Cyrus the Great Essay

In the mid-first millennium BCE, numerous groups arose, each with a different set of perspectives, worldviews, and attitudes: the Israelites, the Phoenicians, Neo-Assyrians, Persians and Greeks, and so on. For the Jews, they were held captive in Babylon, later returned to Jerusalem by Cyrus, the King of the Persians. Therefore, according to the first article, Cyrus was welcome within their society. These people were extremely religious, especially in regards to Marduk, and they all felt the need to help build their temple in Jerusalem. Everyone wanted to help for their beliefs and God, and gave gifts, money, and resources. “Even the Greeks, who later defeated the Persians, saw Cyrus as a model ruler” (textbook 132). Even more so, according to the Persian Customs article, most of the clans were made by Cyrus, and the rest, nomad tribes, heavily depended on Cyrus’ tribes.

There are many reasons in which the Persian empire is considered one of the greatest civilizations ever in human history and this can mostly be attributed to the stupendous leadership of the one and only Cyrus the great. One of the best kings that the world has ever seen and was the most dominant man in his era. He was brilliant and extremely powerful as he was smart and strong enough to conquer almost every single land within his area and put them all together into one persian empire. The legacy that Cyrus left behind him was one that every king after him tried to follow. For example, emperor Darius I still continued the expansion of the persian empire and reigned control over it as well. After Cyrus died there was a time in which there was nothing but trash rulers and then Darius I came into power. As I stated earlier Darius wanted to follow in the steps of Cyrus and be even greater than him so Darius builded on what Cyrus achieved and split the persian empire into multiple provinces to control the government a little easier. Another thing that made persia so successful was the fact that they tolerated non-Persian folks to live in their empire. There were many different types of people all across persia and the government did not force anything upon these non-Persian residents and let them live their lives how they had before arriving and they only had to pay taxes. Due to this the

Cyrus the Great and King Ashoka were successful rulers because they both developed laws to protect their kingdom, valued their citizen’s rights and religions, and had a strong military. While they both had a thriving empire, they developed them in different ways. In order to be a good ruler, he must be liked by your subjects. Cyrus the Great as well as King Ashoka had strong leadership skills that enabled them to lead their people with confidence and power. They both wanted their kingdom to grow continuously. Historians today often refer to Cyrus the Great and King Ashoka as the most powerful rulers of their time.

The ancient civilizations had very different ways of running their empires throughout their time. The Persians and Greeks held very true to this statement. They both had different sources that contributed to the power they held. The Persians had a very large empire and had a specific way of controlling it. First lets see how the Persians came to be. Cyrus, the son of the Assyrian king, was supposed to be killed as a baby. He was instead taken to a village that soon became called Persia. As Cyrus matured, the people could tell he had the characteristics of a king. He soon became just that. He didn’t want to be just a ruler though, he wanted to be different. His tactics were based on mercy, forgiveness, and compassion. Cyrus did go to war still

For example, Cyrus the Great paid for his own treasury, to aid Jews return back to Jerusalem, and helping them build new temples and rebuild a city from the ground (Doc. 2). Also Ashoka , “respected mothers and fathers is good, generosity to friends,” and “work for the proper treatment of prisoners.” (Doc.6). This proves that they stayed loyal to their citizens, and helped them when needed. In addition, another similarity was that they were both religiously tolerant, meaning they respected other religions that wasn’t theirs. According to the Cyrus Cylinder, Cyrus traveled around the area making sanctuaries permanent for their owners, something to have been seen done by any ruler before. (Doc.1) Also, in the Edicts of King Ashoka, it is stated “honors not ascetics and the householders of all religions.” (Doc. 7) This really helped them. Because back them religion was one of the most important things, and feeling welcomed and accepted by your ruler would be a relied for many. Another similarity was the fact that they both had spies. Cyrus had many people in the cities who would report back with updates (Doc 5.) Ashoka also did this in order to find information on its people (Doc.7). This platform of information was good because it gave the leaders and its people god communication, which was not easy to find back

Cyrus, typically known as Cyrus the Great, was the king of the Persians that lived from 576 to 530 B.C. He became the king of the Persians in 559 B.C. and reigned until 530 B.C. During this time, people were fighting for power and control of the Fertile Crescent and of Asia Minor. Cyrus was mainly known for his large respect and tolerance to other religions and his highly peaceful actions to people he conquered. He was also known for being one of the few people able to control and hold control one of the biggest empires, even after death.

After the Assyrian Empire fell to the Chaldeans, later, the Chaldeans then surrendered to the Persian Empire. The Persians were a nomadic people that obtained the Indo-European tongue. Cyrus the Great was a Persian ruler that created the Persian state even more powerful with the introduction of satrapies, provinces when they continued to expand their nation. Je was a ruler with great wisdom and restraint that Babylonians experienced when Cyrus took them over. Cyrus, a merciful leader, allowed the Jews to return to their home city, Jerusalem, with all their sacred objects and could rebuild their Temple. He was a respected king for he allowed the practices of Assyria, Babylonia, Egyptian, and Lydia to occur in his palace. Even after he died,

During the reign of the greatest Achaemenid ruler he expanded his empire to the East as far as the Indus river and to the west, the black sea. Creating the largest empire the world had ever seen, he also created a vast and complex system to govern all of his land and its diversity with a coin system,taxes, and laws.

A man named Cyrus overthrew the Persian monarch and became the forefather of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. He united the Persian tribes and conquered Lydia, as well as Mesopotamia later on in his rule.

Cyrus, rather than marching onwards and leaving a path of destruction in his wake as many empire-builders of his time did, instead won the favors of the people he defeated, keeping their homes and cultures intact yet also not only giving them the opportunity to join him, but having them want to be ruled by him. Cyrus was an attractive leader who through his life,

IEP10 #36 Rebecca Darius the Great Imagine frequent warfare is ongoing in your country, and everyday hundreds of thousands of people are dying. This is what happened in Persia, the largest empire ever established around 500 BCE. No leaders could govern the entire empire, but there was one person out of many who reinstated order in Persia. His name was Darius I. Darius created a permanent army composed of paid soldiers, and brought political stability to Persia through the division of land into regions and the development of the Royal Roads.

Cyrus the Great became ruler of the Persians because he did not want to be controlled by the meads and along with his nomadic warriors, he overtook them. Previously, the Medes had an Iranian religion of whom the Magi were like the priests of Persia and with their great architectural knowledge, they build fire temples which were used by the Magi to perform ceremonies & rituals. This religion derived from magic and astrology, principles of dualism (good & Evil) and resurrection. This religion is one of the causes for which Cyrus the great, rebelled against the Medes. With his army, he conquered most of Asia and remained in power because of the type of ruler that he was. Cyrus allowed the people to keep their customs and practice their own religions, worship their own gods and carry their separate rituals,

The prophets Ezekiel and Deutero-Isaiah believed that Yahweh had used the Babylonian Empire to punish the Israelites for their sins, and he therefore had the power to redeem them from captivity if they repented. The Babylonian exiles' messianic hope for a restored Judean kingdom under the leadership of a scion of the royal house of David seemed to have been justified when Cyrus the Great, after conquering Babylon in 539 BC, permitted a repatriation of subject populations and a restoration of local temples. The restored Judean commonwealth did not fully realize this hope, however, because the Persians did not allow the reestablishment of a Judean monarchy, but only a temple-state with the high priest as its chief administrator. A truly monotheistic religion developed as the God of Israel came to be seen as the God ruling universal history and the destiny of all nations (Rich 2).

Cyrus and Darius both tolerated ethnic and theological diversity. They did not try to force Persian culture on the conquered people. It seemed as though the Persians just wanted to have the right to tax and have control of the land and its riches. The Seleucids, Parthians, and Sasanids also advocated this policy. Although this policy worked quite well in allowing for fluid execution of ruling,

Long before the great king, Cyrus’ death the Persian Empire had reached the milestone that allowed it to be the first empire that was so large. Cyrus had a son, who took over the throne in 530 B.C.E., named Cambyses II. Cambyses would show the same ambition we saw in his father. In 525 B.C.E he added Egypt to the Persian Empire. His victory was not to be enjoyed for long. He died in 522 B.C.E. and it is assumed that he may have died from a sword wound. This wound is believed to be accidental. Although, his death was not mourned for like that of his father. This may have been due to his