The Cylinder of Cyrus II the Great The writing is in Akkadian cuneiform. It talks of Babylon and Cyrus the Great's humane treatment of his conquered subjects.Cyrus appointed his oldest son Cambyses II king of Babylon for the good of the people. The kin was being criminal and he chose to give him right. Choosing the different options he had. It talks of Cyrus letting the Jews return to their homeland, which helped him earn their trust. The cylinder is yet another example of his religious tolerance for others; he let everyone let their return to their shrines. It talks of him being the legitimate successor to the Mesopotamian throne even though he was not blood related. All across the cylinder he is said to be a liberator not a conqueror, that people welcomed him.
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Human Rights The writing is formed like the world's first declaration of human rights.It talks of the King of Babylon's crimes, and how he had to be stopped. It talks of how the Babylonian gods and people wanted a new king, and so Cyrus made that happen. He let the Jews return to Judea as a sign of good faith. He had an unusual religious tolerance that lead him to be the greatest king that Persia had ever seen. It talked of how he did not enslave many people. He did not believe in slaves and selling people. He also kept taxes at a minimum because there were other ways to get money for the empire. He put a lot of money into keeping his people happy with equal rights.
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His power Cyrus the Great was king of many different cities and he wanted to make that clear to everyone. With his personally hand written clay cylinder, Cyrus made sure to make clear all of his titles and all of his power.
"I am Cyrus, king of the world, great king, mighty king, king of Babylon, king of the land of Sumer and Akkad, king of the four quarters, son of Cambyses, great king, king of Anshan, grandson of Cyrus, great king, king of Anshan, descendant of Teispes, great king, king of Anshan, progeny of an unending royal line, whose rule Bel and Nabu cherish, whose kingship they desire for their hearts' pleasures." The Cyrus Cylinder, Achaemenid, after 539 B.C.E |