It’s odd, isn’t it, that so much of what we know about past civilizations comes from things that those societies valued so little? I’m talking about the fact that archeologists so often focus on trash dumps or broken bits of everything from crockery to buildings to help puzzle out how our ancestors lived.
The Cyrus Cylinder is a case in point. This 2,500 year old clay object was never meant to be seen, let along revered. Described as roughly the size of a football, the cylinder is inscribed with Babylonian cuneiform passages, and was created as a “foundation deposit,” in the way that present-day builders lay time capsules in the cornerstones of our buildings. Yet, it is the centerpiece of an exhibit currently at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco.
Why all the fuss? Because its tiny cuneiform markings describe commands of King Cyrus of Persia (today’s Iran). The benevolent king decreed that indentured servants be freed, and that captured religious artifacts be returned to their original owners – both jarring concepts for 539 B.C. He also encouraged what today is called “freedom of religion” throughout his empire, which stretched from the Balkan Mountains of Europe to Central Asia. These actions are recorded in the Old Testament of the Bible.
Scholars consider the cylinder’s message to be “the original bill of human rights,” which explains why a replica of the Cyrus Cylinder is at the United Nations building in New York.
But if the cylinder was created to stay inside of a building cornerstone, how did anyone know of it? Tablets with the same message have been found in various parts of the lands ruled by King Cyrus, confirming that his message was to be known by all. Fitting for a man who is quoted in the Bible as saying “All the kingdoms of earth hath the Lord God of heaven given to me.” Not stopping there, he also had the title King of the Universe.
“The Cyrus Cylinder and Ancient Persia: A New Beginning” is on display at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco through September 22. This is its first U.S. tour.