2,500-year-old charter of rights to revisit Iran [Cyrus the Great]

Smccdi/News.Indep.Co.uk ^ | 9/11/04 | Louise Jury

[freedom44]

The British Museum is to lend Iran one of its most famous antiquities, which is regarded as the first charter of human rights, 30 years after its loan to the Shah triggered a fierce diplomatic row.

The inscriptions on the clay drum known as the Cyrus Cylinder detail the conquest of the Babylon of Belshazzar and Nebuchadnezzar by the 6th-century BC Persian king, Cyrus the Great. It was the Iraq/Iran war of the time.

The victory made Cyrus the leader of the first world empire, stretching from Egypt to China. Cyrus proved a model ruler. He describes on the cylinder measures of relief for the inhabitants of Babylon and the return to their homelands of people held by the former kings, thought to have included the Jews.

The cylinder, which would have been used as a foundation stone to a building, was found in Babylon, in modern Iraq, by a British Museum dig in the 19th century.

It has only left once since, for the loan in 1971. Its return visit to the National Museum of Tehran in 2006 will follow a generous loan by the Iranians, who are to send 50 antiquities for the British Museum's exhibition on the splendours of Ancient Persia, planned for September next year.

In the past 30 years relations between British and foreign museums have been transformed, with loans between countries now commonplace. But research by The Art Newspaper has shown that in the very different climate of 1971, the loan prompted a furious row.

The Shah had expressed his desire to borrow the cylinder through the British ambassador, but the suggestion was rejected by the Foreign Office. Officials were furious when they found that the British Museum, with the agreement of its trustees, had gone ahead anyway.

One official, in recently released papers from the National Archives, said the museum should not act this way to "countries with ultra-nationalistic ambitions". Another said: "If the [British] Museum find they have dug a pit for themselves, it will be for them to climb out."

The Shah made the cylinder the star exhibit in a museum set up to mark the 2,500th anniversary of Cyrus's establishment of the Persian monarchy in Persepolis. Facing criticism for his autocratic rule, he used it to argue that Persia had been the birthplace of human rights.

The British ambassador later suggested it should be presented to Iran to gain diplomatic and military co-operation from the Shah's government. The museum refused.

Neil MacGregor, the museum's director, said yesterday the story showed the importance of its independence from government.

[Cronos]

The victory made Cyrus the leader of the first world empire, stretching from Egypt to China.

That's not quite correct -- in 500 B.C. the Chinese were separated into a number of states, none of which extended west of the Gobi desert. Even Cyrus' Empire was pretty tenuous beyond Tajikistan -- the central Asian nomads were a law unto themselves

[Cronos]

Until I am alive, I prevent unpaid, forced labor. To day, I announce that everyone is free to choose a religion. People are free to live in all regions and take up a job provided that they never violate other's rights

Irani/Aryan thoughts -- noble indeed. To contrast these with the Ayatollah's Iran is to see the effects of the moon god cult on a vibrant civilisation.

[Cronos]

Well, there wasn't any Chian then and truly speaking, the western parts of what we now call China are really Uighur/turkic people's territory or Tibetan lands.

[Cronos]

The Persians were a noble, honorable people while every Greek was whoring for Persian gold.

I wouldn't go so far, I would say that both groups had their own good points -- the Irani attack on the Greek states was more to prevent piracy (the Persian Empire wasn't very big on sea trade) than on conquering a (to them) useless piece of hilly terrain.

though...... I've said it before and I'll say it again -- Alexander wasn't the greatest conqueror -- he was just a canny and lucky guy -- a man who overthrew a weak Shah and took over his Empire. The Persian Empire he faced was weak at the core and he just replaced the Shah with himself. After that he utilised Persian governing techniques -- these were not really refined by the Greeks, the Romans did the refining. The only time Alexander faced an equal enemy was facing King Porus on the Indus vally -- a minor king of a petty state by the standards of the Indian Empires of the day (further east there was the Magadhan Empire which had an enormous army)

[Cronos]

To have been strangled as it was by Islam seems to me one of the great tragedies of the middle east. It turned what was once one of the vibrant civilizations of the world into just another muslim backwater.

it's like what happened to the other Aryan region conquered by the slamics -- India. The portionof India that was forcibly converted is Pakistan and now they like to pretend they are ARabs. Forced Arabization is going on in the Sudan even now

[F14 Pilot]

The only time Alexander faced an equal enemy was facing King Porus on the Indus vally

Not true...

He faced the Persian warrior named Aryo Barzan in west of Iran and the Persian war lord inflicted a lot of damages to the Alexandre troops.

[Cronos]

He faced the Persian warrior named Aryo Barzan in west of Iran and the Persian war lord inflicted a lot of damages to the Alexandre troops.

hmmmm.... I did NOT know that. Thank you for pointing that out, I'll read up on that soon. Thanks!

[Cronos]

Soem other interesting historical tidbits!

642 AD

The Arab invasion. The Sassanid emperor Yazdgerd III was defeated by the Arabs at the Battle of Nahravan. Bisotoon, the capital of the Sassanian was destroyed. The palace and library hosting more the 20,000 old books and scripts were set on fire.

~800 AD

Uprising of the Shi'ite movement in Khorasan (Northeastern Iran) by Abu Moslem Khosasany who fought the Arabs and established the first independent Persian state in Khorasan.

867 AD

The birth of the Saffarid dynasty by Yaqub Saffar who was the first leader to unite Persians under the Shi'ite flag.

[F14 Pilot]

867 AD The birth of the Saffarid dynasty by Yaqub Saffar who was the first leader to unite Persians under the Shi'ite flag.

Sorry for my poor knowledge of History but you are not right again. Safavid Dynasty founded by Sheikh Safi Ardabili in NW of Iran. Shah Ismail united Iran under the Shiiaism.

[F14 Pilot]

Please let me know whatever you find about him.

[Cronos]

Apologies are not necessary, on the contrary, please do keep correcting my mistakes -- a man should never be wrong in his facts