Cyrus Cylinder
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Cyrus Cylinder |
The
Cyrus Cylinder is an artifact of the
Persian Empire, consisting of a declaration inscribed in Babylonian
cuneiform on a clay barrel. Upon his taking of
Babylon,
Cyrus the Great issued the declaration, containing an account of his victories and merciful acts, as well as a documentation of his royal lineage. It was discovered in
1879 by the
Assyrian scholar
Hormuzd Rassam in the
Marduk temple of
Babylon, and today is kept in the
British Museum [Antigoni Zournatzi: "The Cyrus Cylinder", in Encyclopedia Iranica, p. 521.].
The declaration is sometimes described as the "first charter of
human rights"
[Forgotten Empire at the British Museum], mainly due to the mention of Babylonian slaves being freed (although
slavery as an institution continued to remain an integral part of Persian society
[Persian society in the time of Darius and Xerxes]). In fact, the declaration reflects a much earlier
Mesopotamian tradition where new reigns were inaugurated with declarations of reforms
[Cyrus Cylinder: A declaration of good kingship British Museum website.].
A replica of the cylinder is kept at the
United Nations Headquarters in
New York City.
*
Cyrus the Great, Founder of Persian Empire.
*
Darius I, King of Persia
*
Naqsh-e Rustam inscription*
Cyrus Cylinder: transliteration and translation, R. Rogers 1912 [
1]
*
CYRUS THE GREATS' CYLINDER (CAIS)*
Cyrus Cylinder: translation, based on Oppenheim 1950*
Cyrus Cylinder*
The First Declaration of Human Rights
