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Cyrus the Great

Cyrus the Great
𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁
King of Kings
"Winged Genius" relief at Pasargadae, with braided hair and a Hemhem crown, traditionally identified as Cyrus[1][a]
King of Persia
Reign559[4]–530 BC
PredecessorCambyses I
SuccessorCambyses II
King of Media
Reign549–530 BC
PredecessorAstyages
SuccessorCambyses II
King of Lydia
Reign547–530 BC
PredecessorCroesus
SuccessorCambyses II
King of Babylon
Reign539–530 BC
PredecessorNabonidus
SuccessorCambyses II
Bornc. 600 BC[5]
Anshan, Persis, Kingdom of Anshan
Died4 December 530 BC[6] (aged 70)
Pasargadae, Persis, Achaemenid Empire
Burial
Tomb of Cyrus the Great, Pasargadae, Iran
ConsortCassandane
Issue
HouseTeispid
DynastyAchaemenid
FatherCambyses I
MotherMandane of Media

Cyrus II of Persia (Old Persian: 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 Kūruš; c. 600 – 530 BC),[b] commonly known as Cyrus the Great,[7] was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire.[8] Hailing from Persis, he brought the Achaemenid dynasty to power by defeating the Median Empire and embracing all of the previous civilized states of the ancient Near East,[8] expanding vastly across most of West Asia and much of Central Asia to create what would soon become the largest empire in history at the time.[8] The Achaemenid Empire's greatest territorial extent was achieved under Darius the Great, whose rule stretched from Southeast Europe in the west to the Indus Valley in the east.

After absorbing the Median Empire, Cyrus conquered Lydia and eventually the Neo-Babylonian Empire, granting him control of Anatolia and the Fertile Crescent, respectively. He also led a major expedition into Central Asia, where his army brought "into subjection every nation without exception"[9] before he allegedly died in battle with the Massagetae, a nomadic Eastern Iranian people, along the Syr Darya in December 530 BC.[10][c] However, per Xenophon of Athens, Cyrus did not die fighting and had instead returned to the capital city of Pasargadae.[11] Regardless of the date of his death, he was succeeded by his son Cambyses II, whose campaigns into North Africa led to the conquests of Egypt, Nubia, and Cyrenaica during his short rule.

To the Greeks, he was known as Cyrus the Elder (Κῦρος ὁ Πρεσβύτερος Kŷros ho Presbýteros) and was particularly renowned among contemporary scholars because of his habitual policy of tolerance for peoples' customs and religions in the lands that he conquered.[12] Similarly, he is exalted in Judaism for his role in freeing the Jewish people from the Babylonian captivity by issuing the Edict of Restoration following the Persian conquest of Babylon. This event is described in the Hebrew Bible as the return to Zion, whereby displaced Jews were repatriated to what had been the Kingdom of Judah, thus enabling the resurgence of Jewish life in the Land of Israel. Cyrus also facilitated Jewish aspirations for a new Temple in Jerusalem in the Achaemenid Empire's Province of Judah, where the original Solomon's Temple had once stood before being destroyed during the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem. His efforts resulted in the completion of the Second Temple, which marked the beginning of the Second Temple period and Second Temple Judaism. According to the Book of Isaiah,[13] he was anointed by Yahweh and explicitly designated "messiah" for this task; Cyrus is the only non-Jewish figure to be revered in this capacity.[14]

In addition to his influence on traditions in both the East and the West, Cyrus is recognized for his achievements in human rights, politics, and military strategy. He was influential in developing the system of a central administration at his capital city to govern the Achaemenid Empire's satraps, who worked for the profit of both rulers and subjects.[8][15] His realm's prestige in the ancient world would gradually reach as far west as Athens, where upper-class Greeks adopted aspects of the culture of the ruling Persian class as their own.[16] Likewise, Cyrus' reign played a crucial role in defining the history of Iran for well over a millennium, as future Persian empires often viewed the Achaemenid era with deference and as the ideal example to emulate. His dynasty was also instrumental in allowing Zoroastrianism to develop and spread as far east as China.[17][18][19] To this end, he remains a cult figure in modern Iran, with his Pasargadae tomb serving as a spot of reverence for millions of the country's citizens.[20]

  1. ^ Curzon 2018, p. 75.
  2. ^ Sekunda 2010, p. 268–271.
  3. ^ Stronach 2010, p. 9.
  4. ^ Gershevitch 1985, p. 210.
  5. ^ Gershevitch, Ilya, ed. (1985). The Cambridge History of Iran: The Median and Achaemenian periods. Vol. 2. Cambridge University Press. p. 404. ISBN 978-0-521-20091-2. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  6. ^ a b Dandamayev 1993, pp. 516–521.
  7. ^ Xenophon, Anabasis I. IX; see also M. A. Dandamaev "Cyrus II", in Encyclopaedia Iranica.
  8. ^ a b c d Schmitt (1983) Achaemenid dynasty (i. The clan and dynasty)
  9. ^ Cambridge Ancient History IV Chapter 3c. p. 170. The quote is from the Greek historian Herodotus.
  10. ^ Beckwith, Christopher I. (2009). Empires of the Silk Road. Princeton University Press. p. 63. ISBN 978-0-691-13589-2.
  11. ^ Bassett, Sherylee R. (1999). "The Death of Cyrus the Younger". The Classical Quarterly. 49 (2): 473–483. doi:10.1093/cq/49.2.473. ISSN 0009-8388. JSTOR 639872. PMID 16437854.
  12. ^ Dandamayev 1993, pp. 516–521, "Cyrus's religious policies".
  13. ^ Jona Lendering (2012). "Messiah – Roots of the concept: From Josiah to Cyrus". livius.org. Archived from the original on 31 December 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
  14. ^ The Biblical Archaeology Society (BAS) (24 August 2015). "Cyrus the Messiah". bib-arch.org. Archived from the original on 26 January 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  15. ^ The Cambridge Ancient History Vol. IV p. 42. See also: G. Buchaman Gray and D. Litt, The foundation and extension of the Persian empire, Chapter I in The Cambridge Ancient History Vol. IV, 2nd edition, published by The University Press, 1927. p. 15. Excerpt: The administration of the empire through satrap, and much more belonging to the form or spirit of the government, was the work of Cyrus ...
  16. ^ Miller, Margaret Christina (2004). Athens and Persia in the Fifth Century BC: A Study in Cultural Receptivity. Cambridge University Press. p. 243. ISBN 978-0-521-60758-2.
  17. ^ Curtis, Vesta Sarkhosh; Stewart, Sarah (2005). Birth of the Persian Empire. I. B. Tauris. p. 7. ISBN 978-1-84511-062-8.[verification needed]
  18. ^ Kuhrt, Amelie (3 December 2007). The Persian Empire: A Corpus of Sources from the Achaemenid Period. Routledge. p. 47. ISBN 978-1-134-07634-5.
  19. ^ Holliday, Shabnam J. (2011). Defining Iran: Politics of Resistance. Ashgate. pp. 38–40. ISBN 978-1-4094-0524-5.
  20. ^ Llewellyn-Jones 2017, p. 67.


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