In the eyes of his fellow Persians, Cyrus the Great B.C.E.), the founder of the Persian Empire, earned his title on the battlefield. For the Persians, to be a king was to be a warrior, and to be a great king was to be a conqueror. As important as his military victories were, however, Cyrus’s accomplishments as a ruler were perhaps even more impressive. Through his policies, he laid the foundation of a lasting state, binding together far-flung and diverse peoples and harnessing their energies and resources to the royal will. The documents included below offer two perspectives on Cyrus’s rule: his own and that of the Hebrews, who revered Cyrus for returning them from exile in Babylonia to their homeland. As you read them, consider how Cyrus might have defined his own greatness. In what ways might his view have differed from that of the Hebrews, a subject people?