cyrus cylinder propaganda

It was organised by the British Museum and the Prince of Wales Museum in partnership with Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, Sir Ratan Tata Trust and Navajbai Ratan Tata Trust, all set up by luminaries from the Parsi community, who are descendants of Persian Zoroastrians, who hold Cyrus in great regard, as many scholars consider him as a follower of Zoroastrianism. [61], However, the Cylinder's account of Cyrus's conquest clearly does not tell the whole story, as it suppresses any mention of the earlier conflict between the Persians and the Babylonians;[61] Max Mallowan describes it as a "skilled work of tendentious history". [2] It is currently in the possession of the British Museum, which sponsored the expedition that discovered the cylinder. Lines 20–22: detailing Cyrus's royal titles and genealogy, and his peaceful entry to Babylon; Lines 22–34: a commendation of Cyrus's policy of restoring Babylon; Lines 34–35: a prayer to Marduk on behalf of Cyrus and his son. However, it is unclear how much actually changed on the ground; there is no archaeological evidence for any rebuilding or repairing of Mesopotamian temples during Cyrus’s reign. It emphasises the re-establishment of local religious norms, reversing the alleged neglect of Nabonidus – a theme that Amélie Kuhrt describes as “a literary device used to underline the piety of Cyrus as opposed to the blasphemy of Nabonidus.” She suggests that Cyrus had simply adopted a policy used by earlier Assyrian rulers of giving privileges to cities in key strategic or politically sensitive regions and that there was no general policy as such. [1] Today it exists in two main fragments, known as "A" and "B", which were reunited in 1972. Stele depicting Nabonidus praying to themoon, sun and the planet Venus. The magnanimity shown by Cyrus won him praise and gratitude from those he spared. [101] Since then the replica Cylinder has been kept at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City on the second floor hallway. [47][48], The text is a royal building inscription, a genre which had no equivalent in Old Persian literature. The main theme of the commemoration was the centrality of the monarchy within Iran’s political system, associating the Shah of Iran with the famous monarchs of Persia’s past, and with Cyrus in particular. [6], The German scholar Josef Wiesehöfer summarizes the widely held traditional view by noting that "Many scholars have read into […] sentences [from the text of Cylinder] a confirmation of the Old Testament passages about the steps taken by Cyrus towards the erection of the Jerusalem temple and the repatriation of the Judaeans" and this interpretation was, according to Wiesehöfer, for some scholars a strict belief "that the instructions to this effect were actually provided in these very formulations of the Cyrus Cylinder". This presents an implicit contrast with previous conquerors, notably the Assyrian rulers Tukulti-Ninurta I, who invaded and plundered Babylon in the 12th century BC, and Sennacherib, who did the same thing 150 years before Cyrus conquered the region. [79] The policy of toleration described by the Cylinder was thus, as biblical historian Rainer Albertz puts it, “an expression of conservative support for local regions to serve the political interests of the whole [empire].”[80] Another biblical historian, Alberto Soggin, comments that it was more “a matter of practicality and economy … [as] it was simpler, and indeed cost less, to obtain the spontaneous collaboration of their subjects at a local level than to have to impose their sovereignty by force.”[81]. [103] Neil MacGregor comments: Comparison by scholars in the British Museum with other similar texts, however, showed that rulers in ancient Iraq had been making comparable declarations upon succeeding to the [Babylonian] throne for two millennia before Cyrus […] it is one of the museum’s tasks to resist the narrowing of the object’s meaning and its appropriation to one political agenda. Places in Mesopotamia mentioned by the Cyrus Cylinder. R.J. van der Spek, "Did Cyrus the Great introduce a new policy towards subdued nations?" The Shah tried to prove that the secular Iran with religious freedom that he wanted to promote had existed before, and in this context, the Cyrus Cylinder was called the "world's human rights charter". The Babylonian king’s religious practices were harshly condemned by the Cyrus Cylinder’s inscription. [96], Some historians,[112] as well as writers on human rights, have supported the interpretation of the Cyrus Cylinder as a human rights charter. All content copyright © 1995–2020 Livius.org. The British Museum announced in January 2010 that two inscribed clay fragments, which had been in the Museum’s collection since 1881, had been identified as part of a cuneiform tablet that was inscribed with the same text as the Cyrus Cylinder. It underwent restoration in 1961, when it was re-fired and plaster filling was added. The Cylinder was brought back to London without difficulty, but the British Museum’s Board of Trustees subsequently decided that it would be “undesirable to make a further loan of the Cylinder to Iran.”[1], In 2005–2006 the British Museum mounted a major exhibition on the Persian Empire, Forgotten Empire: the World of Ancient Persia. It extols Cyrus as a benefactor of the citizens of Babylonia who improved their lives, repatriated displaced people and restored temples and cult sanctuaries across Mesopotamia and elsewhere in the region. The Shah identified Cyrus as a key figure in government ideology and associated his government with the Achaemenids. This interpretation ignores the stereotypical nature of the document. The Cyrus Cylinder bears testimony to the fact that the Iranian nation has always been the flag-bearer of justice, devotion and human values throughout history. It asserts the virtue of Cyrus as a gods-fearing king of a traditional Mesopotamian type. [70] As Walton and Hill put it, the claim of a wholly peaceful takeover acclaimed by the people is “standard conqueror’s rhetoric and may obscure other facts.”[71] Describing the claim of one’s own armies being welcomed as liberators as “one of the great imperial fantasies”, Bruce Lincoln, Professor of Divinity at the University of Chicago, notes that the Babylonian population repeatedly revolted against Persian rule in 522BC, 521BC, 484BC and 482BC (though not against Cyrus or his son Cambeses). However, the idea that the Cyrus Cylinder plays a role in the history of human rights, has turned out to be quite persistent, and because the text itself does not enable the interpretation, a fake translation has been made that can still be found on many places on the internet and was, for instance, quoted by Shirin Ebadi when she accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003. 3699, 13 October 1971, "About Questia | Questia, Your Online Research Library", Iran severs cultural ties with British Museum over Persian treasure (2010-02-07), Historic Cyrus Cylinder Called 'A Stranger In Its Own Home', "Century City Freedom Sculpture unveiled on Santa Monica Boulevard median", Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, "Falling for Ancient Propaganda: UN Treasure Honors Persian Despot", "Iran Gives British Museum 2-Month Deadline Over Cyrus Cylinder", "British Museum in battle with Iran over ancient 'charter of rights, "Iran severs cultural ties with British Museum over Persian treasure", "Iran seeks compensation from British Museum", "Iran demands $300,000 from British Museum over Cyrus Cylinder delay", "Cyrus Cylinder, world's oldest human rights charter, returns to Iran on loan", "موزه بريتانيا: تبادل اشياء تاريخي با موزه ملي ايران براي ما مهم است (British Museum: Exchange of historical objects with the National Museum of Iran is important to us)", "منشور حقوق بشر كوروش در موزه ملي ايران استقرار يافت (The Human Rights Declaration of Cyrus was Installed at National Museum)", "British Museum collection database web page, with full translation of the Cylinder's text", "British Museum Postpones Sending Artifact to Iran", "Statements regarding the Cyrus Cylinder", "United Nations Press Release SG/SM/1553/HQ263", "The First Global Statement of the Inherent Dignity and Equality", "Translation of the text on the Cyrus Cylinder", "The Cyrus Cylinder: The Babylonian perspective". All of these claims also appear in Cyrus's Cylinder. [6] This interpretation has been disputed, as the text identifies only Mesopotamian sanctuaries, and makes no mention of Jews, Jerusalem, or Judea. The Cyrus Cylinder presents a very different message; Johannes Haubold notes that it portrays Cyrus’s takeover as a harmonious moment of convergence between Babylonian and Persian history, not a natural disaster but the salvation of Babylonia. [15] On October 14, 1971, the Shah's sister, Princess Ashraf Pahlavi, presented the United Nations Secretary General U Thant with a replica of the Cylinder. Then, in 1983 Xue presented the bones to the Palace Museum in Beijing where Liu Jiuan and Wang Nanfang of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage undertook their study. Hormuzd Rassam in Mosul circa1854. [98] He wrote that "the history of our empire began with the famous declaration of Cyrus, which, for its advocacy of humane principles, justice and liberty, must be considered one of the most remarkable documents in the history of mankind. [33][47] Many elements of the text were drawn from long-standing Mesopotamian themes of legitimizing rule in Babylonia: the preceding king is reprimanded and he is proclaimed to have been abandoned by the gods for his wickedness; the new king has gained power through the divine will of the gods; the new king rights the wrongs of his predecessor, addressing the welfare of the people; the sanctuaries of the gods are rebuilt or restored, offerings to the gods are made or increased and the blessings of the gods are sought; and repairs are made to the whole city, in the manner of earlier rightful kings. [72] As Walton and Hill put it, the claim of a wholly peaceful takeover acclaimed by the people is "standard conqueror's rhetoric and may obscure other facts". It was created and used as a foundation deposit following the Persian conquest of Babylon in 539 BC, when the Neo-Babylonian Empire was invaded by Cyrus and incorporated into his Persian Empire. A representative of the Sultan was instructed to be present at the dig to examine the objects as they were uncovered. [126] The British Museum itself announced the news in its press release, saying "First declaration of human rights’ to tour five cities in the United States". The princess asserted that "the heritage of Cyrus was the heritage of human understanding, tolerance, courage, compassion and, above all, human liberty". [1], The main body of the Cylinder, discovered by Rassam in 1879, is fragment "A".

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