical context, the text of the document stands in a Mesopotamian tradition, dating back to the third millennium BC, of kings making similar declarations of their own righteousness when beginning their reigns.<ref>A. Kuhrt "The Cyrus Cylinder and Achaemenid imperial policy" in ''Journal of Studies of the Old Testament'' 25 pp. 83-97; [[R.J. van der Spek]], "Did Cyrus the Great introduce a new policy towards subdued nations? Cyrus in Assyrian perspective" in ''Persica'' 10 pp. 273-285; M. Dandamaev ''A Political History of the Achaemenid Empire'', pp. 52-53 (with previous bibliography); P.-A. Beaulieu, "An Episode in the Fall of Babylon to the Persians", JNES vol. 52 n. 4 Oct. 1993. p. 243.; [[Josef Wiesehöfer|J. Wiesehöfer]], ''Ancient Persia from 550 BC to 650 AD'', 2006 1996 , p. 82; [[Pierre Briant|P. Briant]], ''From Cyrus to Alexander'', pp. 43-43.</ref><ref>[http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/me/c/cyrus_cylinder.aspx British Museum, The Cyrus Cylinder]</ref><ref name=livius>{{cite web | last = Lendering | first = Jona | authorlink = Jona Lendering | title = The Cyrus Cylinder | publisher = livius.org | date = [[2007-01-28]] | url = http://www.livius.org/ct-cz/cyrus_I/cyrus_cylinder.html | accessdate = 2008-07-30 }}</ref> Iranian sources have criticized this view as inconsistent with independent [[Mesopotamia]]n, Greek, and [[Bible|Biblical]] sources, as well as archaeological findings.<ref name="Response to Daily Telegraph"> {{cite web| last =Farokh | first = Kaveh| authorlink = | coauthors =
| title = Retort to the Daily Telegraph’s article against Cyrus the Great
| title = Retort to the Daily Telegraph’s article against Cyrus the Great
Attack on the Legacy of Cyrus the Great | work = | publisher = International Committee to Save the Archeological Sites of Pasarga| date = May 7, 2008| url = www.savepasargad.com/~New-050508/01.General-News/Newss-Pages/Professor%20Kaveh%20Farokh-E.htm| format = | doi = | accessdate = Aug. 11, 2008}} </ref><ref name="Response to Spiegel">{{cite web | last =Farokh | first = Kaveh | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Response to Spiegel Magazine's Attack on the Legacy of Cyrus the Great | work = | publisher = International Committee to Save the Archeological Sites of Pasargad| date = July 24, 2008
Attack on the Legacy of Cyrus the Great | work = | publisher = International Committee to Save the Archeological Sites of Pasarga| date = May 7, 2008| url = www.savepasargad.com/~New-050508/01.General-News/Newss-Pages/Professor%20Kaveh%20Farokh-E.htm| format = | doi = | accessdate = Aug. 11, 2008}} </ref><ref name="Response to Spiegel">{{cite web | last =Farokh | first = Kaveh | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Response to Spiegel Magazine's Attack on the Legacy of Cyrus the Great | work = | publisher = International Committee to Save the Archeological Sites of Pasargad| date = July 24, 2008

Revision as of 16:22, 8 September 2008

File:Cyrus cilinder.jpg
The Cyrus Cylinder

The Cyrus Cylinder, also known as the ‘Cyrus the Great Cylinder’, is a document issued by the Persian emperor Cyrus the Great in the form of a clay cylinder inscribed in Babylonian) cuneiform. The context is the Persian conquest of Babylon in 539 BC which supplanted Nabonidus, ending the Neo-Babylonian Empire. The text of the cylinder denounces Nabonidus as impious and contrasting the victorious Cyrus as pleasing to Marduk.

The cylinder had been placed under the walls of Babylon as a foundation deposit. It was discovered in 1879 by the Assyro-British archaeologist Hormuzd Rassam in the foundations of the Esagila (i.e., the Marduk temple of Babylon) and is kept today in the British Museum in London. There have been reports of attempts by the directors of the British Museum and the National Museum of Iran in Tehran to arrange a loan of the Cyrus Cylinder to be temporarily displayed in the National Museum of Iran for a special exhibition.[1]

The Cyrus Cylinder is considered by some as the "world's first charter of human rights". The Cylinder has also attracted attention in the context of the repatriation of Jews to Jerusalem following their Babylonian captivity.

Description and content

The Cyrus Cylinder in the British Museum in London.

The text consists of two fragments, known as "A" (lines: 1-35, measures: 23 x 8 cm) and "B" (36-45, 8.6 x 5.6 cm). "A" has always been in the British Museum; "B" had been kept at Yale University, but has been transferred to the British Museum.[2] The inscription has six distinct parts in its 45 lines: first, a introduction reviling Nabonidus, the previous king of Babylon, and associating Cyrus with Marduk, the chief god of Babyon (lines 1-19); second, a royal protocol and genealogy (lines 20-22); third, a commendation of Cyrus's policy of restoring Babylon (lines 22-34); fourth, a prayer to Marduk by Cyrus on behalf of himself and his son Cambyses (lines 34-35); fifth, a declaration about the good condition of the Persian Empire (lines 36-37); and finally, details of the building activities ordered by Cyrus in Babylon (lines 38-45).[3]

The text begins by listing the alleged crimes of Nabonidus, charging him with desecration of the temples of the gods and the imposition of forced labor upon the populace. Marduk, the chief god of Babylon, is highly displeased by Nabonidus' cruelties, and so the god calls upon a foreign king, Cyrus of the Persians, to conquer Babylon and become its new king with the god's divine blessing:

"The worship of Marduk, the king of the gods, he [Nabonidus] [chang]ed into abomination. Daily he used to do evil against his city [Babylon] ... He [Marduk] scanned and looked [through] all the countries, searching for a righteous ruler willing to lead [him] [in the annual procession]. [Then] he pronounced the name of Cyrus, king of Anshan, declared him to be[come] the ruler of all the world."

Cyrus goes on to call himself "king of the world, great king, legitimate king, king of Babylon, king of Sumer and Akkad, king of the four quarters (of the earth), son of Cambyses, great king, king of Anshan, descendent of Teispes, great king, king of Anshan, of a family (which) always (exercised) kingship; whose rule Bel and Nabu love, whom they want as king to please their hearts." He describes the pious deeds he performed after his conquest: he restored peace to Babylon and the other cities sacred to Marduk, freeing their inhabitants from their "yoke", and he "brought relief to their dilapidated housing (thus) putting an end to their (main) complaints."[4] He repaired the ruined temples in the cities he conquered, restored their cults, and returned their cult images as well as their former inhabitants which Narbonidus had taken to Babylon.[5]

Interpretation

The formulation of the cylinder, particularly the way in which Cyrus describes his eligibility to hold the kingship of Babylon, was typically Babylonian. His predecessor as ruler of Babylon, Nabonidus, had been deeply unpopular for his northern ancestry, his introduction of a foreign theology and his self-imposed exile which prevented the celebration of the vital New Year festival.[4] The cylinder is an example of a specific Mesopotamian literary genre, the royal building inscription, which had no equivalent in Old Persian literature. The text illustrates how Cyrus co-opted local traditions and symbols to legitimize his control of Babylon.[6]

Although the cylinder makes much of the improvements that Cyrus was said to have made in Babylon, it is unclear how much actually changed on the ground; there is no evidence for any rebuilding or repairing of Mesopotamian temples during Cyrus' reign.[6]

Old Testament studies

Main article: Cyrus in the Judeo-Christian tradition

The Bible records that some Jews returned to their homeland from Babylon, where they had been settled by Nebuchadrezzar, to rebuild the temple following an edict from Cyrus (Ezra 1. 1-4). Many scholars have cited one particular passage from the Cylinder to confirm the Old Testament account:

(30) ... From [Babylon][7] to Aššur and (from) Susa, (31) Agade, Ešnunna, Zamban, Me-Turnu, Der, as far as the region of Gutium, the sacred centers on the other side of the Tigris, whose sanctuaries had been abandoned for a long time, (32) I returned the images of the gods, who had resided there [i.e., in Babylon], to their places and I let them dwell in eternal abodes. I gathered all their inhabitants and returned to them their dwellings.[8]

Although it does not mention Judah or the Jews, the last phrase of line 32 has been interpreted as a reference to Cyrus' policy of allowing deportees to return to their original lands. However, this view has been challenged by Amelie Kuhrt, who argued that the people referred to are not deportees but people associated with the returned god images' cult.[9] Diana Edelman has pointed out chronological difficulties that arise when we accept that the Jews returned during the reign of Cyrus[10], although it has been argued that she based her conclusions on questionable treatments of genealogical lists and unsubstantiated links between various figures in the early Persian period [11] There is no clear independent evidence to confirm the Biblical claim that Cyrus freed the Jews and that God had "charged him to build a temple in Jerusalem". The Cyrus Cylinder does correspond closely to the spirit of the decree described in Ezra, particularly the divinely chosen status of Cyrus. As with other texts from the same period, it credits the god of his intended audience for his success and makes claims of worship, piety and religious tolerance that recall the claims of Ezra. Although it cannot be used to confirm directly the authenticity of the decree cited in Ezra, it suggests that in "restoring" the Temple in Jerusalem, Cyrus acted strategically to grant privileged status to the city to gain the support and cooperation of its people. Israel's sensitive location close to Egypt made it a particularly sensitive area for the Persians, who would have had a strong interest in ensuring that it was firmly in their hands.[6]

As a charter of human rights

File:Tharoor and Cyrus Cylinder.jpg
Former United Nations Under-Secretary General Shashi Tharoor with replica of the Cyrus Cylinder at UN headquarters, New York

The Cyrus Cylinder has been described as "the world's first declaration of human rights",[12] "predating the Magna Carta by more than one millennium".[13] A replica of the cylinder was handed over by Iran to the UN Secretary General on October 14, 1971 and has since then been kept at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City on the second floor hallway, [14] and the text has been translated into all six official U.N. languages.[15]

The notion of the cylinder as a "charter of human rights" has been characterized as "political propaganda" on the part of the Pahlavi rulers of Iran.[16] It has also been argued that the concept of "human rights" is an anachronism alien to the historical context, and at best serves as a simile. Elton L. Daniel critizes the interpretation of the cylinder as a "charter of human rights" as being both anachronistic and tendentious.[17]

Viewed in a historical context, the text of the document stands in a Mesopotamian tradition, dating back to the third millennium BC, of kings making similar declarations of their own righteousness when beginning their reigns.[18][19][20] Iranian sources have criticized this view as inconsistent with independent Mesopotamian, Greek, and Biblical sources, as well as archaeological findings.[21][22]

In Cyrus' age, contemporary invaders considered massacring and enslaving those conquered, as evidence of success. Conquering kings proudly recorded in royal inscriptions their brutality in sacking and destroying the lands that they had invaded. Only a century before, the Assyrian ruler Ashurbanipal had massacred Babylonian rebels after a two-year siege of the city. Massacre and pillaging was thus seen as the natural consequence of defeat. Cyrus' conciliatory treatment of the Babylonians broke with this tradition, but his decision was not merely a matter of principle. The Persian Empire was too large to be centrally directed and Cyrus sought to establish a decentralized system of government, based on existing territorial units. The magnanimity shown by Cyrus won him praise and gratitude from those he spared, as he intended. The penalties for rebellion remained severe; when Babylon revolted against the Persian king Darius I a few decades later, the rebels were crushed with great brutality.[23]

Many historians have portrayed Cyrus as a tolerant and magnanimous ruler whose approach toward subdued people differed radically from that of previous rulers.[21][24][25] Some advocates of Cyrus have criticized an allegedly Western-centric approach to human rights and the notion that the concept of human rights is so Western in its philosophical underpinnings that the idea of it having Eastern roots is therefore impossible.[26] However, as M.A. Dandamaev points out, "almost all the texts ... which praise Cyrus have the character of propagandistic writings and demand a very critical approach ... by accepting everything said in the texts which were composed by Babylonian priests, we ourselves become the victims of Cyrus' propaganda."[27]

Notes

  1. ^ Cultural Heritage News Agency, Cyrus Cylinder to be returned to Iran, Tehran, June 25, 2008, [1].
  2. ^ Cyrus Cylinder: a Declaration of Good Kingship The British Museum.
  3. ^ Josef Wiesehofer trans. Azizeh Azodi, Ancient Persia: From 550 BC to 650 AD, pp. 44-45. I.B.Tauris, 2001. ISBN 1860646751
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Mallowan was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "The Ancient Near East, Volume I: An Anthology of Texts and Pictures". Vol. 1. Ed. James B. Pritchard. Princeton University Press, 1973.
  6. ^ a b c Mary Joan Winn Leith, "Israel among the Nations: The Persian Period", in The Oxford History of the Biblical World, pp. 285, ed. Michael David Coogan. Oxford University Press US, 1998. ISBN 0195139372
  7. ^ Older translations used to give "Nineveh" instead of "[Babylon]". The relevant passage is fragmentary, but I. Finkel has recently concluded that it is impossible to interpret it as "Nineveh" (I. Finkel, "No Nineveh in the Cyrus Cylinder", in NABU 1997 [2].).
  8. ^ Cyrus Cylinder translation, adapted from Schaudig 2001.
  9. ^ A. Kuhrt, "The Cyrus Cylinder and Achaemenid Imperial Policy", p. 86-87, in Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 25 (1983).
  10. ^ Diana Edelman, The Origins of the Second Temple: Persian Imperial Policy and the Rebuilding of Jerusalem (2005)
  11. ^ Journal of Hebrew Scriptures - Volume 7 (2007) - Review by Mark J. Boda
  12. ^ human rights in the world: An Introduction to the Study of the International ...by Arthur Henry Robertson, J. G. Merrills - Political Science - 1996 - Page 7; Shadows in the Desert: Ancient Persia at War - Page 44 by Kaveh Farrokh - History - 2007; The Evolution of International Human Rights: Visions Seen by Paul Gordon Lauren - Political Science - 2003 - 397 - Page 11; Interview with United Nations Under-Secretary Shashi Tharoor
  13. ^ Abbas Milani. Lost Wisdom. 2004. Mage Publishers. p.12. ISBN 0934211906
  14. ^ United Nations Press Release 14 October 1971 (SG/SM/1553/HQ263)
  15. ^ Xenophon's cyrus the great: The Arts of Leadership and War - Page xiii by Xenophon, Larry Hedrick - History - 2007 - 320 pages
  16. ^ A. Kuhrt, "The Cyrus Cylinder and Achaemenid imperial policy" in Journal of Studies of the Old Testament 25, p. 84; Lendering, Jona (2007-01-28). "The Cyrus Cylinder". livius.org. Retrieved 2008-07-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  17. ^ Elton L. Daniel, The History of Iran, p. 39. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2000. ISBN 0313307318
  18. ^ A. Kuhrt "The Cyrus Cylinder and Achaemenid imperial policy" in Journal of Studies of the Old Testament 25 pp. 83-97; R.J. van der Spek, "Did Cyrus the Great introduce a new policy towards subdued nations? Cyrus in Assyrian perspective" in Persica 10 pp. 273-285; M. Dandamaev A Political History of the Achaemenid Empire, pp. 52-53 (with previous bibliography); P.-A. Beaulieu, "An Episode in the Fall of Babylon to the Persians", JNES vol. 52 n. 4 Oct. 1993. p. 243.; J. Wiesehöfer, Ancient Persia from 550 BC to 650 AD, 2006 1996 , p. 82; P. Briant, From Cyrus to Alexander, pp. 43-43.
  19. ^ British Museum, The Cyrus Cylinder
  20. ^ Lendering, Jona (2007-01-28). "The Cyrus Cylinder". livius.org. Retrieved 2008-07-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  21. ^ a b Farokh, Kaveh (May 7, 2008). [www.savepasargad.com/~New-050508/01.General-News/Newss-Pages/Professor%20Kaveh%20Farokh-E.htm "Retort to the Daily Telegraph's article against Cyrus the Great Attack on the Legacy of Cyrus the Great"]. International Committee to Save the Archeological Sites of Pasarga. Retrieved Aug. 11, 2008. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help); Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); line feed character in |title= at position 65 (help)
  22. ^ Farokh, Kaveh (July 24, 2008). "Response to Spiegel Magazine's Attack on the Legacy of Cyrus the Great". International Committee to Save the Archeological Sites of Pasargad. Retrieved Aug. 11, 2008. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  23. ^ Malcolm Evans, Religious Liberty and International Law in Europe, pp. 12-13. Cambridge University Press, 1997. ISBN 0521550211
  24. ^ Brown, Dale (1996). Persians: Masters of Empire. Time-Life Books. pp. 7–8. ISBN 0-8094-9104-4.
  25. ^ Arberry, AJ (1953). "The Legacy of Persia" Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1953, p.8
  26. ^ Hobson, John M. (2004). The Eastern Origins of Western Civilization Author. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521547245.
  27. ^ M. A. Dandamaev trans. W. J. Vogelsang, A Political History of the Achaemenid Empire, p. 53. BRILL, 1989. ISBN 9004091726

Literature

Editions and translations

The latest edition of the Akkadian language text is:

  • Hanspeter Schaudig, Die Inschriften Nabonids von Babylon und Kyros' des Großen, samt den in ihrem Umfeld entstandenen Tendenzschriften. Textausgabe und Grammatik. (2001 Münster, Ugarit-Verlag) (online with English translation based on Cogan 2003)

Older translations and transliterations:

  • Rawlinson, H.G., & Th.G. Pinches, A Selection from the Miscellaneous Inscriptions of Assyria and Babylonia (1884, 1909 London: fragment A only)).
  • Rogers, Robert William: Cuneiform Parallels to the Old Testament (1912), New York, Eaton & Mains (Online: fragment A only).
  • Pritchard, James B. (ed.): Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament (ANET) (1950, 1955, 1969). Translation by A. L. Oppenheim. (fragment A and B).
  • P.-R. Berger, "Der Kyros-Zylinder mit dem Susatzfragment BIN II Nr.32 und die akkidischen Personennamen im Danielbuch" in: Zeitschrift für Assyriologie 65 (1975) 192-234
  • Mordechai Cogan's translation, in W.H. Hallo and K.L. Younger, The Context of Scripture vol. II, Monumental Inscriptions from the Biblical World (2003, Leiden and Boston) (online with Schaudig's transliteration)
  • Brosius, Maria (ed.): The Persian Empire from Cyrus II to Artaxerxes I (2000, London Association of Classical Teachers (LACT) 16, London.
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