Cyrus cylinder's ancient bill of rights 'is just propaganda'

Huh? Cyrus is spoken of reverentially in the Hebrew Bible as G-d's anointed. The Persians freed the Jews, allowed them to return to Eretz Israel and permitted them to rebuild The Temple.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

Kinda makes it fit in better at the UN, though.

The way things are going, in a few more years our Bill of Rights will feel like ancient propaganda, too.

Send Dan Rather to investigate.

Well, technically you can say all leaders are God’s anointed, as they would not hold their position unless God didn’t give them it. That doesn’t mean everything they do is right, or that they couldn’t be capable of doing evil, or great evil. They could still be very smart and wise, and admired ofr certain qualities, and still do great evil.

Look at the evil David did (he arranged the murder of one of his own men in order to take his wife - who he already had gotten pregnant). That was evil, yet David was a man God loved.

The real king was not more or less brutal than other ancient kings of the near east

Cyrus was a good man, and his subjects were more free than the people of Britain or the people of the US are right now. The tax rate was a lot lower, too. This is just revisionist history in an attempt to make people forget that our ancestors enjoyed far more liberty under a "brutal tyrant" than we do today under a socialist "democracy".

They all miss the point. They were possibly correct in labeling Cyrus as a thug, but he was a "changed man". Cyrus is the only Gentile labeled by God as "My Anointed". Below is an excerpt of a Bible study I wrote on "Daniels Seventy Weeks." (Notice my handle and you'll see how important I regard this prophecy from the Book of Daniel).

Understand Cyrus' relationship with the prophet Daniel and what he was told prophetically in the personal letter (Isa chapters 44-45)from Isaiah - written 500 years beforehand, and you'll understand Cyrus' motivation. I know this is long, but I wouldn't post it if I didn't feel it was important to understand this passage of God's Word.

The Writing on the Wall
Daniel Chapter Five tells the story of "The Writing on the Wall" and sets the events of Daniel Nine into motion. It tells the story of a spoiled brat left to rule his father's empire in the elder's stead. A wild party that got a little out of hand with dire and disastrous consequences.

Before you read this chapter, reflect on how God jealously guarded The Tabernacle, The Arc of The Covenant, The Temple and The Holy of Holies. Remember how carefully The Lord dictated how the implements of sacrifice were constructed and handled, the curtain separating the Holy of Holies, the rings holding the curtain, the colors used, the lampstands and the materials to be used. These details should remind us that these items were all the property of God. As background, look at what happened to those that did not remember …

Examples of God's Wrath When He is Mocked

Leviticus Chapter 10
1) Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense; and they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, contrary to his command.

2) So fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD .

3) Moses then said to Aaron, "This is what the LORD spoke of when he said:

" 'Among those who approach me
I will show myself holy;
in the sight of all the people
I will be honored.' "

Aaron remained silent.

I Samuel Chapter 2:12-17, 22-25 12) Eli's sons were wicked men; they had no regard for the LORD .

13) Now it was the practice of the priests with the people that whenever anyone offered a sacrifice and while the meat was being boiled, the servant of the priest would come with a three-pronged fork in his hand.

14) He would plunge it into the pan or kettle or caldron or pot, and the priest would take for himself whatever the fork brought up. This is how they treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh.

15) But even before the fat was burned, the servant of the priest would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, "Give the priest some meat to roast; he won't accept boiled meat from you, but only raw."

16) If the man said to him, "Let the fat be burned up first, and then take whatever you want," the servant would then answer, "No, hand it over now; if you don't, I'll take it by force."

17) This sin of the young men was very great in the LORD' sight, for they were treating the LORD's offering with contempt.

22) Now Eli, who was very old, heard about everything his sons were doing to all Israel and how they slept with the women who served at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

23) So he said to them, "Why do you do such things? I hear from all the people about these wicked deeds of yours.

24) No, my sons; it is not a good report that I hear spreading among the LORD's people.

25) If a man sins against another man, God may mediate for him; but if a man sins against the LORD , who will intercede for him?" His sons, however, did not listen to their father's rebuke, for it was the LORD's will to put them to death.

I Samuel Chapter 4
1) And Samuel's word came to all Israel. Now the Israelites went out to fight against the Philistines. The Israelites camped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines at Aphek.

2) The Philistines deployed their forces to meet Israel, and as the battle spread, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand of them on the battlefield.

3) When the soldiers returned to camp, the elders of Israel asked, "Why did the LORD bring defeat upon us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the LORD' covenant from Shiloh, so that it may go with us and save us from the hand of our enemies."

4) So the people sent men to Shiloh, and they brought back the ark of the covenant of the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim. And Eli' two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

5) When the ark of the LORD's covenant came into the camp, all Israel raised such a great shout that the ground shook.

6) Hearing the uproar, the Philistines asked, "What's all this shouting in the Hebrew camp?" When they learned that the ark of the LORD had come into the camp,

7) the Philistines were afraid. "A god has come into the camp," they said. "We're in trouble! Nothing like this has happened before.

8) Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? They are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the desert.

9) Be strong, Philistines! Be men, or you will be subject to the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Be men, and fight!"

10) So the Philistines fought, and the Israelites were defeated and every man fled to his tent. The slaughter was very great; Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers.

11) The ark of God was captured, and Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

12) That same day a Benjamite ran from the battle line and went to Shiloh, his clothes torn and dust on his head.

13) When he arrived, there was Eli sitting on his chair by the side of the road, watching, because his heart feared for the ark of God. When the man entered the town and told what had happened, the whole town sent up a cry.

14) Eli heard the outcry and asked, "What is the meaning of this uproar?" The man hurried over to Eli,

15) who was ninety-eight years old and whose eyes were set so that he could not see.

16) He told Eli, "I have just come from the battle line; I fled from it this very day." Eli asked, "What happened, my son?"

17) The man who brought the news replied, "Israel fled before the Philistines, and the army has suffered heavy losses. Also your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured."

18) When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell backward off his chair by the side of the gate. His neck was broken and he died, for he was an old man and heavy. He had led Israel forty years.

19) His daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and near the time of delivery. When she heard the news that the ark of God had been captured and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she went into labor and gave birth, but was overcome by her labor pains.

20) As she was dying, the women attending her said, "Don't despair; you have given birth to a son." But she did not respond or pay any attention.

21) She named the boy Ichabod, saying, "The glory has departed from Israel"-because of the capture of the ark of God and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband.

22) She said, "The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured."

Stop and think of the destruction and changed lives brought on by the evil of these two brothers. A father stricken dead by grief, two widows and children without a father, thirty thousand soldiers dead and The Ark of the Covenant captured by Israel's enemies. Their evil was brought on by the miss-handling of the Temple sacrifices, and the stealing of the Ark for their own uses - ie a "good luck" charm.

One more example of God's wrath when His instructions are not followed to the letter. In this section of II Samuel, David is attempting to return The Ark of The Covenant to Jerusalem. David had either forgotten or chose to ignore the dictate that only Levites carry the Ark and to use poles to do so. Again, consequences come about ...

II Samuel Chapter 6:6-7
6) When they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled.

7) The LORD's anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down and he died there beside the ark of God.

8) Then David was angry because the LORD's wrath had broken out against Uzzah, and to this day that place is called Perez Uzzah.

Hebrews 10:26-31
One final example of The Lord's anger.

26) If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left,

27) but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.

28) Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.

29) How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?

30) For we know him who said, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," and again, "The Lord will judge his people."

31) It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Daniel Chapter 5
With these examples of God's anger when tools of His worship are abused, attempt to imagine the burning of The Lord during this drunken pagan orgy. If you think it enough to force the overthrow of the most powerful empire in the world. You'd be right.

1) King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his nobles and drank wine with them.

2) While Belshazzar was drinking his wine, he gave orders to bring in the gold and silver goblets that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might drink from them.

3) So they brought in the gold goblets that had been taken from the temple of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines drank from them.

4) As they drank the wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone.

5) Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote.

6) His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his knees knocked together and his legs gave way.

7) The king called out for the enchanters, astrologers and diviners to be brought and said to these wise men of Babylon, "Whoever reads this writing and tells me what it means will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around his neck, and he will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom."

8) Then all the king's wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or tell the king what it meant.

9) So King Belshazzar became even more terrified and his face grew more pale. His nobles were baffled.

10) The queen, hearing the voices of the king and his nobles, came into the banquet hall. "O king, live forever!" she said. "Don't be alarmed! Don't look so pale!

11) There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. In the time of your father he was found to have insight and intelligence and wisdom like that of the gods. King Nebuchadnezzar your father-your father the king, I say-appointed him chief of the magicians, enchanters, astrologers and diviners.

12) This man Daniel, whom the king called Belteshazzar, was found to have a keen mind and knowledge and understanding, and also the ability to interpret dreams, explain riddles and solve difficult problems. Call for Daniel, and he will tell you what the writing means."

13) So Daniel was brought before the king, and the king said to him, "Are you Daniel, one of the exiles my father the king brought from Judah?

14) I have heard that the spirit of the gods is in you and that you have insight, intelligence and outstanding wisdom.

15) The wise men and enchanters were brought before me to read this writing and tell me what it means, but they could not explain it. 16) Now I have heard that you are able to give interpretations and to solve difficult problems. If you can read this writing and tell me what it means, you will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around your neck, and you will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom."

17) Then Daniel answered the king, "You may keep your gifts for yourself and give your rewards to someone else. Nevertheless, I will read the writing for the king and tell him what it means.

18) "O king, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty and greatness and glory and splendor.

19) Because of the high position he gave him, all the peoples and nations and men of every language dreaded and feared him. Those the king wanted to put to death, he put to death; those he wanted to spare, he spared; those he wanted to promote, he promoted; and those he wanted to humble, he humbled.

20) But when his heart became arrogant and hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and stripped of his glory.

21) He was driven away from people and given the mind of an animal; he lived with the wild donkeys and ate grass like cattle; and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until he acknowledged that the Most High God is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and sets over them anyone he wishes.

22) "But you his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this.

23) Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven. You had the goblets from his temple brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you did not honor the God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways.

24) Therefore he sent the hand that wrote the inscription.

25) "This is the inscription that was written:

Mene , Mene , Tekel , Parsin

26) "This is what these words mean:

Mene : God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end.

27) Tekel : You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.

28) Peres : Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians."

29) Then at Belshazzar's command, Daniel was clothed in purple, a gold chain was placed around his neck, and he was proclaimed the third highest ruler inthe kingdom.

30) That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, was slain,

31) and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two.

This marks the end of the Babylonian Empire and the rise of the Medo-Persian Empire as the new rulers of the known world. Belshazzar, who is believed to have been the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, threw a drunken orgy full of lust and idolatry. And, he did so by using the Holy Temple vessels used earlier by the Israelites to worship The Lord.

The Chaldean name Belshazzar means "the splendor of brightness; lord of whose treasure." He reined over Babylon for seven years. During this time, he had many conflicts with the Medo-Persians but the strength of Babylon had prevailed - leading to his false confidence in protection of the city's walls.

Historians believe Belshazzar was not the king of Babylon, but instead, had been left to reign as coregent while his father Nebonidus was out of the country. This leads one to understand why he offered Daniel the third highest position within the court, because that was the highest position he could have offered.

Give Science Time
It's been said, "Give science time and eventually it will catch up with the Bible." Here is another example of that recommendation. This is a passage from the King James Bible Commentary.

"In 1850, critics doubted even the historicity of Belshazzar, claiming he was a fictitious character made up by the pseudo-Daniel who they claim composed the book around 165 B.C. With the discovery of Belshazzar's name on cuneiform tablets, his existence could no longer be questioned. Critics such as H. H. Rowley then sought to attack Daniel's statement that he was king. The recognition of two large black cylinders in a Byzantine church in Haran in the year 1956 ended that skepticism as well. The Nabonidus Chronicle, as this is called, clearly mentions Belshazzar as a coregent with Nabonidus his father. Not only that, but Belshazzar ruled over Babylon, while Nabonidus was in Teman during the final years of the Babylonian Empire."

Isaiah's Prophecies Concerning Babylon
Just a short diversion to an earlier period. The following is a prophecy written by the Prophet Isaiah over 150 years before the destruction of Babylon. Actually, during Isaiah's time, Babylon was not even a world power yet. Keep in mind the story we just read from Daniel Chapter 5 while reading this prophecy.

Isaiah 21:1-10 - A Prophecy Against Babylon
1) An oracle concerning the Desert by the Sea: Like whirlwinds sweeping through the southland, an invader comes from the desert, from a land of terror.

2) A dire vision has been shown to me: The traitor betrays, the looter takes loot. Elam, attack! Media, lay siege! I will bring to an end all the groaning she caused.

3) At this my body is racked with pain, pangs seize me, like those of a woman in labor; I am staggered by what I hear, I am bewildered by what I see.

4) My heart falters, fear makes me tremble; the twilight I longed for has become a horror to me.

5) They set the tables, they spread the rugs, they eat, they drink! Get up, you officers, oil the shields!

6) This is what the Lord says to me: "Go, post a lookout and have him report what he sees.

7) When he sees chariots with teams of horses, riders on donkeys or riders on camels,let him be alert, fully alert."

8) And the lookout shouted, "Day after day, my lord, I stand on the watchtower; every night I stay at my post.

9) Look, here comes a man in a chariot with a team of horses. And he gives back the answer: 'Babylon has fallen, has fallen!

All the images of its gods lie shattered on the ground!' "

10) O my people, crushed on the threshing floor, I tell you what I have heard from the LORD Almighty, from the God of Israel.

Now comes a truly eye popping prophecy made by the prophet Isaiah. Again, this passage was written by the prophet over 150 years before the events of which it speaks. Once again, keep the vision of Daniel Chapter 5 in your mind and this report from the Greek historian Herodotus.

Herodotus tells us that Cyrus drained or diverted the river Euphrates, which ran through and under the city of Babylon. The walls of Babylon were strong indeed. It's believed the walls were so thick, chariots six wide could race along the top. Yet, the gates inside the city walls and along the river were left unattended. With the river dry, Cyrus and his troops quietly entered the city untouched and overtook the great city-state in a bloodless coup. This information can be found in the English translations of "Greek Reports of Babylonia, Chaldea, and Assyria. Herodotus: from The History of the Persian Wars".

Now comes the eye popping part. With your knowledge of the Babylonian conquest as told by Daniel the Prophet and Herodotus, the Historian, read this passage from Isaiah 45-46 that was written over 150 years before the events took place.

Isaiah 44:24 - 45:25
24) "This is what the LORD says-your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb:

I am the LORD ,
who has made all things,
who alone stretched out the heavens,
who spread out the earth by myself,

25) who foils the signs of false prophets and makes fools of diviners, who overthrows the learning of the wise and turns it into nonsense,

26) who carries out the words of his servants and fulfills the predictions of his messengers, who says of Jerusalem, 'It shall be inhabited,' of the towns of Judah, 'They shall be built' and of their ruins, 'I will restore them,'

27) who says to the watery deep, 'Be dry, and I will dry up your streams,'

28) who says of Cyrus, 'He is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please; he will say of Jerusalem, "Let it be rebuilt," and of the temple, "Let its foundations be laid." '

Isaiah 45:1) "This is what the LORD says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to subdue nations before him and to strip kings of their armor, to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut:

2) I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron.

3) I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.

4) For the sake of Jacob my servant, of Israel my chosen, I summon you by name and bestow on you a title of honor, though you do not acknowledge me.

5) I am the LORD , and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me,

6) so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting men may know there is none besides me. I am the LORD , and there is no other.

7) I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the LORD , do all these things.

8) "You heavens above, rain down righteousness; let the clouds shower it down. Let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let righteousness grow with it; I, the LORD , have created it.

9) "Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker, to him who is but a potsherd among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, 'What are you making?' Does your work say, 'He has no hands'?

10) Woe to him who says to his father, 'What have you begotten?' or to his mother, 'What have you brought to birth?'

11) "This is what the LORD says-the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker: Concerning things to come, do you question me about my children, or give me orders about the work of my hands?

It is I who made the earth and created mankind upon it. My own hands stretched out the heavens; I marshaled their starry hosts.

13) I will raise up Cyrus in my righteousness: I will make all his ways straight. He will rebuild my city and set my exiles free, but not for a price or reward, says the LORD Almighty."

14) This is what the LORD says:

"The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush, and those tall Sabeans-they will come over to you and will be yours; they will trudge behind you, coming over to you in chains.

They will bow down before you and plead with you, saying, 'Surely God is with you, and there is no other; there is no other god.' "

15) Truly you are a God who hides himself, O God and Savior of Israel.

16) All the makers of idols will be put to shame and disgraced; they will go off into disgrace together.

17) But Israel will be saved by the LORD with an everlasting salvation; you will never be put to shame or disgraced, to ages everlasting.

18) For this is what the LORD says-he who created the heavens, he is God; he who fashioned and made the earth, he founded it; he did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited-he says: "I am the LORD, and there is no other.

19) I have not spoken in secret, from somewhere in a land of darkness; I have not said to Jacob's descendants, Seek me in vain. I, the LORD , speak the truth; I declare what is right.

20) "Gather together and come; assemble, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those who carry about idols of wood, who pray to gods that cannot save.

21) Declare what is to be, present it - let them take counsel together.

Who foretold this long ago, who declared it from the distant past? Was it not I, the LORD? And there is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none but me.

22) "Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.

23) By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear.

24) They will say of me, 'In the LORD alone are righteousness and strength.' " All who have raged against him will come to him and be put to shame.

25) But in the LORD all the descendants of Israel will be found righteous and will exult.

It's not included here, but you're invited to also read Jeremiah Chapter 50 for another account of this event. It was written about fifty years before the events took place. While it does not name Cyrus, it does allude to the same events.

According to the account of Babylon's fall, written by the historian Herodotus, this prophecy by Isaiah and Daniels faithfulness comes full-circle in God's plan. According to Herodotus, when Cyrus encircled Babylon, he discovered that the massive and well-provisioned city had a protecting wall 300 feet high and fifty feet wide. The Euphrates River ran right through the city and under the protecting wall, thus preventing an enemy from entering the city by the way of the river.

However, Cyrus discovered upstream, a channel that had at one time carried the Euphrates around the city. Cyrus' army was put to work to reclaim the channel bed and to dam the current flow. Later, Cyrus withdrew his troops from Babylon, leaving King Belshazzar to think that the Meades and Persians had abandoned the siege of his city. That miss-calculation led to the "celebration" recounted in Daniel Chapter 5. That night Cyrus changed the course of history as well as the course of the Euphrates, by lowering the level of the river. His army entered the city and that night, as it says near the end of Daniel 5, "That same night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was slain."

Just as God's Word, as recorded by the prophet Isaiah were literally revealed before Daniel's very eyes, so too, should this passage as well as Daniel's own writings inspire us to faithfully expect God's Word to continue to be true.

What was Daniel's response? Writings from the Talmud indicate that almost immediately, Daniel approached the new leader of Babylon, Cyrus with a personal letter, addressed to him and penned by the prophet Isaiah about a hundred years before the recipient was born. This amazing "letter" (Isaiah 44-45), so amazed the new leader of the most powerful empire in the world, that he immediately set into motion the release of Daniel's people to return to their homeland, with money, supplies and a decree authorizing them to reconstruct their Temple. This is recounted in the Book of Ezra. 50,000 Jews accepted this offer and returned to Jerusalem to do just that.

The subsequent reconstruction of the temple would coincide exactly seventy years after their desolation began - satisfying the prophecy made by the prophet Jeremiah fifty years earlier that his people would be punished for exactly seventy years. Hint: Read once again the very beginning of Daniel Chapter 9 and see Daniel's faithfulness regarding the prophecy of Jeremiah.

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.

Then I think the UN has found exactly the right document to display--despotism masquerading as human rights.

The current crop of most "historians" nowadays are shameless propagandists par exellance.

The Biblical portrayal of Cyrus the Great gives credibility to the cuneiform cylinder. I'd put more trust into the contemporary Hebrew version rather than into that of German historians. Maybe they're just angry that the Jews were freed from Babylonian chains.

coem on now, Germany should know a lot about despotism, land grabbing, etc., given the events of oh say 60 years ago or so...

BFL

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	Gods Graves Glyphs	Cyrus was and is rightly praised for freeing the Jews and and letting them return to Canaan. That explains why some Germans don't like him all of a sudden. Cyrus was also a conqueror and despot. One obvious difference between himself and many other despots over a wide swath to time and geography is, he was mighty successful at it. His approach to rule involved not trying to impose an entirely alien system of deities and laws over conquered peoples, making him an anachronistic poster child for the diversity demagogues of our own time. That -- and the possibility of war between the US and Iran -- may explain why some British are so in love with him all of a sudden. Another conqueror, the Indian emperor Ashoka, tried a similar approach in ruling divergent societies. He had pillars containing his proclamation of supremacy and universal law erected at the boundaries of his empire, and that included at least two in Aramaic -- to serve at least a couple of the "Ten Lost Tribes" exiled earlier by the Assyrians. Just adding to the catalog, not sending a general distribution. To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list. GGG managers are Blam, StayAt HomeMother, and Ernest_at_the_Beach
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In UK, author and historian Tom Holland, who wrote about the rise of Cyrus in his book Persian Fire, joined the condemnation of the cylinder as a model text enshrining human rights.

Tom Holland is the author of the outstanding new history of the fall of the Roman Republic, called Rubicon. I highly recommend it for any ancient history buffs. I didn't know he wrote this book about the Persians and I just now ordered it from Amazon.

It's absurd to read current 'historians' deconstruct history by insinuating modern theories into long ago events.

The same bias has advised me that Magna Carta was written by English lords, that the Declaration of Independence was signed by slave owners, and that neither document has valid meaning today as a result.

Of course Cyrus was a tyrant and of course warfare in that time involved what we consider as atrocities. Of course our first step toward western democracy was a pact between lords and their king. Of course the now definitive document supporting western democracy was signed by men who had yet to erase slavery. We're still working on the aftermath of the latter, and that is entwined with a war to determine what the Constitution really meant.

Regardless how Cyrus would fare in a modern election - his words set us on the path, they were righteous, and they stand today.

For all the complaints cited in the article, I have to wonder just how much improved we are today when we get to vote for internationalists who seem to place the rights of the governed far behind the rights of an elite most of us can only speculate upon.

Not to mention that one of the current contenders displays precisely the same absurd misinterpretation of warfare and governance, failing to realization that the two require different strengths and that those strengths do sometimes reside in a single individual, as do the 'historians' intent on an ideological rewriting of history.

(Sorry, lengthy response)