A new beginning for the Middle East: The Cyrus Cylinder and Ancient Persia

Video

Mark Cartwright
by The British Museum
published on 07 February 2016

The Cyrus Cylinder is one of the most famous objects to have survived from the ancient world. It was inscribed in Babylonian cuneiform on the orders of Persian King Cyrus the Great (559-530 BC) after he captured Babylon in 539 BC.

The cylinder is often referred to as the first bill of human rights as it appears to encourage freedom of worship throughout the Persian Empire and to allow deported people to return to their homelands. It was found in Babylon in modern Iraq in 1879 during a British Museum excavation.

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APA Style

Museum, T. B. (2016, February 07). A new beginning for the Middle East: The Cyrus Cylinder and Ancient Persia. World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/video/678/a-new-beginning-for-the-middle-east-the-cyrus-cyli/

Chicago Style

Museum, The British. "A new beginning for the Middle East: The Cyrus Cylinder and Ancient Persia." World History Encyclopedia. Last modified February 07, 2016. https://www.worldhistory.org/video/678/a-new-beginning-for-the-middle-east-the-cyrus-cyli/.

MLA Style

Museum, The British. "A new beginning for the Middle East: The Cyrus Cylinder and Ancient Persia." World History Encyclopedia. World History Encyclopedia, 07 Feb 2016. Web. 18 Apr 2024.

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