Cyrus: Dictator or author of the first bill of rights?
A 2500 year old Persian treasure dubbed the world's 'first bill of human rights' has been branded a piece of shameless 'propaganda' by German historians.
The Cyrus cylinder, which is held by the British Museum, is a legacy of Cyrus the Great - the Persian emperor famed for freeing the Jews of ancient Babylon after conquering the city in 539 BC.
A copy of the cylinder, which is covered in cuneiform script supposed to detail the ancient charter of rights, also hangs next to the Security Council Chamber in the United Nations headquarters in New York, where it is held as a symbol of Cyrus's reputation as a fair and just ruler.
But now that reputation has been challenged by German historians who claim that the UN is unjustly celebrating the rule of a man every bit as despotic as any other land-grabbing leader.
Read entire article at Telegraph (UK)
The Cyrus cylinder, which is held by the British Museum, is a legacy of Cyrus the Great - the Persian emperor famed for freeing the Jews of ancient Babylon after conquering the city in 539 BC.
A copy of the cylinder, which is covered in cuneiform script supposed to detail the ancient charter of rights, also hangs next to the Security Council Chamber in the United Nations headquarters in New York, where it is held as a symbol of Cyrus's reputation as a fair and just ruler.
But now that reputation has been challenged by German historians who claim that the UN is unjustly celebrating the rule of a man every bit as despotic as any other land-grabbing leader.