Cyrus the Great

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Cyrus the Great

 King of Anshan

 King of Persia

 King of Media

 King of the World

 Great King

 Mighty King

 King of Babylon

 King of Sumer and Akkad

 King of the Four Corners of the World [1]

Cyrus the Great with a Hemhem crown, or four-

winged Cherub tutelary divinity, from a relief in the residence of
Cyrus in Pasagardae.[2]
 King of Persia

Reign 559–530 BC

Predecessor Cambyses I

Successor Cambyses II

King of Media

Reign 549–530 BC

Predecessor Astyages

Successor Cambyses II

King of Lydia

Reign 547–530 BC

Predecessor Croesus

Successor Cambyses II

King of Babylon

Reign 539–530 BC

Predecessor Nabonidus

Successor Cambyses II

Born 598–600 BC[3]

Anshan, Persia

Died 4 December, 530 BC[4] (aged 68–70)

Along the Syr Darya
 Burial Pasargadae

Consort Cassandane
Amitis

Issue Cambyses II

Bardiya

Artystone

Atossa
Roxane[4]

House Achaemenid

Father Cambyses I

Mother Mandane of Media

show

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 e
Campaigns of Cyrus the Great

Cyrus II of Persia (Old Persian: 𐎤𐎤𐎤𐎤𐎤 Kūruš; Kourosh;[5] New

Persian: ‫ کوروش‬Kuruš; Hebrew: ‫כורש‬, Modern: Kōréš, Tiberian: Kōréš; c. 600 – 530 BC),[6] commonly
known as Cyrus the Great,[7] and also called Cyrus the Elder by the Greeks, was the founder of
the Achaemenid Empire, the first Persian Empire.[8] Under his rule, the empire embraced all the
previous civilized states of the ancient Near East,[8] expanded vastly and eventually conquered most
of Western Asia and much of Central Asia. From the Mediterranean Sea and Hellespont in the west
to the Indus River in the east, Cyrus the Great created the largest empire the world had yet
seen.[9] Under his successors, the empire eventually stretched at its maximum extent from parts of
the Balkans (Bulgaria-Paeonia and Thrace-Macedonia) and Eastern Europe proper in the west, to
the Indus Valley in the east. His regal titles in full were The Great King, King of Persia, King of
Anshan, King of Media, King of Babylon, King of Sumer and Akkad, and King of the Four Corners of
the World. The Nabonidus Chronicle notes the change in his title from simply "King of Anshan", a
city, to "King of Persia". Assyriologist François Vallat wrote that "When Astyages marched against
Cyrus, Cyrus is called 'King of Anshan', but when Cyrus crosses the Tigris on his way to Lydia, he is
'King of Persia'. The coup therefore took place between these two events."[10]
The reign of Cyrus the Great lasted c. 30 years. Cyrus built his empire by first conquering
the Median Empire, then the Lydian Empire, and eventually the Neo-Babylonian Empire. He led an
expedition into Central Asia, which resulted in major campaigns that were described as having
brought "into subjection every nation without exception".[11] Cyrus did not venture into Egypt, and was
 alleged to have died in battle, fighting the Massagetae along the Syr Darya in December 530
BC.[12][13] He was succeeded by his son, Cambyses II, who managed to conquer Egypt, Nubia,
and Cyrenaica during his short rule.
Cyrus the Great respected the customs and religions of the lands he conquered.[14] This became a
very successful model for centralized administration and establishing a government working to the
advantage and profit of its subjects.[8] In fact, the administration of the empire through satraps and
the vital principle of forming a government at Pasargadae were the works of Cyrus.[15] What is
sometimes referred to as the Edict of Restoration (actually two edicts) described in the Bible as
being made by Cyrus the Great left a lasting legacy on the Jewish religion. According to Isaiah
45:1 of the Hebrew Bible,[16] God anointed Cyrus for this task, even referring to him as messiah (lit.
"His anointed one") and he is the only non-Jewish figure in the Bible to be called so.[17]
Cyrus the Great is also well recognized for his achievements in human rights, politics, and military
strategy, as well as his influence on both Eastern and Western civilizations. Having originated
from Persis, roughly corresponding to the modern Iranian province of Fars, Cyrus has played a
crucial role in defining the national identity of modern Iran.[18][19][20] The Achaemenid influence in the
ancient world eventually would extend as far as Athens, where upper-class Athenians adopted
aspects of the culture of the ruling class of Achaemenid Persia as their own.[21]
In the 1970s, the last Shah of Iran Mohammad Reza Pahlavi identified his famous proclamation
inscribed onto the Cyrus Cylinder as the oldest known declaration of human rights,[22] and the
Cylinder has since been popularized as such.[23][24][25] This view has been criticized by some
historians[26] as a misunderstanding[27] of the Cylinder's generic nature as a traditional statement that
new monarchs make at the beginning of their reign.[24][25][28]

Contents

 1Etymology
 2Dynastic history
 3Early life
o 3.1Mythology
 4Rise and military campaigns
o 4.1Median Empire
o 4.2Lydian Empire and Asia Minor
o 4.3Neo-Babylonian Empire
 5Death
o 5.1Burial
 6Legacy
o 6.1Religion and philosophy
o 6.2Politics and management
o 6.3Cyrus Cylinder
 7Family tree
 8See also
 9References
 10Bibliography
 11Further reading
 12External links

Etymology[edit]
Further information: Cyrus
The name Cyrus is a Latinized form derived from the Greek Κῦρος, Kỹros, itself from the Old
Persian Kūruš.[29][30] The name and its meaning has been recorded in ancient inscriptions in different
languages. The ancient Greek historians Ctesias and Plutarch noted that Cyrus was named
from Kuros, the Sun, a concept which has been interpreted as meaning "like the Sun" (Khurvash) by
noting its relation to the Persian noun for sun, khor, while using -vash as a suffix of likeness.[31] This
may also point to a relationship to the mythological "first king" of Persia, Jamshid, whose name also
incorporates the element "sun" ("shid").
Karl Hoffmann has suggested a translation based on the meaning of an Indo-European-root "to
humiliate" and accordingly "Cyrus" means "humiliator of the enemy in verbal contest".[30] In
the Persian language and especially in Iran, Cyrus's name is spelled as ‫[ کوروش‬kuːˈɾoʃ]. In the Bible,
he is known as Koresh (Hebrew: ‫)כורש‬.[32]
Some scholars, on the other hand, believe that neither Cyrus nor Cambyses were Iranian names,
proposing that Cyrus was Elamite in origin and that it meant "He who bestows care".[33]

Dynastic history[edit]
See also: Achaemenes, Achaemenid family tree, and Teispids

The four-winged guardian figure representing Cyrus the Great or possibly a four-winged Cherub tutelary
deity. Bas-relief found at Pasargadae on top of which was once inscribed in three languages the sentence "I
am Cyrus the king, an Achaemenian."[34][35]

The Persian domination and kingdom in the Iranian plateau started by an extension of the
Achaemenid dynasty, who expanded their earlier domination possibly from the 9th century BC
onward. The eponymous founder of this dynasty was Achaemenes (from Old Persian Haxāmaniš).
Achaemenids are "descendants of Achaemenes" as Darius the Great, the ninth king of the dynasty,
traces his genealogy to him and declares "for this reason we are called Achaemenids". Achaemenes
built the state Parsumash in the southwest of Iran and was succeeded by Teispes, who took the title
"King of Anshan" after seizing Anshan city and enlarging his kingdom further to
include Pars proper.[36] Ancient documents[37] mention that Teispes had a son called Cyrus I, who also
succeeded his father as "king of Anshan". Cyrus I had a full brother whose name is recorded
as Ariaramnes.[8]