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"He honored his subjects and cared for them as if they were his own children, and they, on their own part, revered Cyrus as a father"(19).
- Xenophon
Who Was King Cyrus?
Who Was King Cyrus?
King Cyrus was a unique ruler in that even those who would be considered his enemies (the Greeks for example) thought and spoke highly of him. This shows that Cyrus had a noble and honorable character that is not often seen in history. There was something about this great man that caused his name to be praised and honored even to the present age. King Cyrus lived in such a way that his legacy survived him and lives to this day in the hearts of those who consider themselves to be Persians. How did he live? How did he treat others? What did he do? What was it about the way that he dealt with people that caused them to commit themselves to this empire and dedicate their loyalty to the king of the multicultural, multiethnic, and multireligious dynasty? These questions are the purpose behind this portion of the website.
King Cyrus was born into a royal family. It is believed that his father was Cambyses I the king of Anshan. There are a lot of conflicting accounts of Cyrus' early years(20). But what can be agreed on is that upon his father's death, Cyrus took over the kingdom and went on to expand it into a mighty empire. Born Cyrus II, he quickly became Cyrus the Great (or the Shahanshah) of the Persian empire. As already mentioned, Cyrus conquered his grandfather's kingdom of Media to the north, then went on to conquer Lydia, and finally took control of Babylon(21).
As Daan Nijssen of World History points out, "in order to truly understand the significance of Cyrus' policy towards subject population, it should be kept in mind that the Achaemenid Empire at that time was a little more than a personal collection of kingdoms that Cyrus had conquered. This empire was held together mostly through personal loyalty to the king"(22). What earned this military leader the respect of his people? It was in the way that they were treated by this king who had conquered some of the most powerful kingdoms in the region; the secret lay in the character of Shahanshah Cyrus.
Herodotus and Xenophon
Herodotus and Xenophon
Herodotus and Xenophon were Greek historians that lived years after Cyrus. These two authors had great respect for the foreign and dead king and were fascinated by his story. Because of this, they both wrote biographies of Cyrus. As is always the case, there is a lot in these accounts that needs to be read critically because not all of the accounts or descriptions of King Cyrus were actually true, (or at least completely true). At the same time, however, a lot of what we know of King Cyrus comes from what they wrote.
What Xenophon wrote about Cyrus:
"...[M]en unite against none so readily as against those whom they see attempting to rule over them. (3) As long, therefore, as we followed these reflections, we could not but conclude that man is by nature fitted to govern all creatures, except his fellow man. But when we came to realize the character of Cyrus the Persian, we were led to a change of mind: here is a man, we said, who won for himself obedience from thousands of his fellows, from cities and tribes innumerable: we must ask ourselves whether the government of men is, after all, an impossible or even a difficult task, provided one set about it in the right way"(23).
What Xenophon is telling us is that Cyrus went about ruling in the right way. Most men do not want to be ruled, governed, and controlled. As he said, nothing can make men unite over a singular cause as that cause which is against a ruling power. But this was not the case with King Cyrus. In fact, he earned the respect of his people. What did he do?
"Cyrus was able so to penetrate that vast extent of country by the sheer terror of his personality that the inhabitants were prostrate before him: not one of them dared lift hand against him. And yet he was able, at the same time, to inspire them all with so deep a desire to please him and win his favour that all they asked was to be guided by his judgment and his alone. Thus he knit to himself a complex of nationalities so vast that it would have taxed a man's endurance merely to traverse his empire in any one direction, east or west or south or north, from the palace which was its centre."
In this second quotation, Xenophon noted that the people of Persia had a healthy fear of Cyrus because of his military might. But they also had a deep respect and honor for him that came from the way that he respected them and allowed them the dignity and distinction of maintaining their own culture and identity, even while being simultaneously Persian.
2 Chronicles, Ezra, and Isaiah
2 Chronicles, Ezra, and Isaiah
There is another ancient source that speaks of Cyrus and this is the Hebrew Bible. There are many places where King Cyrus is mentioned and portrayed favorably. These accounts reflect the proclamation of the Cyrus cylinder (which will be discussed later) which told all those who had formally been captured under the Babylonian empire were free to go return home. Here are what some of these accounts say:
Cyrus Freeing the Jews: Johann Andreas Thelot, 17th Century
"He [Nebuchadnezzar] carried into exile to Babylon the remnant, who escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and his successors until the kingdom of Persia came to power. 21 The land [Jerusalem] enjoyed its sabbath rests; all the time of its desolation it rested, until the seventy years were completed in fulfillment of the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah.
22 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing..."
2 Chronicles 36:20-22
This is the precursor of the proclamation made by Cyrus that comes later in the book of Ezra. The Jews who had rebelled against God had been carried into exile by the Babylonians, and there they stayed until King Cyrus took captured Babylon. According to 2 Chronicles, it was the God of the Israelites who laid it on the heart of Cyrus to release the Israelites (and as we have come to know, it was not only the Israelites who benefitted from this) and allow them to go back to their Promised Land.
"In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing:
2 “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says:
“‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. 3 Any of his people among you may go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem, and may their God be with them. 4 And in any locality where survivors may now be living, the people are to provide them with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with freewill offerings for the temple of God in Jerusalem.’"
Ezra 1:1-4
In the book of Ezra, we see the proclamation made by Cyrus in greater detail. Not only did King Cyrus allow the Jewish people to go back to their homeland, but he also allowed them to go back and rebuild their temple to God. In addition to this, King Cyrus also generously gave the articles of the Israelites' temple back to the returning exiles and ordered the native (Babylonian) people whom the Jews were living among, to provide them with articles of gold and silver, and even the supplies necessary to make offerings to the God of Israel!
"I am the Lord, the Maker of all things, who stretches out the heavens, who spreads out the earth by myself.... who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please; he will say of Jerusalem, “Let it be rebuilt,” and of the temple, “Let its foundations be laid.”’
Isaiah 44:24, 28
In this text found in the Biblical book of Isaiah, it calls Cyrus a shepherd of God's people, who was being used by God to fulfill His purposes for Israel. In this verse, it says that all that Cyrus did was ordained by God for the benefit of His people.
“This is what the Lord says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to subdue nations before him and to strip kings of their armor, to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut: I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name. For the sake of Jacob my servant, of Israel my chosen, I summon you by name and bestow on you a title of honor, though you do not acknowledge me. I am the Lord, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting people may know there is none besides me (24).
Isaiah 45:1-6
This is a very interesting passage that is also found in Isaiah. In this passage, it gives (in accordance with the Hebrew tradition) the reason for King Cyrus' generosity, noble character, and mercy. In this passage, it says that it was God who blessed Cyrus' kingdom and gave him victory over the powerful empires around him (Media, Lydia, and Babylon). In this passage, it says that God was the reason that Cyrus was blessed and his kingdom prospered. It acknowledged that Cyrus was a Persian king who worshiped a Persian god (or perhaps many different gods), not the God of the Israelites. But God still blessed Cyrus and gave him a generous and merciful heart so that the Israelite people would be blessed through Cyrus. According to this passage, God called Cyrus by name and appointed him as the person who would free the people of Israel and allow them to go home.
The Cyrus Cylinder
The Cyrus Cylinder
A crucial piece to the legacy and the knowledge that we have of King Cyrus of Persia, lies in the Cyrus Cylinder. This object is small with measurements of only 9 inches by 4 inches, but it had a great significance in that it solidified and confirmed what was known about Cyrus from other accounts. Considering what is known about Cyrus and the beginning of the Achaemenid Empire from sources such as Xenophon and the Bible, this find was instrumental in taking those records beyond mere speculation or glowing, elaborated accounts and transforming them into confirmed historical records(25). This cylinder was Cyrus' own voice sharing how he had conquered Babylon and released the captured people to go back to their homeland along with their gods and/or sacred objects they used to worship their god(s).
Found in 1879, it was "among the most celebrated discoveries from the ancient world, with a legacy that resounds today"(26). Not only did this find confirm the historical record believed to be the history of King Cyrus, but it also was the earliest document to promote human rights. The cylinder was written in the Babylonian language and gave an account of what King Cyrus had done (captured Babylon) and told the citizens of Babylon what King Cyrus was going to do (rule them, liberate those in bondage, and tolerate their traditions and religious practices). Instead of forcing Persian practices on the newly conquered people, Cyrus was going to uphold and respect the traditions of the people in his empire(27). To quote Dr. Tamara Cohn Eskenazi, "This is not something that previous rulers had done - and not many rulers have done it since"(28).
Those at the British Museum want to add to this discussion by noting that King Cyrus was in no way pacifist, though he promoted tolerant and merciful ideals, he was a strategic military commander and a powerful ruler, you cannot build an empire without this. In addition to this, he demanded basic allegiance and "fundamental support" of the empire along with the payment of taxes. But in return for this, the people under his control (and under the approximate 200 years of Persian rule) could have religious freedom, economic stability, relative peace, and respect for human life. This was not a common characteristic of middle eastern rulers at the time(29).
"...[T]he cylinder chronicles Cyrus' numerous acts of mercy. It describes his willingness to let conquered subjects retain their traditions, a practice unheard of in a time when rulers 'owned' not only the conquered lands but also the people living in them"(30).
- Kristen Baird Rattini
Pasargadae
Pasargadae
During the reign of King Cyrus, the capital of the Achaemenid empire rested in what is now the modern province of Fars, Iran. This complex was an impressive blend of cultural architecture that represented the multicultural empire that Cyrus was king of(31).
Today this complex holds the remains of many different buildings of Cyrus' capital. This includes the remains of:
the tomb of Cyrus
royal gardens and fountains
audience palace
private palace
pavilions
the tomb of Cyrus' son Cambyses(32)
Cyrus' tomb, standing 36 feet tall and 42 feet wide, and the site it was built on, is believed to have been designed and selected by Cyrus himself during his lifetime(33). It is fascinating that this humble monument represents the burial site of the founder of the Persian empire. It is especially powerful to consider how in stark contrast this monument stands to the greatness of the one buried within it(34).
Tomb of King Cyrus in Pasargadae, Iran.
"[Pasargadae] is linked to Cyrus the Great's own story...the great king's legacy and humble heart have survived throughout the centuries, being an inspiration for the powerful rulers from the fierce rival of the Achaemenid, Alexander the Great, to the father of the United State's Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson"(35).
Diagram found of Cyrus the Great's Tomb taken from "Iransafar.co"
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