Could you tell us about the Cyrus Cylinder’s historic significance and its importance since its discovery in 1879?
It was found during an excavation. Cyrus the Great deposited it in 539 BC. At times, it is even regarded as the first bill on Human Rights -- which is misleading, because such an idea didn’t exist then. The concept of Human Rights is modern. Personal liberty hadn’t taken root then. There are five reasons why it remains significant today:
>> Cyrus occupied Babylon peacefully, unlike others who would destroy areas and burn them to the ground.
>>u00a0He absolved Babylon’s inhabitants from forced labour, which was unheard of in those times. Instead, they worked probably for the government or the temple.
>>u00a0He exercised freedom of worship on Babylonians because statues and religious objects were returned to their shrines.
>>u00a0People who were deported were allowed to return to places
like Jerusalem.
>>u00a0We now know that this inscription was more a proclamation than the foundation, as two recent tablets of the same cuneiform text were found. I doubt this is a unique document; there might be more cylinders, especially if the clay has been baked in antiquity. It’s a matter of chance that only one has been discovered so far.

A copy of the text engraved on the Cyrus Cylinder lies in the United Nations building in New York. Pic/AFP