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Iran warns British Museum over Cyrus cylinder
Press TV ^ | Thu, 08 Oct 2009 09:50:33 GMT | NAT/MTM/AKM

Posted on 01/07/2010 4:40:36 PM PST by Texas Fossil

Tehran will cease cooperation with the British Museum in London until it loans the Cyrus the Great Cylinder to the National Museum of Iran.

The clay cylinder is inscribed in Babylonian cuneiform with an account by Cyrus II, king of Persia (559-530 BC). The Cyrus Cylinder is described as the world's first charter of human rights. .......

Iranian officials called on the British Museum to loan the country's ancient cylinder,.....

said Hamid Baqaei

“If the British Museum continues to make excuses for not loaning the artifact to the National Museum, we will, unfortunately, cease any cooperation with them, including archaeological expeditions and research,” he added.

(Excerpt) Read more at presstv.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; United Kingdom
KEYWORDS: cylinder; cyrus; godsgravesglyphs; iran; museum
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To: odds
Hormuzd Rassam bio:

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/491787/Hormuzd-Rassam

Turkish Assyriologist

born 1826, Mosul, Ottoman Mesopotamia [now in Iraq] died 1910

Assyriologist who excavated some of the finest Assyrian and Babylonian antiquities that are now in the possession of the British Museum and found vast numbers of cuneiform tablets at Nineveh , Iraq) and Sippar, Iraq), including the earliest known record of archaeological activity.

He first served as an assistant (1845–47) to the famed British Assyriologist Austen Henry Layard and participated in the excavation of Nimrd (Khorsabad, Iraq). After studying at the University of Oxford, he again accompanied Layard (1849–51) and took part in the excavation of Nineveh. Layard entered political life shortly thereafter, and in 1852 Rassam was retained to continue excavating antiquities for the British Museum. At Nineveh, Nimrd, and elsewhere he unearthed notable sculptures, stelae (carved slabs), and inscriptions. In 1853 he discovered at Nineveh the well-known lion-hunt relief of King Ashurbanipal. Shortly thereafter he found the remainder of the royal library, including much of the ancient Epic of Gilgamesh and a terra-cotta prism inscribed with the annals of Ashurbanipal’s reign. Subsequently, he held British political appointments in Aden and Ethiopia for a number of years.

In 1876 he again became the British Museum’s supervisor of Mesopotamian excavations. His final efforts (1878–82) yielded important results. About 15 miles (24 km) from Mosul, at a mound known as Tell Balawat, he excavated the palace of Shalmaneser II and found a pair of great bronze gates that are now one of the glories of the British Museum. Possibly his most valuable contribution to Mesopotamian studies was his discovery in 1880 of a tablet of King Nabu-apal-iddin, which identified the site as the temple of the sun god Shamash in the city of Sippar. In the following 18 months Rassam excavated about 170 chambers surrounding the temple and found 40,000 to 50,000 inscribed cylinders and tablets. One cylinder recounted how Nabonidus (reigned 555–539 bc), the father of Belshazzar and the last king of Babylon, had excavated the temple to its original cornerstone, laid 4,200 years earlier by Naram-Sin, the son of King Sargon of Akkad. Rassam recounted much of his work in Asshur and the Land of Nimrod (1897).
41 posted on 01/08/2010 4:59:38 AM PST by Texas Fossil (Government, even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one.)
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To: odds

And thank you for the clarifications you added to the discussion. It is obvious you are familiar with the region.


42 posted on 01/08/2010 5:00:58 AM PST by Texas Fossil (Government, even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one.)
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To: Allegra

You are correct the Buddah statue was in Afghanistan not Iraq. New better, but did not state it correctly. Sorry.


43 posted on 01/08/2010 5:04:49 AM PST by Texas Fossil (Government, even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one.)
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To: Texas Fossil
They were particularly ill treated by Sadam, and are currently by the Iran Mullahs.

Many Iranian-Kurds, as part of Iranian-Kordestan, do not want a separation from Iran. Their traditions, customs and all are embedded in Iran. They consider themselves Iranians & they are. I am not a spokesperson on Iranian-Kurdish behalf, only expressing my understanding.

Some of the Kurdish issues, In Iran, can be dealt with logically, amicably and simply. The same applies to all "ethnic" Iranians in Iran. They are Iranians, if not of Persian ethnicity. Most do Not want to & Will not separate from Iran. But, IRI is not logical nor amiable.

Democracy and Freedom Movement in Iran, IMO, in essence & reality, will NOT be possible without the active support and participation of All ethnicities & religions. So, end of the day, matters should be clear as choices must for a New & Modern Iran, all around.

44 posted on 01/08/2010 5:09:12 AM PST by odds
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To: odds

Are you saying that Iran is less “tribal” driven than Iraq is?

That might seem logical remembering Iran during the Shah’s rule. They were much freer people and much more modern & western than today.


45 posted on 01/08/2010 5:13:01 AM PST by Texas Fossil (Government, even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one.)
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To: Texas Fossil
Are you saying that Iran is less “tribal” driven than Iraq is?

Given the complexity and makeup of ethnicities, religions, education, and so on compared to Iraq, the answer is an emphatic: Yes.

That might seem logical remembering Iran during the Shah’s rule. They were much freer people and much more modern & western than today.

Much was freer during the Shah's era, no doubt. That era too had its shortcomings IMO - that's 30 yrs ago though. I don't think people now are looking for Perfection, only workable solutions. But, first IRI & its ideology must go.

46 posted on 01/08/2010 5:28:03 AM PST by odds
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To: odds

Yes, all who are honest agree that IRI must go. And that will eventually happen.

But I fear for how extreme they will become toward the opposition before they exit. This would be over if the Iranian people were armed, but they are not.


47 posted on 01/08/2010 5:32:31 AM PST by Texas Fossil (Government, even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one.)
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To: Texas Fossil
But I fear for how extreme they will become toward the opposition before they exit

Unfortunately I agree. But, hopefully what will replace IRI will be the result of a more discerning, more balanced move on the part of the people as well as "political movers and shakers". After all the pain & bloodshed so far, I'd hate to see just "an elusive change".

48 posted on 01/08/2010 5:48:06 AM PST by odds
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To: odds

My opinion as a total outsider is that the citizens have received an education that should blow away all smoke concerning the “wonderful enlightened” (Sarcasm) Arab leadership they have just experienced.

Even those who were “not informed” are certainly touched by the brutality they have witnessed.

You cannot “unsee” what has been seen.


49 posted on 01/08/2010 5:56:03 AM PST by Texas Fossil (Government, even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one.)
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To: parisa
The mullahs are NOTHING but evil and what they want should never be appeased

Which is why I've never understood how a people with such a long and distinguished history as the Persians would allow themselves to be rules by a bunch of corrupt islamic mullahs.


50 posted on 01/08/2010 6:06:07 AM PST by reagan_fanatic (Bush at his worst was still better than Obama at his best.)
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To: reagan_fanatic

Rules = ruled. Stupid fingers.


51 posted on 01/08/2010 6:08:31 AM PST by reagan_fanatic (Bush at his worst was still better than Obama at his best.)
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To: Texas Fossil

There is a petition(although it doesn’t appear to be widely known) regarding this at:

http://www.petitiononline.com/2500year/petition.html

FWIW


52 posted on 01/08/2010 9:28:41 AM PST by D_Idaho ("For we wrestle not against flesh and blood...")
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To: Texas Fossil

If they haven’t coughed up the Elgin marbles by now, then they aren’t going to lend anything to the likes of Iran.


53 posted on 01/08/2010 9:32:15 AM PST by Non-Sequitur
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To: Texas Fossil

I can think of some metal cylinders that need to be delivered to Iran from the air.


54 posted on 01/08/2010 9:38:36 AM PST by HereInTheHeartland (The End of an Error - 01/20/2013)
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To: Non-Sequitur
If they haven’t coughed up the Elgin marbles by now...

Isn't there some future date scheduled for that, coinciding with the opening of a new museum at the Acropolis?

I guess I could just go look that up...;-)

55 posted on 01/08/2010 10:26:47 AM PST by Allegra (It doesn't matter what this tagline says...the liberals are going to call it "racist.")
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To: nutmeg

.


56 posted on 01/08/2010 10:27:48 AM PST by nutmeg (Rush Limbaugh & Sarah Palin agree: NO third parties! Take back the GOP)
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To: odds

I agree w/ you on all accounts, especially about NEVER trusting the mullahs especially w/ something as symbolically important as this pre-islamic national treasure.

About the name Hormuzd or Hormuz, it is a common boy’s name in Iran, also Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf, and it is a derivative of the word Ahura-Mazda which is the name of the Zoroastrian God. But did you notice the last part of his name Rassam which sounds very similar to Rostam which is also a common boys name in honor of the great warrior hero of the Persian poet Ferdowsi’s national epic Shah-Nameh (Letters of the Kings or story of the kings — and heros) revered by Iranians for — according to many — single-handedly saving the Persian language from arabization. So you see it is indeed very poetic that a man w/ this name should discover Cyrus the Great’s Cylinder!

Hope that wasn’t more information than you bargained for! :o) I just get too excited sometimes discussing the rich history of Iran!

BTW, Ctesiphon is the one and the same modern day Esfahan or (the more correct Persian spelling) Espahan in central Iran, and the beautiful city where I was born!


57 posted on 01/08/2010 11:47:14 AM PST by parisa
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To: reagan_fanatic
Which is why I've never understood how a people with such a long and distinguished history as the Persians would allow themselves to be rules by a bunch of corrupt islamic mullahs.

Two words:

Carter and Iranian leftists --- I guess that's 3 words, but there it is.

Leftists the world over screw up everything by being genetically stupid.

58 posted on 01/08/2010 11:51:37 AM PST by parisa
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To: parisa; odds
I agree w/ you on all accounts, especially about NEVER trusting the mullahs especially w/ something as symbolically important as this pre-islamic national treasure.

I agreed with him on most of his points as well. It's a shame that in his rush to pomposity, he failed to pay attention to who had posted what and was more interested in bloviating and trying to make himself look superior.

I'd have been more impressed had the poster ditched the attitude and just joined the conversation. Instead, he diminished himself with his sanctimonious tone and lack of attention to detail.

59 posted on 01/08/2010 4:37:20 PM PST by Allegra (It doesn't matter what this tagline says...the liberals are going to call it "racist.")
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To: afraidfortherepublic

My pleasure.


60 posted on 01/08/2010 8:14:17 PM PST by SunkenCiv (Happy New Year! Freedom is Priceless.)
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