The Cyrus Cylinder: Ancient Persia’s Human-Rights Charter of 539 BC
The Cyrus Cylinder: Ancient Persia’s Human-Rights Charter of 539 BC
In the autumn of 539 BC, something happened that the ancient world had almost no template for: a conquering king rode into one of history’s greatest cities and told its people they were free.
The Day a King Freed a City
The Cyrus Cylinder, a baked clay barrel inscribed in Babylonian...