Cyrus the Great was not the first king of Persia, but he was the first king of what could rightfully be called a Persian Empire. Born in 580 BC, Cyrus was part of the Pasargadae tribe, one of ancient Persian tribes. At that time, the Median people ruled from the Black Sea to central Asia in what is today Afghanistan. The Persians were but one tributary state within this large, ancient empire.
Cyrus the Great Defeats his Grandfather, Astyages
Astyages was the king of Media and the father of Cyrus the Great’s mother. Only five years after Cyrus succeeded his father, Cambyses I, he successfully united the three largest Persian tribes and revolted against his grandfather Astyages’s rule. In 550 BC, after three years of fighting, his grandfather’s troops mutinied and Cyrus was finally able to defeat the Medians. The battle resulted in Astyages’s capture, and he was turned over to Cyrus, who magnanimously spared Astyages’s life and kept him as part of his court until the end of his life.
Cyrus Conquers Lydia and Babylon
The Lydians, another state within the Median Empire under the rule of Croesus, decided that the instability brought about by Cyrus the Great’s conquest would be an excellent time to expand its own borders. After some close, indecisive battles, Cyrus captured the Lydian capital of Sardis in 547 BC. The conquest of Lydia also meant that many cities along the Greek coast were absorbed into the rapidly expanding Persian Empire.
Meanwhile Cyrus turned his attention to Babylonia, whose legendary capital of Babylon was the crown jewel of the ancient Mesopotamian world. Nebuchadnezzar had famously turned Babylon into one of the wonders of the world through his reconstruction of the palace grounds and creating the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. During Babylon’s rule under Nabonidus, however, the Babylonian people became unhappy. Nabonidus rarely stayed within the stately city, and instead his despotic son ruled in his place. This gave Cyrus an excellent excuse to strike Babylon: he presented himself as a liberator and rightful king when he conquered the city in 539 BC. It was at this point that Cyrus the Great declared himself, “king of Babylon, king of the four corners of the world”.
It was Cyrus the Great’s conquest of Babylon that earned him mention in the Old Testament. The Jewish people, long oppressed by the Babylonians, were finally allowed to return to Judea by Cyrus. This liberation is mentioned specifically in the Book of Ezra (1:1-4).
Cyrus the Great and Early Human Rights
Cyrus showed leniency not just with the Jewish people. When he conquered new areas, he allowed the people to keep their local religious traditions and customs. Cyrus’s tolerant attitude made it possible for him to rule effectively and maintain relative stability over his Empire.
Cyrus the Great is considered to have written the first ever “Bill of Rights” of sorts in the history of the world. When he conquered Babylon, he issued a decree (today known as the Cyrus Cylinder) which had three main points: 1) people of different ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups were to be considered equal; 2) all slaves could be allowed to go home; and 3) all temples that had been destroyed (Nabonidus was something of a religious tyrant) were to be restored. It is no wonder, then, that both the Babylonians and many others welcomed Cyrus and accepted his proclamation to be the god-chosen true king of Babylon and all the world.
K. N. Singer - There are some pros and some cons to being a jack-of-all-trades and master of none. The pros are that I can and do write about anything ...
