What is written on the Cyrus Cylinder?

The Cyrus Cylinder is an ancient clay cylinder, now broken into several pieces, on which is written a declaration in Akkadian cuneiform script in the name of Persia's Achaemenid king Cyrus the Great. It dates from the 6th century BC and was discovered in the ruins of Babylon in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) in 1879. It is currently in the possession of the British Museum, which sponsored the expedition that discovered the cylinder. It was created and used as a foundation deposit following the Persian conquest of Babylon in 539 BC when the Neo-Babylonian Empire was invaded by Cyrus and incorporated into his Persian Empire.

The text on the Cylinder praises Cyrus sets out his genealogy and portrays him as a king from a line of kings. The Babylonian king Nabonidus, who was defeated and deposed by Cyrus, is denounced as an impious oppressor of the people of Babylonia and his low-born origins are implicitly contrasted to Cyrus' kingly heritage. The victorious Cyrus is portrayed as having been chosen by the chief Babylonian god Marduk to restore peace and order to the Babylonians. The text states that Cyrus was welcomed by the people of Babylon as their new ruler and entered the city in peace. It appeals to Marduk to protect and help Cyrus and his son Cambyses.

More Info: en.wikipedia.org

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13 Comments

David Roy

It looks like a used corn cob.

Char

Kathryn Cavanagh, as I always say I don't follow it but I think a lot of it is the history of the time..

Char

Thanks Majority never heard of it so

John W Shreve

Kathryn Cavanagh, I had a friend who was a Biblical archeologist and although he was already a believer, he couldn't help being amazed at the accuracy of God's Word.

Joe Mangan

Kathryn Cavanagh, "The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the earth’s kingdoms." Tomorrow I'm going to rob a bank and I'll tell the cops that the Lord gave me the loot. Read John Colenso.

Howard Groopman

"The lyrics to Achy Breaky Heart" should have been one of the choices.

Lawanta

Kathryn Cavanagh, 👍👍

Louella Wilson

I have read quite a bit about it, and, I'm not sure that it is primarily in praise of Cyrus. That aside, I have enjoyed reading the Wikipedia link given.

Kathryn Cavanagh

go to your Bibles folks, start with 2 chronicles 36:22, then Almost all of Ezra, continue into Isaiah 44:28, then Isaiah 45:1, which talks of Cyrus being Jehovah's Anointed one, then on into Daniel 1:21, 6:28 and 10:1 which mentions the third year of Cyrus. It was prophecied 200 years before the event, that Cyrus would overthrow The Babylonian king Nabonidus. Some fool left the gates open and even though Babylon was surrounded by a moat, the Persian King Cyrus and his army simply walked in and took over..!! there is loads of history written in the Bible, and I was told by an archeologist that any one of his sort always looked to the Bible if wanting to find out about countries in the area covered by it.