Cyrus Cylinder

E11366
Achaemenid inscription ancient artifact clay cylinder inscribed object

The Cyrus Cylinder is an ancient clay artifact inscribed with a proclamation by the Persian king Cyrus the Great, often regarded as an early charter of human rights and a key source on his policies toward conquered peoples.

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All labels observed (6)

Label Occurrences
Cyrus Cylinder canonical 11
Achaemenid royal inscriptions 1
Babylonian exile decree of Cyrus 1

Statements (51)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Achaemenid inscription ⓘ
ancient artifact ⓘ
clay cylinder ⓘ
inscribed object ⓘ
associatedDynasty Achaemenid Empire ⓘ
associatedWith Cyrus the Great ⓘ
category Cyrus Cylinder self-linksurface differs ⓘ
surface form: Achaemenid royal inscriptions

Mesopotamian archaeology ⓘ
collection British Museum ⓘ
surface form: British Museum Middle East Department
condition fragmentary ⓘ
content account of conquest of Babylon ⓘ
denunciation of Nabonidus ⓘ
proclamation of Cyrus as king of Babylon ⓘ
restoration of temples and cults ⓘ
return of displaced peoples and their gods ⓘ
country United Kingdom ⓘ
countryOfOrigin Babylon ⓘ
surface form: Babylonia
creator Cyrus the Great ⓘ
currentLocation British Museum ⓘ
dateCreated 6th century BCE ⓘ
circa 539–530 BCE ⓘ
discoveredBy Hormuzd Rassam ⓘ
discoveryDate 1879 ⓘ
discoveryPlace site of Babylon ⓘ
excavationSponsor British Museum ⓘ
hasCopy modern replicas in various institutions ⓘ
hasFragments several missing pieces ⓘ
historicalSignificance important source on Achaemenid imperial ideology ⓘ
influential in modern discussions of religious tolerance ⓘ
key source on Cyrus’s rule in Babylon ⓘ
often described as an early charter of human rights ⓘ
influenced modern interpretations of human rights history ⓘ
inscriptionType foundation inscription ⓘ
royal proclamation ⓘ
language Akkadian ⓘ
material baked clay ⓘ
mentionsDeity Marduk ⓘ
museumCity London, England ⓘ
surface form: London
museumInventoryNumber BM 90920 ⓘ
placeOfOrigin Babylon ⓘ
Mesopotamia ⓘ
politicalFunction propaganda text ⓘ
royal legitimation ⓘ
purpose commemorate conquest of Babylon ⓘ
foundation deposit in city wall ⓘ
record policies toward conquered peoples ⓘ
referencedBy United Nations exhibitions ⓘ
religiousContext Babylonian polytheism ⓘ
surface form: Babylonian religion
scriptDirection left-to-right horizontal rows ⓘ
shape barrel-shaped cylinder ⓘ
writingSystem Akkadian cuneiform ⓘ

Referenced by (16)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Babylonian exile → describedBySource → Cyrus Cylinder ⓘ
Cyrus the Great → knownFor → Cyrus Cylinder ⓘ
Cyrus the Great → associatedArtifact → Cyrus Cylinder ⓘ
Cyrus Cylinder → category → Cyrus Cylinder self-linksurface differs ⓘ
this entity surface form: Achaemenid royal inscriptions
Chronicles → coversPeriodTo → Cyrus Cylinder ⓘ
this entity surface form: decree of Cyrus of Persia
King of the Four Corners of the World → notablyAttestedOn → Cyrus Cylinder ⓘ
King of Anshan → describedBySource → Cyrus Cylinder ⓘ
Fall of Babylon (539 BCE) → followedBy → Cyrus Cylinder ⓘ
this entity surface form: Cyrus Cylinder decree
Fall of Babylon (539 BCE) → recordedIn → Cyrus Cylinder ⓘ
King of Persia → knownFor → Cyrus Cylinder ⓘ
subject surface form: Cyrus the Great
King of Persia → associatedWith → Cyrus Cylinder ⓘ
subject surface form: Cyrus the Great
Nabonidus → source → Cyrus Cylinder ⓘ
Divrei Hayamim → endsWith → Cyrus Cylinder ⓘ
this entity surface form: edict of Cyrus of Persia
Neo-Babylonian–Persian War → associatedWithDocument → Cyrus Cylinder ⓘ
Achaemenid conquest of Mesopotamia → describedIn → Cyrus Cylinder ⓘ
2 Chronicles → containsAccountOf → Cyrus Cylinder ⓘ
this entity surface form: Babylonian exile decree of Cyrus