Cyrus the Great - Great Persian Ruler and Liberator of Enslaved Peoples

Cyrus II of Persia (c. 600-529 BC), usually recognized as Cyrus the Excellent, was 1 of the greatest kings of Persia. He was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, also recognized as the Persian Empire (c. 550-330 BC), which was the greatest empire identified in the globe up to that time.

He gathered under his banner all the tribes of Persia and then marched against and defeated their overlord, the Medes (549).

Now top a nation that united the Medes and the Persians, Cyrus started attacking and defeating neighboring powers including Lydia (c. 546).

He then defeated the Babylonian Empire (539) and its vassal states, such as Syria and Palestine.

Either prior to or right after his campaign against the Babylonian Empire, he led an expedition which led to battles that, according to the ancient Greek historian, Herodotus, brought "into subjection each and every nation without having exception".

At its height the Achaemenid Empire under Cyrus the Fantastic extended from the Indus correct via to Egypt and the Mediterranean.

Cyrus was a statesman and a humane 1. He treated the peoples he defeated with humanity and respect. He permitted them to practice their standard religions and cultures. He allowed them to join the Persian army and administration.

He permitted enslaved countries, which includes the Jews, who had been carried into captivity in Babylon, to return to their native nations and practice their personal religions there. On account of these magnaminous acts, the Old Testament known as Cyrus the "Shepherd" and the "Annointed of Jehovah".

The Persians themselves recalled his virtue and known as him "Father"; the Babylonians referred to as him the "Liberator" and the Greeks named him the "Lawgiver".

In 1878 a outstanding archeological discovery was produced in Babylon: the cylinder of Cyrus. Inscribed in Akkadian cuneiform writing, the cylinder provides a detailed description of Cyrus' conquest of Babylon (539) and of his humane therapy of the inhabitants of that city. The cylinder has been acclaimed as the globe's very first declaration of human rights.

The cylinder describes how Cyrus set up a state of peace and abolished forced labor: "The people of Babylon (...) the shameful yoke was removed from them." It also refers by name to the Jews who had been brought as slaves to Babylon and had been allowed to their homeland.

Cyrus died although fighting the Massgetae in central Asia. He was succeeded by his son.

The ancient Greek historian, Xenophon (c. 428 - c. 354 BC), later wrote a didactic book, the Cyropaedia (or The Education of Cyrus), about Cyrus the Wonderful, depicting him as a model ruler.

Cyrus founded the planet's most in depth empire up to his time. His kindness, tolerance and heroism are recalled in Persia's national epic, the Shah Nameh (The Book of Kings).

For additional details on Cyrus the Good, study the write-up at http://www.1902encyclopedia.com/C/CYR/cyrus-the-elder.html

David Paul Wagner writes on history, politics and present affairs.

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