“In the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, in fulfillment of the word of the Lord from the mouth of Jeremiah, the Lord aroused the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia, and he commanded to declare throughout his kingdom, verbally and in writing:
thus says Cyrus, king of Persia: all the kingdoms of the earth have been given to me by the Lord God of heaven, and He has commanded me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judea.
Whoever is of you, of all His people - may his God be with him, - and let him go to Jerusalem, which is in Judea, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel, that God who is in Jerusalem …"
(First Book of Ezra 1-3)
Great rulers. Today our next "great" is the Persian ruler Cyrus. Moreover, in comparison with the same Ramses, he has much more reason to be called such. He, in fact, only fought and built, had many children. Under him, Egyptian cultural expansion into neighboring countries began … more and nothing of particular significance. True, the biography of Cyrus is known to us mainly from the "History" of Herodotus, the ancient Greek historian Ctesias wrote about him, in the 5th century BC. NS. who lived at the court of the Persian rulers, and that's, in general, everything. Although, he is repeatedly mentioned in the Old Testament, for which, however, there are also important reasons. But if about Pharaoh Ramses where it is not written, there are very few original written sources telling about the life of Cyrus. There is, however, a massive ceramic cylinder, which lists the ancestors of Cyrus, his victories and merciful deeds, and several Babylonian documents. Nevertheless, even this very scant information allows us to believe that his nickname "great" Cyrus II was not for nothing.
It is known that Cyrus was the son of Cambyses I from the Achaemenid dynasty, descended from the leaders of the Persian tribe of the Pasargads, the rulers of the city of Anshan. In any case, Cyrus himself called his ancestors "the kings of Anshan", and even emphasized this three times:
"I am Cyrus … the son of Kambis, the great king, the king of the city of Anshan, the grandson of Cyrus, the great king, the king of the city of Anshan, a descendant of Teisp, the great king, the king of the city of Anshan."
Obviously, this title, for some reason, added significance to it.
Cyrus's childhood is a solid legend, quite worthy to be used for a historical film, although even the exact date of his birth is not known. Well, if not exactly, then between 600 and 590 BC. NS. he was most likely born. And then it happened that the king of Media, Astyages, was predicted that his daughter would give birth to a son who would become a powerful ruler, but most importantly, would deprive him of the throne.
Then Astyages decided to marry her to a Persian, and not to a Median, but he thought that he had nothing to fear if she gave birth to a daughter, and when she gave birth to a son, he invited her to his place. And then he ordered his nobleman Garpagu to carry the child to the mountains and throw it to be devoured by predatory animals. It has been said, however, if you want to be sure of everything to the end - do it yourself. I could have taken him by the leg and head on the corner - no one would have said a word to the king. But, apparently, he could not. But Garpagus also lost heart, gave the child to the shepherd-slave of Astyages and entrusted this unpleasant matter to him. And he again did not rush with all his might to fulfill the command of his master, but carried him home, where just at that very time his wife had a … dead child. They saw in this the finger of fate: they dressed the dead child in the clothes of the grandson of Astyages and carried them to the mountains, and wrapped the royal offspring in beggarly rags. Moreover, Harpagus did not believe the slave at his word, but sent the faithful people to check his words, and if there was something left, then bury it, which was done. So the childhood of the future ruler of Asia passed among the slaves of King Astyages. And then everything happened as it should have happened sooner or later.
At the age of ten, while playing with the children, young Cyrus was elected king. And then the times were simple and the children of nobles played with the children of the king's slaves. And the son of a certain noble Median, who participated in the game, did not obey him. And Cyrus, without thinking twice, beat him. Like, the king must be listened to! The boy complained to his father, and he went to complain to Astyages. He ordered Cyrus to be brought to him, looked at him and immediately realized that before him was his grandson, there was such a great family resemblance in him. Naturally, under the threat of torture, the shepherd revealed everything, and so Astyages learned the truth. And he could not think of anything better than to punish Garpag by treating his own son with meat, who was the same age as Cyrus and whom he had “graciously” invited to come to the palace “to play with the prince”. Needless to say, after that, in the person of Harpagus, Astyages acquired a fierce enemy, harbored a mortal grudge against the tsar. And then he again turned to the magicians: is he still in danger from Cyrus. And they either again felt sorry for the boy, or really thought so, but answered that since Cyrus had already been elected king while playing with the children, the danger for him, Astyages, no longer exists. After that, he calmed down and sent his grandson to Persia to his real parents.
However, there is also such a version that Cyrus is the son of a robber, but then he rose, being in the service of Astyages. However, the names of Astyages, Garpagus and Cyrus appear in all versions of his origin. So, apparently, some real events were closely connected with them, which later turned into legendary ones.
In general, one way or another, but Cyrus became the leader of the Persian tribes, began to fight and seize neighboring lands. Moreover, Xenophon, the Greek historian of the 5th - first half of the 4th centuries. BC e., in his work "Cyropaedia" reported that Cyrus was friends with the Armenian prince Tigran, and later he, together with his troops, actively participated in Cyrus's campaigns.
And Harpagus, fed with the meat of his own son, continued in the meantime his secret treasonous activity. And it was he who persuaded Cyrus to attack the kingdom of Astyages, promising support from within. Herodotus directly writes that the cause of the war between Cyrus and Astyages was the conspiracy of Harpagus, which attracted many noble Medes, dissatisfied with the tyranny of Astyages, to his side, and then incited Cyrus to revolt.
Both Greek and Babylonian sources unanimously indicate that Cyrus fought against Media for three years and eventually won. Chronicle of Nabonidus from 550 BC NS. reports that the army of Astyages rebelled and betrayed him to Cyrus, who took the capital of Media, Ecbatana, and plundered it.
Then he declared himself king of both Persia and Media, but dealt with the captive Astyages very gently, and even made him the governor of one insignificant region. Moreover, he acted very wisely with the conquered Medes. He did not humiliate and enslave them, but declared them equal to the Persians, so that people did not notice much of a difference. Moreover, it was from the Medes that the conquerors borrowed the system of state administration.
Where by force, where, through military alliances, Cyrus quickly expanded his new kingdom, and … here on the way of his expansion was the Lydian kingdom of King Croesus, about whose riches people even put a saying. According to Herodotus, it was Croesus who started the war with Cyrus. A decisive battle took place near the very walls of the capital of Lydia - Sardis, and Cyrus again owed his victory in it to Harpagus, who advised to put the Persian soldiers on camels. Lydia was famous for her cavalry, but horses are afraid of camels, so the Lydian attack failed. Under the pressure of the Persians, they were forced to retreat to Sardis and lock themselves there in the acropolis. However, the Persians took it after a 14-day siege.
Cyrus and Croesus spared and, it should be noted, was generally merciful to the captive kings. And he also treated the conquered peoples fairly fairly. So, after conquering the whole of Asia Minor after the Lydian kingdom and suppressing the uprisings of the Greek city-states there, he did not subject them to a total defeat, he imposed tribute only on those who resisted, and voluntarily accepted those who surrendered into his kingdom on the same conditions on which they obeyed Croesus. … For his loyalty, Cyrus granted Harpagu to manage Lydia, and to hereditary one, with the right to be passed on to his children!
And then it was the turn of Babylon to fall, which neither the walls nor the waters of the two rivers saved. The king of Babylon Nabonidus surrendered to Cyrus and was sent to remote Karmania in the east of Iran, where he died. The inhabitants of Babylonia were traditionally promised the inviolability of their homes and property, and the Babylonians, as before, occupied a predominant position in the state apparatus, and the priesthood generally did not notice any difference between the old government and the new one. The very power of Cyrus in Babylon as a foreign domination was also not considered, since he received it "from the hands of the god Marduk", performing for this ancient, traditionally consecrated ceremonies.
The seizure of Babylonia made such a strong impression that all Western countries up to the very borders of Egypt, that is, Syria, Palestine, and Phenicia, decided to recognize the power of the Persians voluntarily. Phenicia was especially interested in the established stability, for which safe roads meant the possibility of successful trade with all neighboring countries.
The Jews, whom King Nebuchadnezzar once took to Babylon, Cyrus allowed to return to Palestine and rebuild the Jerusalem temple, as reported by the “Book of Ezra” (1 Ezra 5, 6). He also rebuilt the Phoenician Sidon, destroyed by Esarhaddon, which became an important seaport.
It is interesting that it was at this time that an interesting document appeared, written in Babylonian and called the "Manifesto of Cyrus" (or "Cyrus' Cylinder"). It begins with the title of Cyrus, which sounds like this:
“I am Cyrus, the king of multitudes, the great king, the mighty king, the king of Babylon, the king of Sumer and Akkad, the king of the four countries of the world, the son of Cambyses, the great king, the king of Anshan, the descendant of Teisp, the great king, king Anshan, the eternal royal seed, reign whom the gods Bel and Naboo love, whose dominion is pleasing to their heartfelt joy."
After that, the "manifesto" lists all the deeds and conquests of Cyrus, the essence of which boils down to the fact that he, Cyrus, is none other than the Tsar-liberator, always fulfilling his promises to the peoples who submitted to his power. This says only one thing: Cyrus was already striving for world domination and he needed the reputation of the "father of nations" and "liberator" so that Persians, Babylonians, Greeks, and Jews would consider him as such. He promised people stability, that is, what they value most at all times, and demanded only one thing in return - obedience.
Indeed, the peoples of the state of Cyrus did well. Roads were laid and postal services were established, construction work was carried out, which gave people income. Trade was encouraged. Local cultures were not belittled. Even formerly rebellious Greeks were appointed to high posts. The wars were successful and gave a lot of booty, the empire was constantly expanding.
However, the campaign of 530 BC. NS. against the Massagets, a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, it turned out to be fatal for him. He lost the battle and was killed. According to Herodotus, the "queen" of the Massagetae Tomiris, wishing to avenge Cyrus for the death of her son, ordered to find his body and drowned his head in a wineskin with blood, although, on the other hand, it is absolutely known that Cyrus was with all the honors (and with his head !) was buried in Pasargadae (where Alexander the Great himself saw the grave and the remains). So, most likely, this message is nothing more than a dramatic myth.
Cyrus ruled for 29 years and left a deep mark in history and literature. He was undoubtedly a great commander and statesman, who managed to conduct business in such a way that the peoples conquered by him did not feel that way. The occasion for that era is truly unprecedented! In the memory of the Persians, he forever remained the "father of the people", and the ancient Greek and Biblical traditions portrayed him as a wise and just ruler. Diodorus of Siculus said of him this way:
“The king of Media, Cyrus, son of Cambyses and Mandana, daughter of Astyages, was outstanding among the people of his time in courage, wisdom and other virtues, for his father raised him in a royal manner and made him a zealous imitation of the highest achievements. And it was clear that he would do great things, as he showed his superiority beyond his years. Cyrus, we are told, was not only a courageous man in war, but he was also considerate and humane in his treatment of his subjects. And it is for this reason that the Persians called him Father."
We add that the Jews called Cyrus the anointed of Yahweh, and in Xenophon's "Cyropedia" he was shown as an ideal king. But not only the ancients worshiped him. Already in later and enlightened times, such famous people of the planet as Thomas Jefferson, David Ben-Gurion, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke and wrote about him with admiration. That is, the nickname "Great" Cyrus really deserved!
