Cyrus the Great
A King of Ancient Iran
Edited by Touraj Daryaee
Afshar Publishing (August 1, 2013)

Book Description

Introduction

The ancient Iranians of the Achaemenid period knew about Cyrus the Great and considered him the father of the empire. Then, for reasons which are beyond the focus of this book, the Iranians lost the records of the Achaemenids and Cyrus. It took until the twentieth century for the Iranian nation to learn of this once great empire and its founder. This realization was made through the scientific endeavor of European scholars who knew the classical sources and were interested in archaeology. Gradually, scholars began to recognize Cyrus’ importance and his place among the rulers of antiquity, both for the Iranian people and their collective history.

In about twenty years, Cyrus created the first great world empire of the ancient world. The lands from the Iranian Plateau to the Mediterranean were for the first time united; this would last for almost two centuries. Cyrus’ military and diplomatic skills were the cause of such success, and the echoes of his character and talent were captured in such texts as the Old Testament and Cyropaedia. Jews, Babylonians, and Greeks have left us laudatory accounts of Cyrus the Great, and even if not all of this is the plain truth, the unanimity of these traditions point to a very special ruler;  a ruler who, before Alexander of Macedon, was able to create an empire made up of many diverse people living in relative peace and harmony. In Cyrus’ empire, as long as the normal requirements of the imperial system were satisfied, religious and cultural freedom was respected, and local traditions were kept intact. The provinces and people living in them profited greatly from the economic well-being of the Achaemenid Empire. These are the contributions of Cyrus the Great in the ancient world.

The following five essays explore the life and career of Cyrus the Great. Pierre Briant traces the life of Cyrus and how he was able to create the first great empire of antiquity from the province of Fars. Touraj Daryaee discusses the religious tolerance accorded by Cyrus to different groups and the more interesting question of the source of the king’s own religious beliefs. Ali Mousavi traces the lasting importance of the monuments associated with Cyrus through Iranian history. Although the monument and site of Pasargadae, the capital of Cyrus, was forgotten, people still paid homage to it and held it in high esteem. Matthew W. Stolper studies the Cyrus cylinder in terms of its content, aims, and motives, as well as the idea of continuity and change with other cylinders from Mesopotamia. David Stronach studies the center of Cyrus’ world, namely Pasargadae. Archaeological and textual sources are brought together to give life to the location where the palace, gardens, and tomb of Cyrus were built. Finally, the recent English and Persian translation of the Cyrus cylinder is provided by Irving Finkel and Shahrokh Razmjou.

The aim of this volume is to provide readable, yet scholarly exposition by experts in the field of ancient Iranian studies for the general reader. This publication was made possible through the support of the Farhang Foundation. I would particularly like to thank Shazad Ghanbari in making the publication of this volume on Cyrus the Great possible. I would also like to thank Afshar Publishers for agreeing to publish this volume.

Touraj Daryaee
Howard C. Baskerville Professor in the History of Iran and the Persianate World
University of California, Irvine