The main reason for this visit to London!

The Cyrus Cylinder dates from the reign of Cyrus the Great, who ruled Persia between 550 and 530 BC. It was written by a Babylonian scribe in cuneiform script, in the 6th century BC, and is one of the most famous historical documents of the Achaemenid Empire. The cylinder records Cyrus’ peaceful capture of Babylon in 539 BC and how he rebuilt the main temple of the city god Marduk. Cyrus claimed he had restored temples and cults in neighbouring cities and returned their deported people and gods. He strengthened Babylon’s fortifications by completing the city moat and installing doors of cedar clad with bronze at the city gates. The cylinder was placed in the foundations of Babylon’s city wall. With reference to Cyrus’ just and peaceful rule, the cylinder has been referred to as an early “charter of human rights”.

The cylinder was excavated at the ancient site of Babylon in 1879. In 1971 it became a centrepiece of the Shah of Iran’s celebration of 2500 years of Iranian monarchy. In Iran, the cylinder has appeared on coins, banknotes and stamps. Despite being a Babylonian document is has become part of Iran’s cultural identity.

The cylinder was loaned to the National Museum of Iran in Tehran for a special exhibition (September 2010 – April 2011), together with two newly identified fragments of a Babylonian clay tablet containing parts of the same text. These helped to reconstruct some missing lines. The British Museum has since presented a replica of the Cyrus Cylinder for permanent display at the National Museum of Iran in recognition of its importance to Iranians today.

Extract from the cylinder:
‘I am Cyrus, king of the world, great king, legitimate king, king of Babylon, king of Sumer and Akkad, king of the four rims (of the earth), son of Cambyses, great king, king of Anshan, of a family (which) always (exercised) kingship’.