A Persian Emperor Proclaims His Righteousness

An important aspect of Cyrus the Great’s imperial strategy, and one that would be continued by his successors, was the effort to present Persian kings as righteous rulers. Cyrus depicted himself as a champion of right order, restoring traditions and bringing prosperity to the regions he conquered. As he described them, his wars were not against other peoples, but against their leaders, men who, through their own misdeeds, had betrayed their people and forfeited the right to rule. As you read the royal inscription included below, compare it to Ashur-Nasir-Pal II’s account of his accomplishments (Document 2-4). How do they differ? What do the differences you note tell you about the governing strategies of the two emperors?

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, grandson of Cyrus, great king, king of Anshan, descendant of Teispes, great king, king of Anshan, of a family [that] always [exercised] kingship; whose rule Bel and Nabu17 love, whom they want as king to please their hearts.

When I entered Babylon as a friend and [when] I established the seat of government in the palace of the ruler under jubilation and rejoicing, Marduk,18 the great lord (induced) the magnanimous inhabitants of Babylon (to love me), and I was daily endeavoring to worship him. My numerous troops walked around in Babylon in peace, I did not allow anybody to terrorize [any place] of the [country of Sumer] and Akkad. I strove for peace in Babylon, [I abolished] the [labor tribute] which was against their [social] standing. I brought relief to their dilapidated housings, putting an end to their complaints. Marduk, the great Lord, was well pleased with my deeds and sent friendly blessings to myself, Cyrus, the king who worships him, to Cambyses, my son, the offspring of my loins, as well as to all my troops, and we all [praised] his great [godhead] joyously, standing before him in peace.

All the kings of the entire world from the Upper to the Lower Sea, those who are seated in throne rooms, [those who] live in other [types of buildings as well as] all the kings of the West land living in tents, brought their heavy tributes and kissed my feet in Babylon. [As to the region] from . . . as far as Ashur and Susa, Agade, Eshnuna, the towns of Zamban, Me-Turnu, Der, as well as the region of the Gutium, I returned to [these] sacred cities on the other sides of the Tigris, the sanctuaries of which have been 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. Furthermore, I resettled upon the command of Marduk, the great lord, all the gods of Sumer and Akkad who Nabonidus19 has brought into Babylon to the anger of the lord of the gods, unharmed, in the [former] chapels, the places which make them happy.

May all the gods whom I have resettled in their sacred cities ask daily Bel and Nabu for a long life for me and may they recommend me [to him]; to Marduk, my lord, they may say this: “Cyrus, the king who worships you, and Cambyses, his son, . . . all of them I settled in a peaceful place . . . ducks and doves . . . I endeavored to repair their dwelling places.”

READING AND DISCUSSION QUESTIONS