Tourist & Resident Guide to Iran

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Cyrus Cylinder

Cyrus Cylinder

The Cyrus Cylinder, a 2,500-year-old clay artefact, has been on display recently at the National Museum of Iran in Tehran, on loan for a special exhibition from the British Museum in London.

Cyrus Cylinder


The Cyrus Cylinder dates from King Cyrus' conquest of ancient Babylon in 539 BCE and his subsequent freeing of the subservient peoples of the city state, who had been enslaved there, including a sizeable Jewish population.

The ancient cuneiform script pronounces the rights of all religious groups to worship the god(s) of their choice.

Over 1 million people are believed to have viewed the Cyrus Cylinder while it was on display in the Iranian capital.

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