Cyrus the Great
Father King Cyrus and Queen Cassandane
Croesus, the last king of Lydia, who was renowned for his great wealth. He conquered the Greeks of mainland Ionia (on the west coast of Anatolia) and was in turn subjugated by the Persians.
The exact date and place of Cyrus's birth are not known. However, he was born somewhere in the Median empire, sometime between 600 and 580 B.C.E. His father was Cambyses I, the King of Anshan, and his mother was Mandane, daughter of Astyages, the last king of the Median Empire.
A mythological account of Cyrus's early life was presented by Herodotus, according to which, his grandfather Astyages had a prophetic dream, in which he saw flood as well as fruit-bearing vines emerging from his daughter’s pelvis. This was interpreted negatively by his advisers who told him that his daughter's son would be a rebel who would try to replace him to become the new ruler.
As his daughter was pregnant at that time, Astyages, under the influence of his advisors, made the decision to get the baby killed as soon as it was born. The task of killing the baby was given to his chief adviser Harpagus.
Harpagus was reluctant to perform the gruesome task and he gave the job to a shepherd named Mithradates. The shepherd, however, decided to raise Cyrus as his own son, and pass off his own stillborn son as the dead baby Cyrus.
Cyrus grew up in secrecy. However, after he beat up the son of a nobleman during a game, he was summoned to Astyages' court along with his adoptive father. The shepherd confessed the truth, after which Astyages decided to send Cyrus to live with his biological parents.
Cyrus the Great ascended to the throne in 559 B.C.E., years before his father passed away in 551 B.C.E. However, he was not an independent ruler yet and had to recognize Median overlordship. Cyrus soon revolted against his grandfather and overlord.
After unifying the Persians under one ruler, Cyrus and his army set out to win control of the western portion of Iran. This included several trade routes that crossed Iran and continued through Anatolia, modern western Turkey.
In addition, Cyrus conquered the nomadic tribes who lived in the eastern section of Iran. With the perimeters of his territory secure and the income from the trade routes that he now controlled in western Iran, Cyrus and his generals expanded farther and farther into the lands that neighbored Persia.
Cyrus and his generals quickly conquered the kingdom of Lydia and Greek cities along the coast of Anatolia, thus gaining access to seaports on the Mediterranean. Unlike many conquerors, Cyrus was a gentle invader. When he conquered the kingdom of Lydia, Cyrus spared the life of the king, Croesus, and Croesus became one of Cyrus' most valued friends and advisers.
One of the major territories conquered by Cyrus was the Babylonian Kingdom, which had captured the city of Jerusalem in 587 B.C.E. and forced all the Jewish inhabitants into exile in Babylon. This period of time is called the Babylonian Captivity. When the Jews learned that Cyrus and his army were sweeping towards the kingdom of Babylon, they welcomed them as liberators and assisted Cyrus' army in overthrowing the Babylonians.
In 538 B.C.E. Cyrus permitted about 40,000 Jewish exiles to return to their homes in Jerusalem and ended the Babylonian Captivity. Once they had returned to their homeland, Cyrus used the funds he had acquired in conquering Babylon to rebuild the sacred temple of the Jewish people.
After conquering the Babylonians, Cyrus issued one of the world's first human rights charters. A cylinder containing this charter was discovered in 1878 during an excavation of ancient Babylon.
In this charter, Cyrus promised to treat all the inhabitants of Babylon and the other kingdoms he conquered with respect. He swore that he would allow all inhabitants of his empire to practice their own religious and social customs without persecution. Cyrus also promised to punish anyone who acted cruelly to the religious and social minorities of his kingdom.
He forbade the seizure of farmer's lands and properties and made slavery of any kind illegal. Cyrus' commitment to fair and equitable treatment of his people is exemplary by modern standards and was unique during his time period.
In addition to his fair treatment of conquered peoples, Cyrus also helped to establish one of the most efficient government bureaucracies in the Ancient World. Cyrus appointed satraps, or governors, in each territory that he conquered. The satraps were responsible for reporting regularly to Cyrus and for governing the area according to Cyrus' directions.
Letters and news traveled quickly in the Persian Empire because Cyrus built and maintained a series of roads, called the Royal Roads. Couriers traveled from one end of the empire to the other in a matter of days or weeks, instead of months, because of the well-maintained roads. With the assistance of the satraps, Cyrus was able to personally govern his vast empire and to maintain peace among his people.
Cyrus' Royal Roads also allowed the people of the Persian Empire to trade goods and natural resources across the Empire and with other neighboring kingdoms. The Greeks were particularly admiring of Cyrus and adopted Persian-style adornments and decorations during his reign.
Cyrus died in battle in 530 B.C.E. and was buried in an elaborate tomb in his capital city, Pasargadae. He had established an empire that stretched from Turkey to Oman. At the time, it was the largest empire in the world. His son, Cambyses, continued his father's legacy by expanding the Persian Empire into Egypt. His descendants ruled the Persian Empire until they were finally conquered by Alexander the Great in 330 B.C.E.
The Persians were part of a larger migratory group called the Iranians. In 550 B.C.E., Cyrus the Great, the leader of the Persians, conquered the Medes and united the Iranian people under one ruler for the first time. Cyrus went on to establish one of the largest empires in the world. He conquered vast territories, from modern Turkey (Anatolia) to modern Oman.
Cyrus freed the Jewish people from the Babylonian Kingdom, ending the era of Babylonian Captivity, or the exile of the Jews. He also issued the world's first human rights charter to protect the religious minorities in his kingdom.
Cyrus established and maintained the Royal Roads, which enabled faster communication, and used local satraps, or governors, to rule his empire. After his death, Cyrus' empire was ruled by his descendants until 330 B.C.E. when Alexander the Great conquered Persia. Cyrus is one of the most admired rulers in the ancient world.
A good example of Cyrus' religious policy is his treatment of the Jews in Babylon. The Bible records that a remnant of the Jewish population returned to the Promised Land from Babylon, following an edict from Cyrus to rebuild the Temple. This edict is fully reproduced in the Book of Ezra. As a result of Cyrus' policies, the Jews honored him as a dignified and righteous king. He is the only gentile to be designated as a messiah, a divinely-appointed king, in the Tanakh. Koresh (Hebrew for Cyrus) is a common name for streets in Israel and is a relatively common Israeli family name.
Cyrus maintained control over a vast region of kingdoms by organizing the empire into provinces called satrapies. The provincial administrators, vassal kings called satraps, enjoyed considerable autonomy. Cyrus demanded only tribute and conscripts from many parts of the realm.
Cyrus' conquests began a new era in the age of empire building where a large superstate, comprising many dozens of countries, races, and languages, were ruled under a single administration headed by a central government. Centuries later, the administrative techniques created by Cyrus and his successors Darius I and Xerxes I, including the satrapy system of local governorship were adopted by the Greeks and Romans. Today, a modernized version of the system is still in use, better known as administrative divisions.
His exploits, both real and legendary, have been used as material for students undertaking courses in political science. The Cyropaedia of Xenophon, based on the latter's knowledge of the great king's upbringing, was an influential political treatise in ancient times, and again during the Renaissance. Through Thomas Jefferson, who possessed two editions of Cyrus's Cyropaedia, Cyrus influenced the United States Constitution. These Greek and Hebrew versions were donated to the Library of Congress, where three other editions from the same period are available. One of these copies belonged to George Washington.
Cyrus is still cited today as a significant leader. In 1992, he was ranked 87 on Michael H. Hart's list of the most influential figures in history. On December 10, 2003, in her acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize, Shirin Ebadi evoked Cyrus, saying: "I am an Iranian, a descendant of Cyrus the Great. This emperor proclaimed at the pinnacle of power 2,500 years ago that he 'would not reign over the people if they did not wish it.' He promised not to force any person to change his religion and faith and guaranteed freedom for all. The Charter of Cyrus the Great should be studied in the history of human rights."
Quotations:
"All men have their frailties; and whoever looks for a friend without imperfections, will never find what he seeks."
"We love ourselves notwithstanding our faults, and we ought to love our friends in like manner."
"You cannot be buried in obscurity: you are exposed upon a grand theater to the view of the world. If your actions are upright and benevolent, be assured they will augment your power and happiness."
"Success should always call for showing greater kindness, generosity, and justice; only people lost in the darkness treat it as an occassion for greater greed."
Cyrus developed a reputation as a kind and merciful leader to those that he conquered.
Cyrus the Great married Cassandane, whom he is known to have loved dearly. They had five children - Cambyses II, Bardiya, Atossa, Artystone, and Roxane. He was also married to Amytis, the daughter of Astyages, King of Media. He had several other wives as well whom he married for political reasons.
