Declaration of Human Rights

Curated by: Deklan

The Beginning of Human Rights in Ancient Persia

In 559 B.C.E. Cyrus the Great inherited the throne of the district of Anshan. He started to gather neighboring tribes in Iran. In 554 B.C.E. Cyrus revolted against his Median overlord Astyages. He was disgusted with Astyages’ previous cruel ruling. In 549 B.C.E. Cyrus merged the Medes and Persian tribes together to officially create Persia. All of this built to how Cyrus governed his people. He had much more tolerance and leniency than many other rulers. These practices shaped human rights. In 539 B.C.E. Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon and freed the Jewish people. This is when he went back to Persia and finally codified human rights. Beforehand it was just Cyrus' good actions but now his ruling is legitimized.

Image 1

This image depicts the Persian founder/emperor Cyrus the Great

Why were Human Rights Developed?

As stated before, Cyrus the Great codified human rights. He codified them on what he calls "Cyrus cylinders." In these he listed many different things. He then would bury them to preserve Persian history. One of the most important things among the scripts was him listing his decree of the events in Babylon. This helps the narrative that the Jewish people were slaves in Egypt and Cyrus did indeed free them.

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This image depicts the first vessel of human rights, the Cyrus Cylinder

How did human rights impact Persia and later civilizations?

Human rights affected Persia in a unique way from other civilizations. Culture was spread on a large scale in the Persian empire. This is because Cyrus the Great only wanted two things from all of his citizens. Those two things were taxes and labor to the empire. If you abide by those rules he had no problem with your culture and religion. You were free to practice them in his empire as long as you followed those two rules. This sets a precedent for later civilizations to follow suit.

Human Rights Historical Importance

Human rights was important for many reasons. Among them, there is one that especially stands out. Before Persia, human rights had never been codified. Cyrus the Great was the first person in history to formally write down a form of human rights.

Additional Websites

#1 British Museum - Visitors can take a virtual tour of a gallery on ancient Persia. This museum is where the Cyrus Cylinder is located.

#2 Met Museum - Visitors can see the vase showcases of Persian artifacts.

#3 Cyrus the Great History - Visitors can get more of an insight on Cyrus the Great and his accomplishments.

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