Thom Jeff's inspiration on tour.

[Gob]

As the Cyrus Cylinder begins its US tour, BBC Persian's Khashayar Joneidi explores how the reputedly liberal monarch who gave his name to the ancient Persian artefact inspired US founding father Thomas Jefferson.



The 2,600-year-old clay cylinder, almost the size of an American football, was made on the order of the Persian King Cyrus after he captured Babylon in 539 BC.

Referred to by some scholars as the "first bill on human rights", the cuneiform inscriptions on the cylinder appear to encourage freedom of worship throughout the Persian Empire and to allow deported people to return to their homelands.

On loan from the British Museum, the Cyrus Cylinder is touring American museums at the time when "relations between the US and Iran are not in their healthiest position", says Julian Raby.

He is director of the Freer and Sackler Galleries, where the prized piece of pottery has just gone on display.

"It's vital that US audiences understand Iran's extraordinary contribution to humanity," he says.

The empire, founded by Cyrus and Darius, stretched from the Balkans to Central Asia at its peak.

It was the first state model based on diversity and tolerance of different cultures and religions, according to Neil MacGregor, director of the British Museum.

But the greatest discovery for many people, Mr MacGregor said, is "the importance of Cyrus to those who wrote the constitution of United States".

"The story of Persia, Iran, is part of the story of modern United States," he said.

The Cyrus Cylinder is the centre piece of an exhibition called The Cyrus Cylinder and Ancient Persia: A New Beginning, featuring 16 objects from the British Museum.

It is hoped the loan of the Cyrus Cylinder to the US will promote cultural understanding

The barrel-shaped clay cylinder was buried in the foundations of Babylon after Cyrus captured the city. It was unearthed in 1879 in Mesopotamia, modern day Iraq, by British archaeologist and diplomat, Hormuzd Rassam.

The cuneiform inscriptions describe how Cyrus invaded Babylon at the invitation of the Babylonian god Marduk.

It also mentions how Cyrus freed nations enslaved by the Babylonians, and returned their various gods to their shrines.

Although the cylinder does not refer to the Jewish people by name, it has been mentioned in the Book of Chronicles and Book of Ezra that Jews were among those liberated by Cyrus and returned to their land to build the second temple.

Mr MacGregor says these acts, which have been interpreted as allowing freedom of worship and repatriating deported people, have earned Cyrus a reputation as a "liberal and enlightened monarch".

In addition to the objects borrowed from the British Museum, a copy of Cyropaedia, Xenophon's book on Cyrus, is on display at the exhibition in Washington DC.

The book, a bilingual Greek and Latin version published in Europe in 1767, is one of the two copies of Cyropaedia belonging to Thomas Jefferson that is currently held at the Library of Congress.

A contemporary of Socrates, Xenophon wrote on how Cyrus ruled a diverse society based on tolerance.

The book became popular during the Enlightenment among political thinkers in Europe and America, including those who drafted the US Constitution in the 1770s.

"In the 18th Century, that model of religious tolerance based on a state with diverse cultures, but no single dominant religion, became a model for the founding fathers," said Mr Raby.

The Cyrus Cylinder was unearthed roughly about 100 years after the United States Declaration of Independence was published.

People like Thomas Jefferson, who drafted the Declaration of Independence and became the third president of the United States, had to rely on Xenophon's Cyropaedia as a reference for the life and leadership of the Persian king.

Scripture was the other source for information on Cyrus, as it chronicled the invasion of Babylon and the freedom of Jews.

Mr Raby said "what's extraordinary about Cyrus, is that he appears as a paragon of princely statesmanship in the two pillars of Western cultures, that is the Greco-Roman tradition and the Bible".

He added that the copy of Cyropaedia displayed at the Freer and Sackler Galleries is testament to Jefferson's thorough examination of the book.

He pointed out a line in the book that has been crossed out by Jefferson, perhaps because he considered it problematic as it did not appear in earlier versions.

Jefferson not only studied the book in detail, but also advised his family to read it, according to Massumeh Farhad, Freer and Sackler's chief curator.

Ms Farhad said Jefferson in a letter had asked his grandson to study Cyropaedia.

"He wrote. 'when you start learning Greek, the first book you should read is Cyropaedia,'" Ms Farhad said.

Although a source of inspiration for European and American philosophers, the state model created by Cyrus, based on diverse cultures, but no single dominant religion, was only picked up on in the 18th Century United States.

"No European state managed to build tolerance into the structure of the state," Mr MacGregor said.

"They either have a state religion like Britain or they are against all religions like France, after the revolution."

The Cyrus Cylinder will travel from Washington to museums in Houston, New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

[oldr_n_wsr]

What once was old is now new again, and again.

[rubato]

Thomas Jefferson's inspiraton was unearthed 100 years after?

Quite the mystic. I didn't know.

yrs,
rubato

[Sean]

I know that reading for comprehension isn't your strongest point Rube but the article clearly states that it was King Cyrus and not this particular artefact which inspired Jefferson.

FYI, this would be the point where most people would say, "Whoopsie! I misread it" or words to that effect but I suspect you won't...

[rubato]

"Thom Jeff's inspiration on tour."

It appears to refer to the artifact, which is on tour, not Cyrus, who is not.

Perhaps you should begin by reading the headline?

Try sounding out the words.


The headline says that the artifact was the inspiration. The text says Cyrus was, also.




yrs,
rubato

[Sean]

Let me try and explain it for you...

Jefferson's inspiration was the state model of King Cyrus which happens to be engraved on this cylinder.
Also, the 'headline', or 'thread title' as we call it, is referring to what is engraved on the cylinder.

Your attempt at pedantry is making you look very foolish here... I'd quit while I wasn't too far behind if I were you.

[Lord Jim]

In rube's defense, he wasn't the only one who didn't read the article...

Whoever wrote the headline apparently didn't either..(Which I assume is part of the original article, since it appears in the quote)

The headline says:

the ancient Persian artefact inspired US founding father Thomas Jefferson.

When one reads the article, it's clear this is simply not so. To the extent Jefferson and the other Founding Fathers were inspired by anything related to this, (and they drew their "inspirations" from many sources, from the ancient Greeks to the Magna Carta, to 17th and 18th century Enlightenment thinkers) it was this:

Xenophon's book on Cyrus, is on display at the exhibition in Washington DC.

The book, a bilingual Greek and Latin version published in Europe in 1767, is one of the two copies of Cyropaedia belonging to Thomas Jefferson that is currently held at the Library of Congress.

A contemporary of Socrates, Xenophon wrote on how Cyrus ruled a diverse society based on tolerance.

The book became popular during the Enlightenment among political thinkers in Europe and America, including those who drafted the US Constitution in the 1770s.

So the supposed "inspiration" would have come, not from some "ancient Persian artifact" but from the writings of a Greek philosopher talking about the rule of a Persian king some 200 years after the event. These are two entirely different things.

The headline is grossly misleading, and sloppy work (though since it apparently comes from the BBC, this sadly is not surprising, as "grossly misleading" and "sloppy" seem to have replaced "integrity" and "accuracy" as its watch words... )

[Sean]

Well, the fact that the headline says Thom Jeff suggests to me that it's all the work of a certain Welshman and not the BBC...

[Lord Jim]

Well, the post subject line says Thom Jeff...The quoted article headline says Thomas Jefferson...

(I'm not going to criticize the post subject line...Hell, considering the author I'm impressed he managed to get through the word "inspiration" without a typo... )

[Gob]

Hey ! Hey! Hey!!!
































FUCK YOU!!!

[Lord Jim]

To ignore Mr. Strop's crudery, and address for a moment what I see as the underlying "point" of this typically, (for the BBC on-line) anti-American article:

But the greatest discovery for many people, Mr MacGregor said, is "the importance of Cyrus to those who wrote the constitution of United States".

"The story of Persia, Iran, is part of the story of modern United States," he said.

The Cyrus Cylinder is the centre piece of an exhibition called The Cyrus Cylinder and Ancient Persia: A New Beginning, featuring 16 objects from the British Museum.

It is hoped the loan of the Cyrus Cylinder to the US will promote cultural understanding

What exactly is the "point" here?

That if only the history-ignorant Americans understood the rich cultural contributions that Persian culture has made to Western civilization, all would be well?

The relevance of the views of a Persian king who lived more than 2500 years ago, are not immediately apparent to me in terms of how they should relate to our view of, or dealings with, the contemporary Iranian regime that exists in 2013 AD....(A regime, that I should point out, which unlike that of King Cyrus, does not distinguish itself by having "religious tolerance" as one of its most noticeable features...)

Ancient Rome made enormous contributions to the course of Western Society....

Does that mean we should have let that guide us in our dealings with Benito Mussolini?

Of course not....

I for one would would be delighted if Good King "Religiously Tolerant, Multi-Cultural" Cyrus were today ruling Iran....

From everything I've read about him, he seems like a much more rational and reasonable person than the characters currently in charge....

Alas, we do not have that option....

We are compelled to deal with the regime that exists there today....

[Scooter]

You are misreading this as having anything to do with modern Iran. It was the existence of a multicultural, multireligious state under Cyrus which began to be seen during the Enlightenment as a model of what a modern state could look like, particularly in the United States. As the article states:

In the 18th Century, that model of religious tolerance based on a state with diverse cultures, but no single dominant religion, became a model for the founding fathers

Where you are seeing anything "anti-American" in the recognition of that inspiration is beyond me.

[Lord Jim]

You are misreading this as having anything to do with modern Iran.

I disagree...

Look again at this portion of the article I quoted:

It is hoped the loan of the Cyrus Cylinder to the US will promote cultural understanding

That last bit clearly indicates that the author of this piece believes that the discovery of this historical artifact should have some relevance to our relations with contemporary Iran. I don't see any other way to read that...

[Scooter]

If the article was trying to draw any sort of similarity between ancient Persia under Cyrus, and modern Iran, you might have a point.

Since it does nothing of the kind...

Try to work through the logic of what you are suggesting, that because the U.S. owes something in the way it was conceived to a multicultural, multireligious state that was a model of tolerance in its day, therefore the U.S. today should make nice with a decidedly intolerant state attempting to impose a uniformity of culture and religion. That is completely self-contradictory, and therefore cannot possibly be the message that is being promoted by the article.

[Lord Jim]

If the article was trying to draw any sort of similarity between ancient Persia under Cyrus, and modern Iran, you might have a point.

No, it wasn't trying to say that....per se...

What it was obviously trying to say, is that if Americans had a better understanding of the historical contributions of the Persians, (which this American understands full well...others maybe not so much...) our relations today would somehow reflect a "better cultural understanding"....with the current Iranian regime...

I think this is one of those things that we're just going to have to agree to disagree about....*






(*Like tomorrow when I post my response to your post about the selection of Francis I.... )

[oldr_n_wsr]

Any great leader, looked back to see what was done in the past by whomever. I would expect nothing less from TJ. Where he got his inspiration and how he came to his conclusions, only he really knows. The real leaders build on the past to make a better future.