What is the Cyrus Cylinder?

The Cyrus Cylinder is a 22.5 cm baked-clay barrel inscribed in Akkadian cuneiform after Cyrus the Great of Persia captured Babylon in 539 BCE. It records his policy of religious tolerance, repatriation of deported peoples, and restoration of sanctuaries.

Where was the Cyrus Cylinder found?

It was discovered in 1879 by the Anglo-Iraqi archaeologist Hormuzd Rassam during excavations at the temple of Marduk in Babylon, modern Iraq. It is held by the British Museum (object 90920).

Is the Cyrus Cylinder really the first human rights charter?

It is widely described as the world's first charter of human rights — most famously by the United Nations, which placed a replica at its New York headquarters in 1971. Scholars note it is a royal proclamation in the Mesopotamian tradition rather than a universal legal code, but its provisions on freedom of worship and return from captivity are without precedent in the ancient world.

What is the connection to the Bible?

The Cylinder's policy is echoed in the Hebrew Bible (Ezra 1, Isaiah 45), which credits Cyrus with ending the Babylonian Captivity and authorising the Jewish return to Jerusalem and rebuilding of the Temple — the only non-Jewish ruler called 'messiah' (mashiaḥ) in scripture.

Is the Cyrus Cylinder genuine?

Yes. Its authenticity, date and Babylonian provenance are not disputed by any scholar. The British Museum's curators (Irving Finkel and Jon Taylor) have published the full text, the parallel Yale fragments, and microscopic analysis of the clay.

Did Cyrus invent human rights?

Cyrus did not write a universal legal code in the modern sense. But his proclamation of religious freedom, the right of return for displaced peoples, and the abolition of forced labour in conquered cities is without precedent in surviving ancient near-eastern documents — which is why it carries that name.

Why is 29 October important?

29 October 539 BCE is the calculated date of Cyrus's entry into Babylon. It is observed by Iranians in Iran and the diaspora as Cyrus the Great Day, with annual gatherings at his tomb at Pasargadae.

Can I see the Cylinder?

Yes — it is on permanent display in Room 52 (Ancient Iran) of the British Museum in London, with free admission. A high-resolution 3D scan is available on the museum's website.

539 BCE · British Museum 90920

The Cyrus Cylinder

A clay barrel inscribed after Cyrus the Great's conquest of Babylon, declaring freedom of worship and the return of captive peoples — the world's first charter of rights.

Image: The Cyrus Cylinder, British Museum — Wikimedia Commons

Object

A clay barrel from Babylon

The Cyrus Cylinder is a barrel-shaped object of baked clay, 22.5 cm long and 10 cm in diameter, inscribed in 45 lines of Akkadian cuneiform. It was buried as a foundation deposit in the wall of the temple of Marduk in Babylon shortly after the Persian conquest of the city in October 539 BCE, and unearthed by Hormuzd Rassam in 1879. It now sits in Room 52 of the British Museum as object number 90920.

Two further fragments of the same text were later identified on a clay tablet at Yale, confirming that the inscription was copied and circulated — the Cylinder is the surviving foundation copy of a public proclamation by the new Persian king.

Words

What the Cylinder says

"I returned to these sacred cities on the other side of the Tigris, the sanctuaries of which had been in ruins for a long time, the images which used to live therein, and established for them permanent sanctuaries. I also gathered all their former inhabitants and returned to them their habitations."
— Cyrus Cylinder, lines 30–34 (translation: Irving Finkel, British Museum)

The text presents Cyrus as chosen by Marduk to restore the cult of Babylon after the misrule of Nabonidus, and lists his policies: peoples deported to Babylonia are sent home; gods carried off as trophies are restored to their temples; sanctuaries from Assur and Susa to the cities of the Tigris are rebuilt; no army enters the city in violence.

Context

The fall of Babylon, 539 BCE

The Persian conquest of Babylon
Date	Event
550 BCE	Cyrus II defeats Astyages, founds the Achaemenid Empire
547 BCE	Conquest of Lydia and capture of Croesus at Sardis
12 Oct 539 BCE	Battle of Opis; Persian army enters Babylon without resistance
29 Oct 539 BCE	Cyrus enters Babylon in person, hailed as liberator
538 BCE	Edict of return: Jewish exiles authorised to rebuild Jerusalem (Ezra 1)
c. 538 BCE	Foundation deposit of the Cylinder placed in Esagila

Afterlife

From Babylon to the United Nations

The Cylinder lay buried for 2,400 years. After Rassam's discovery in 1879 it became, for the 20th century, the most famous object of ancient Iran. In 1971 the Shah of Iran presented a replica to UN Secretary-General U Thant; it remains on display on the second floor of UN Headquarters in New York, labelled as an ancient declaration of human rights. The original travelled to Tehran on loan from the British Museum in 2010, drawing over half a million visitors in four months.

539 BCE

Cyrus the Great captures Babylon

22.5 cm

Length of the baked-clay barrel

45 lines

Of Akkadian cuneiform inscription

1879

Discovered by Hormuzd Rassam in Babylon

1971

UN displays a replica in New York

29 Oct

Cyrus the Great Day — observed by Iranians worldwide

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Continue exploring

References

All imagery is sourced from Wikimedia Commons, public-domain museum collections (British Museum, Louvre, Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Museum of Iran), or UNESCO World Heritage records. No AI-generated images are used. Scholarly text is synthesized from Encyclopædia Iranica, the Cambridge History of Iran, and peer-reviewed publications.