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The good monarch
07-Aug-2008
In a recent article, titled “UN Treasure Honors Persian Despot,” Spiegel Magazine criticizes the United Nations for recognizing an ancient artifact believed by many to be the world’s first declaration of human rights. The “Persian Despot” of course is Cyrus The Great, the author of the doctrine inscribed on the outer surface of a clay cylinder housed at the British Museum in London where it’s simply known as the Cyrus Cylinder.
When this cylinder was discovered in 1879, amid the ruins of Babylon, it made huge headlines in the Christian West. It was the first time a biblical story had been confirmed through archaeology. But the euphoria quickly wore off. The democratic age had no room for a celebrated monarch.
Before the age of democracy, most of the world had been ruled by monarchs. Since good monarchs were few and far between, the West had long considered Cyrus the epitome of what a good king should be based largely on the accounts of the Old Testament but also on a book titled ‘The Cyropaedia,’ which literally means the Teaching of Cyrus, written by the 4th century BCE Greek author Xenophon.
But at the height of democratic fervor, in the mid 19th century, Xenophon was virtually blacklisted, fewer people were reading the Bible and Herodotus, the 5th century BCE Greek writer who pits Persia’s monarchy against Greece’s democracy, was suddenly hailed as the “Father of History.”
By 1960 the lines between history and politics had been blurred, which is why the pursuit of historical accuracy is such a noble and worthy cause. But there’s little historical accuracy to be found in Spiegel’s article. The shear number of mistakes, assumptions and half truths leave one wondering whether any attempt at objective reporting was made.
The crux of Spiegel’s article boils down to the following argument: Since Cyrus was “no humanist” ergo “The notion that Cyrus introduced concepts of human rights is nonsense.”
If this premise holds true, then the French ‘Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen,’ which is recognized as one of the great human-rights doctrines, should also be considered nonsense since few would describe 1789 French Revolutionaries as “humanists.”
But then again, this article is not about France. It is about ancient Persia, or today’s Iran, a country left without a steward to protect its history from the likes of Spiegel – a state of affairs not entirely lost on its author. Citing the Ayatollah Khomeini as an authority on human rights, the article quotes him as saying, “The crimes committed by Iranian kings have blackened the pages of history books.”
Falsehoods
According to the article, Cyrus blackened the pages of history by starting “a 30-year war that consumed the Orient and forced millions to pay heavy taxes. Anyone who refused stood to have his nose and ears cut off. Those sentenced to death were buried up to their heads in sand, left to be finished off by the sun.”
It may come as a shock to people who have come to trust reputable news organizations like Spiegel to learn that not a single word in this statement is true. We know it’s not true because there are only a finite number of sources to draw from. In fact, all of our data on Cyrus The Great come from two primary sources, the Cyrus Cylinder and the Nabonidus Chronicle and four secondary, less reliable sources including the Old Testament and three classical Greek authors namely Herodotus, Xenophon and Ctesias.
Not one of these sources mentions anything about Cyrus cutting off someone’s nose or ears, nor do they mention him burying anyone up to their heads in sand. But how could Spiegel have gotten it so wrong?
The German magazine saw fit to stake its reputation on the findings of Dr. Matthias Schulz. But don’t let the “Dr.” title fool you. Mr. Schulz is no expert in Persian or even Near Eastern Studies. In fact, his official title posted on Vanderbilt University’s website reads: “Visiting Associate Professor, and Director, Center for European and German Studies.”
Mr. Schulz’s lack of knowledge on the subject is immediately clear when he describes how Cyrus died. “A spear punctured his thigh,” he claims, and Cyrus “died three days later.” Anyone writing an article for Spiegel should know that it was Cambyses - not Cyrus - who is described by Herodotus as having died of a leg injury:
“as he (Cambyses) was springing into the saddle, the cap fell off the sheath of his sword, exposing the blade, which pierced his thigh . . . Shortly afterwards gangrene and mortification of the thigh set in, and Cambyses died” (Herodotus 3:64-66)
Equally reckless is Mr. Schulz’s allegation that Cyrus “was responsible for a 30-year war.” According to both primary and secondary sources, Cyrus was not responsible for any war except Babylon which lasted 19 days, not 30 years. The Nabonidus Chronicle emphatically states that his first war was instigated by the Median king, Astyages:
“Astyages mustered his army and marched against Cyrus, king of Anshan, for conquest. (Nabonidus Chronicle Column II: Line 1)
His second war was started by the Lydian king, Croesus, who, according to Herodotus, wanted to punish Cyrus for defeating Astyages.
“Croesus had a craving to extend his territories, but there were two other reasons for his attack on Cappadocia: namely his trust in the oracle and his desire to punish Cyrus.” (Herodotus 1:73)
Half Truths
Mr. Schulz seems to add his own biased spin to otherwise benign words such as “heavy taxes.” Yes, like all governments, Cyrus collected taxes from his citizens. But were they “heavy?” Perhaps it’s safe to say that all taxes are “heavy” in the eyes of those who have to pay them. But even Cyrus’s taxation was revolutionary. Before Cyrus, taxes were little more than extortion money. You paid the government not to kill you or enslave you. But for the first time in imperial history, Cyrus’s subjects got representation for their taxation such as security, a postal system and roads that according to Dr. David Stronach were described as being so safe from bandits “that a virgin could move from one end of the empire to the other with a pot of gold on her head and never be touched.”
The Persian empire also provided its citizens with a justice system so impartial that the Old Testament describes it as follows:
“the law[s] of the Medes and Persians, . . . altereth not.” (Daniel 6:8)
Some of Mr. Schulz’s charges sound almost desperate. One of his “experts” complains that Cyrus, “demanded that his subjects kiss his feet.” This is yet another half truth. Yes, there is evidence that Cyrus’s subjects kissed his feet, but there is no evidence that he “demanded” anyone to do so. In fact, Xenophon describes one of Cyrus’s Generals, Tigranes, as choosing not to kiss his hands, let alone his feet.
Contradictions
In some cases, Mr. Schulz seems to allege the exact opposite of what the sources tell us. For example, in his cylinder, Cyrus tells us:
[24] while my extensive troops marched peacefully through Babylon. In the whole land of Sumer and Akkad I did not allow any troublemaker to arise. [25] His city of Babylon and all his cult-centres I maintained in prosperity. (Cyrus Cylinder: Line 24-25)
But Mr. Schulz, in his infinite wisdom, claims that Cyrus’s “army ransacked residential neighborhoods and holy sites.”
By the same token, Cyrus tells us:
“I gathered all their former inhabitants and returned them to their houses.” (Cyrus Cylinder: Line 32)
Mr. Schultz, on the other hand, accuses Cyrus of “deporting” urban elites. The falsehoods in this article are so numerous that citing the evidence seems useless. But then, Mr. Schulz isn’t really interested in the facts. He and his motley crew of “experts” have dismissed all these sources as “propaganda.” So what is the basis for his theory? The answer lies in a single verse of the Nabonidus Chronicle.
Cyrus’s King-Arthur-like image was shattered in 1965 when a post-graduate student by the name of A.K. Grayson retranslated the Nabonidus Chronicle for his doctoral thesis. His interpretation revealed a bloody massacre by Cyrus of the entire civilian population at the city of Opis (near today's Baghdad). The following passage is what cynics like Mr. Schultz and his experts have zeroed in on for the last 40+ years:
“In the month of Tishri when Cyrus(II) did battle at Opis on the [bank of] the Tigris against the army of Akkad, the people of Akkad retreated. He carried off the plunder (and) slaughtered the people.”
The naysayers finally had their red meat. The Herodotian East/West divide was secure. But unbeknownst to Mr. Schulz, this passage was corrected last year by none other than A. K. Grayson’s former professor, W. G. Lambert and published in the 2007 issue of the French journal N.A.B.U.. The amended translation reads as follows:
In Tishri, when Cyrus did battle with the army of Akkad at Opis, on the [bank] of the Tigris, the soldiers of Akkad withdrew. He (Cyrus) took plunder and defeated the soldiers (of Akkad).
Cyrus did not “slaughter the people,” he “defeated the soldiers.” Two words can change history, which is why it’s so incumbent on Spiegel to get the facts straight before setting out to revise it. This revelation leaves Mr. Schulz’s article with nothing but speculation and conjecture.
Mr. Schulz may see himself as an iconoclast out to “debunk” a long-standing tradition. But it is, in fact, Mr. Schultz’s position that is cliché. Persia’s role as an evil villain is such an integral part of Western folklore that only a handful of scholars such as Tom Holland have dared step out of the Euro-centric box to side with the evidence.
Pax Persica
The United Nations, which does not share Mr. Schulz’s Western bias, is the main target of his wrath. He mocks the UN for not sharing his anti-Persian bias, when he writes, “Suddenly even the UN secretary-general was insisting that Cyrus wanted peace, and that the Persian king had shown the wisdom to respect other civilizations.”
Actually yes; the U.N. has it right. The quest for peace was a well-known policy of the Persian empire. Revolts disrupted commerce, and disrupted commerce meant disrupted taxes. So to avoid revolts, Persian kings granted their subjects certain God-given rights in order to maintain peace throughout the empire. Had Mr. Schulz done the slightest bit of research, he would have found that there is even a name for this policy. It’s called “Pax Persica” and it is described by Dr. Maria Brosius as follows:
“The politics of the Achaemenid (Persian) Empire is referred to as the politics of Pax Persica, which means the Persian Peace, and what the Persian kings propagated was the idea of an empire at peace and the way that they tried to achieve that was through tolerance of other people’s cultures, religion, languages and administration.”
Whether such tolerance was intended to prevent revolts or whether it was part of their Zoroastrian culture is a matter of debate. But there is no debate about whether such freedoms existed. These rights were first laid out by Persia’s patriarch, Cyrus The Great, and the clay cylinder, which Mr. Schulz calls “a hoax,” is a rare snapshot of Cyrus bestowing these very rights on the people of Babylon after conquering it in 539 BCE.
The cylinder is groundbreaking in many ways. It records the first instance of a conqueror paying homage to the foreign God of his conquered subjects. It orders all idol statues, which had been confiscated by previous Babylonian kings, returned to their “rightful abodes.” But the act that would immortalize Cyrus forever is captured in lines 25 and 26:
“The [. . .] people of Babylon, who, against the will of the gods [...] (had suffered) a yoke unsuitable for them [through that man (Nabonidus)], [26] I offered relief from their exhaustion and ended their servitude.” (Cyrus Cylinder: Line 25-26)
Among those who were relieved from their exhaustion and servitude were over 100,000 Jews who chronicled the events that led to their captivity in the Old Testament. They describe a horrifying scene of destruction, murder and torture carried out by the infamous Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, on the Jewish people and their capital city, Jerusalem.
“Nebuchadnezzar took those (Jews) who weren’t executed to Babylon to be slaves for him and his sons. They remained captives until the Persian empire began to rule . . . The lord moved the heart of Cyrus, king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and to put in writing. . . . This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: . . . May the Lord be with all of you who are his people. You may go." Chronicles II (35:20-23)
Here we have two completely independent sources corroborating each other. Is this all propaganda? No previous victor seems to have found it necessary to ingratiate himself to his vanquished subjects. In fact, reigning through terror sustained the Assyrian empire for over half a millennium. Sustaining his empire through a strategy of peace and tolerance was an enormous risk to Cyrus.
Yet despite the risks, freedom of religion, freedom from servitude and the right to live where one chooses were guaranteed for the first time in writing. They may not be as well defined as the U.S. Bill Of Rights or the Magna Carta, but after six centuries of Assyrian and Babylonian rule, the decrees enshrined on this cylinder were no less groundbreaking.
Mr. Schulz considers those who appreciate Cyrus’s impact on world history as belonging to “the Cyrus cult.” But this cult boasts an impressive roster. Some of history’s greatest leaders, from Julius Caesar to Thomas Jefferson, studied Cyrus. In fact the Western concept of “the separation of church and state” may well have been influenced by Cyrus.
Dr. Richard Frye, the foremost expert on ancient Persia believes, that Cyrus’s tolerant policies could have only taken root in the world’s first secular government:
“The most important thing about Cyrus and the Achaemenid empire was the spread of secular law all over the empire. Before this time, law was based on religion, local religion of the Babylonians, or the Hebrews, or the Egyptians. But now, for the first time in history, you have secular law. In my opinion, the continuation of Roman law is based upon Achaemenid law." (Dr. Richard Frye, Harvard University)
In fairness to Mr. Schulz, he got one thing right. Cyrus was no humanist. He was a conqueror. But he was a humane conqueror - an oxymoron best explained by the world’s leading expert on Cyrus The Great, Dr. David Stronach:
“For the first time, on a very wide scale, Cyrus used great force to protect, not degrade, the human condition.” (Dr. David Stronach, U.C. Berkeley)
Cyrus influenced heads of state as recently as 1948 when President Harry Truman based his decision to support the state of Israel in large part on his emulation of Cyrus. When introduced once as “the man who helped create the state of Israel,” Truman is said to have quipped, “What do you mean ‘helped create’? I am Cyrus! I am Cyrus!
By publishing Mr. Schulz’s article, Spiegel Magazine showed a flagrant disregard for the basic standards of responsible journalism. Spiegel owes its readers truth in reporting. Instead it passed off an uninformed opinion as news. The truth is owed a retraction or at the very least an impartial follow-up article based on evidence and qualified experts.
Mr. Schulz’s article closes with the following proverb: “A fool may throw a stone into a well which a hundred wise men cannot pull out.” It seems that the only one throwing stones, is Mr. Schulz.
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Must Read Impotant Petition 60 & Request For Your Action
by ActivistChat (not verified) on Thu Aug 14, 2008 06:54 AM PDTMust Read Impotant Petition 60 & Request For Your Action and Email Broadcast
//www.petitiononline.com/achat60/petition.htm...
Recently, the well-known German magazine, Spiegel, followed by the English Daily Telegraph, didn't offer a single shred of historical evidence when they launched their unbridled barrage of attacks on the legacy of the benevolent king Cyrus the Great who is universally regarded as one of the most tolerant historical figures to ever rule.
......
Iranians worldwide are deeply offended by the baseless desecration of the founding father of Iran. We demand of Spiegel and English Daily Telegraph, in the strongest possible terms, an immediate apology, and an immediate retraction or a follow-up article based on real scholarship, real science and real experts in the field of Near Eastern history. We hope that this notice will suffice and obviate the need for further discussion.
Mr. Kar, You Rock!
by Persian Man on Wed Aug 13, 2008 12:46 AM PDTShultz's drivel did not even deserve a response of your caliber. I can't wait to see your movie. Please form a fund raising committee and tell our community how much money you need to make the movie. It is going to happen. I know it.
Spiegel Defined
by eroonman on Mon Aug 11, 2008 05:16 PM PDTThe definition of Der Speigel in German is "The Mirror" (or you can go for the English version which I liked better, "Pig Iron"). Either definition aside, to rely on others to keep and tell OUR history is a greater crime of laziness and irresponsibility, than that of those who read, write and then publish our history for us, a few bucks, and to fill space in a weak issue. Shame on us for not keeping the truth, shame on us for leaving it up to the lone wolf Mr. Kar, to be the only one left to tell the true tale of CTG!
Mostly though, shame on all our millionaires who have sat like weakling 3rd string quarterbacks (eager to analyze after the game, but afraid to play), unwilling to fund Mr. Kar here, who has been struggling to make a meager film about the truth of CTG for years now.
No! No! By all means, it is far better to vacation in space! Better for people to be able to auction off their teddy bears and organs online! Better for people to be able to search the internet for porn faster! Better to find a nice Moslem girl to date! Better to fund so called "Community Foundations" who bribe American Politicians to sponsor meaningless propositions to open up "the dialogue among criminals"!
All these are far more important than the simple task of preserving and defending the truth and intellectual property of our culture and history in a simple, affordable and highly effective 2-hour film!
Honestly, I wish someone would bury all the Iranian millionaires up to their necks in all their cash, and leave them to wonder where our culture (and soul) went. Ass up.
Soufi
by ThePope on Mon Aug 11, 2008 01:11 AM PDTNicely said; "a good monarch is a dead monarch".
And the last Persian king was just tooooo good... "The King's heart is like a stream of water directed by the Lord; He turns it wherever he pleases." (-king solomon, Bible) Our first and last King were entirely directed by The Lord God Almighty...
One day, future Persian generations will give HIM the title of "great" just like the first Persian King who we call the "great",,, one day....
man mordeh, shomaa zendeh. You'll see.
you lack historical understanding soufi!
by CyrusAdmirer (not verified) on Sun Aug 10, 2008 11:43 PM PDTWhat you are saying shows your lack of understanding regarding historical judgment. Everyone knows today that in our time (i.e. modern times since the 18th century) monarchs are not accepted as sound political leaders and democratic elected leaders are the legitimate ones.
This notion, however, is recent in human history. The concepts of election and non-monarchical governments are not older than 400 years in their modern forms. Since the dawn of human history kings and monarchs have existed and even though in Greece the concept of democracy originated but it was never fully applied and the concept itself was more oligarchical than similar to modern democracies.
So kings and monarchs have always been there, and most of them were brutals and they did not respect their people and in times of war they would commit all atrocities. Now very few among them were humanistic (relatively speaking) and cared about their own people (by not enforcing slavery and giving wages to workers, like Cyrus the Great did).
And very few of them would respect the gods and people of the vanquished lands like Cyrus did in Babylonia and elsewhere. And very few of them liberated slaves and let them return to their homes as Cyrus did. And few of them would start establishing long canal system for irrigation and build roads for commerce and build original communication systems (in 2500 years ago) as Cyrus the Great did.
So you can not take your "present day values" of political knowledge and apply it to thousands of years ago and judge history with today's criteria! This is called 'anachronism' or anachronistic evaluation. It's wrong!
A Good Monarch is a Dead Monarch...
by soufi on Sun Aug 10, 2008 10:08 PM PDTFreedom to choose one's government can never be replaced with any monarch; good or bad. We had one whose reign ended just 30 years agao. There are no good ones these days.
A Good Monarch is a Dead Monarch...
by soufi on Sun Aug 10, 2008 10:08 PM PDTFreedom to choose one's government can never be replaced with any monarch; good or bad. We had one whose reign ended just 30 years agao. There are no good ones these days.
Shulzi's Email
by 135 (not verified) on Sat Aug 09, 2008 04:58 AM PDTMatthias_Schulz@spiegel.de
For those who did not know his email address!!
Dear All,
Please let him recieve each and every thoughts, you might have on this subject.
Enough with tolerance, as it is our culture's major weakness. For a while, lets follow the "two eyes for an eye" methodology and see the result.
BTW, the attached photo, blew my mind.
I wish, I was there and could kiss the guy's boot while he was kissing Pasargad's soil.
Thanks for the excellent
by merci (not verified) on Sat Aug 09, 2008 04:33 AM PDTThanks for the excellent article and information.
Great article.
by Bravura on Fri Aug 08, 2008 10:36 PM PDTGreat article.
The Persians are coming
by Surna (not verified) on Fri Aug 08, 2008 07:30 PM PDTPersian Empire was the greatest and the First Empire of the Earth (before Persian, others lived in tribes or city-state like Egyptian, Babylonian, Mesopotamia, Greece). The first Persian Empire's dynasty lasted 235 years. They ruled the world alone. When you look at the map of each of these “city-states”, you see one city with its surrounding area. Persian for the first time in history of mankind had the ingenuity and advance social far-site to not loot and burns the defeated city-states but to incorporate them within it by granting them the same liberty. Just a simple tax was enough.
The term Empire is only associated to a state that conquers numerous others states and managed them for a long period of time (several generations). The world Empires are as follow:
1. Persian, over 1,100 years
2. Rome, over 500 years
3. Arab, over 200 years
4. Mongol, over 100 years
5. Ottoman, over 400 years
6. Russia, over 100 years
Others like Alexander, Napoleon, and Hitler are considered conqueror. That is all. They lost their conquest (land/nation) in a short time.
The British never had an Empire. They never had an army (only a navy). The SOB's got hold of India with a ship load of shits and used Indians to take over poor undefended Africans and south East Asians. Think about it, no British army ever marched over any strong or even half decent defended state. They just looted backward nations (tribes) of Africa from their natural wealth with deceit. (Note: before British trick the India into submission, Nader Shah took over India several times and India’s official language was Persian). Brit, France, Spain and Dutch were colonial powers (of seventeen thru nineteen century), not Empires.
There were only one Western Empire (Rome) and five Eastern Empires. The west tries to rewrite the history with Euro-centric point of view. Which, implies as if human civilization started from Greece (couple of bare-footed lunatics that supposedly wrote the concept of democracy) which then, they pass it on to Rome. Rome passes the torch to Brits and eventually she passes it to U.S.A. So, this is the land of human civilization, science, art and greatness. Therefore, all others are barbarian.
One would say why have they been rewriting the history? After all history is the story of our past generations. We should look forward and live in the present times. The reasons are as follow:
1. Simply it gives them a better sense of pride and identity in order to compel them to be over-achievers like their ancestors (supposedly).
2. Second the other people of world are disposable since they were barbarians from get go (when bomb fell over Iraq who cared. They are not considered to have the same value as our civilized folks over here).
You see there is a tangible connection for these efforts that are going on.
Thank you Mr. Kar
by AnonymousHaha on Fri Aug 08, 2008 05:55 PM PDTVery good article! Enjoyed it and learned some very interesting history! Thank you! Thank you!
Cyrus
by Farid Parsa (not verified) on Fri Aug 08, 2008 04:23 PM PDTThanks a lot for the article. I hope they would reply to it. Because an answer for their inacurate article is demanded, or an apology.
Keep up the good work
Farid Parsa
Histroical knowledge through "Spiegel".....Haa Haa Haa...
by Immortal Guard (not verified) on Fri Aug 08, 2008 02:45 PM PDTIn this age of Internet would a person with a sane mind even read "Der Speiegel" or any other mainstream media who push the agenda of those who pay them to put the kind of spin on issues the way they want to?
As we say in Persian these guys are not "Rooznaameh Nevis" They are "Roozi Nevis". A whore has 100 times more honour than a "Roozi Nevis" who sells his mind.
The onus is on us Persians to band together and establish our own mainstrean media and set the standard.
And last but not least: "Who needs a history lesson from Germans".
Mr. Kar
by Abarmard on Fri Aug 08, 2008 02:08 PM PDTWhat happened to your film about Cyrus. Would you please update us. Thank you
Mr. Kar
by Anonymous Observer (not verified) on Fri Aug 08, 2008 01:40 PM PDTThank you for your outstanding and objective analysis. Keep up the good work!
NGM
by Anonymous80 (not verified) on Fri Aug 08, 2008 01:40 PM PDTLet's send Spiegel a copy of National Geographic latest issue. That might help them get their facts straight.
Thank you Cyrus
by Amir Khosrow Sheibany (not verified) on Fri Aug 08, 2008 11:24 AM PDTwell said, well written. Keep up the good work. And Thank you.
Propaganda on BEHALF of Persians?
by manesh on Fri Aug 08, 2008 10:39 AM PDTPershaps the most farcical claim in Dr. Shulz' article is that UN attention to Cyrus is the result of "propaganda". Persians may be many things, but masters of public relations, they are not. In fact, Persia/Iran is the most overlooked history in the annals of mankind.
A land with 6,000 years of history today is treated no differently- maybe worse, than a 60 year old sheikdom in the Persian Gulf or a 40 year old country in Africa. Persia is the the bastard child of world history.
Like Germany in Europe, Persia has no natural ally. Dead smack between Europe, Asia and Africa, Persia is a stoming ground for empires. Three of the world's greatest figures- Alexander, Chenghiz khan & Mohammad, made their name almost entirely by conquering Persia (If Persia is nothing, then how come conquering nothing makes so many people great?). Each, in turn, destroying whatever heritage there was and re-writing history to their own liking. Add to that the hostile history writings of the crusades, 18th century anti-monarchial sentiments, and 19th century colonial dehuminizations, and you will begin to get a picture of what propaganda has done TO Persia and not FOR Persia. If Persia had constantly tooted its own horn, or if any of that was still left (like Greece), then the charge of propaganda would have a slight chance of being plausible. But, the opposite is true, indeed. Persia is the victim of politicizations and propaganda.
The land of Persia has contributed much and suffered even more. It is odd to see a European- a German at that, in the role of plaintif against Persia and claiming to be a victim of propaganda.
The Most Stupid Scholaristic Discussions and Debates...
by Thus Spake Abol The Danesh (not verified) on Fri Aug 08, 2008 10:33 AM PDT-------------------MEANING---------------------
...fruitless unless the money is involved...
Thank you Mr. Kar!
by Anonymous4now on Fri Aug 08, 2008 10:28 AM PDTFor an excellent article. I hope Iranians can find enough generosity in themselves to donate money for the completion of your documentary.
Spread of knowledge since Achamenid times
by manesh on Fri Aug 08, 2008 10:01 AM PDTLittle discussed contribution of ancient Persian empire is how it facilitated the spread of knowledge.
The Persian system of gathering knowledge from different satrapies, comparing & examining them, then re-issuing the best of the breed throughout the world was a great contribution. For example, an agricultural tool, say a plow, would be collected from Indians and studied in the "royal workshop" in the Lydian satrapy. If it was the best plow available, it would be introduced to the rest of the world. This was an amzing development. If you think about it, never befors did the people of neighboring lands, let alone people of India and Africa, ever knew what the other planted or how he irrigated his fields, or how he harvested or milled anything.
The same happened with animals, plants, fruits, nuts and vegatables. I believe even the gifts to the king on nowrooz which are depicted on the stairwells of Persepolis are not forced tributes, but samples of what each region offered as their best contribution. As you see in the reliefs, citizens are carrying items of little value such as plates of sprouts, a ram, jars, a scale, a horse, some plain fabric, a cow, etc. These were not gifts worthy of the king of kings. These were sample animals, materials, plants, etc. meant for re-seeding, breeding, cross-breeding, etc. After the Achemanids, everyone was growing the same grains, same beans, same fruits & vegetables and using the same sickles, same plows, , same mills, etc. Knowledge in the 230 years of Persian empire was shared for the first time among all men. Even the Golden age of classic Greece coincides EXACTLY with the rule of Persians. Never before or after Persians did the Greeks ever produce another graet figure of knowledge. This is an undisputed fact, but rarely mentioned.
High technology at that time was agriculture. I believe the technological revolution of the Persians was more transforming, and benefitted mankind even more than the industrial revolution or this high tech revolution.
Great response to morons who
by Not Anonymous (not verified) on Fri Aug 08, 2008 09:32 AM PDTGreat response to morons who try to rewrite history to make a few bucks.
How's your movie coming along Mr. Kar?
What a fantastic article by Mr. Kar.
by Nader on Fri Aug 08, 2008 08:20 AM PDTThank you so much for an eye opening and informative read. I guess certain individuals/interest groups/pseudo journalists will go to any length to discredit us on everything. I don't know which one is worst. The 2nd Arab invasion of our land or the recent campaign to erase our history by Zionists!?
We should fight them both!
All wars are dirty!
by choghok on Fri Aug 08, 2008 07:02 AM PDTIf there is something history has shown us is that war is an ugly thing. So even if Cyrus was a nice guy really, his decisions has led to deaths of many people. We should not glorify that. Also we should not take a piece of mythologic book (Bible) as a measure for how muchgood someone was
Old testamente is nothing more than Shahnameh of Jewish people. The only difference between those books is that Ferdowsi did not say to be a prophet.
But we should be proud of Cyrus accomplishments as a leader in history. He brought peace in a big region that had chaos before him. And he united many tribes and laid ground for our country
He was no angle and definitly no devil
/Bidar bash ke ma bekhabim
Development is Humane
by manesh on Fri Aug 08, 2008 06:19 AM PDT"...In Persia first arises that light which shines itself and illuminates what is around... The principle of development begins with the history of Persia; this constitutes therefore the begining of history."
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
That's Hagel talking, the Father of Western philosophy and Dr. Shulz' countryman. The idea of using government power and tax payer money for development and technology (agriculture, in this case) was a monumental step for humanity.
Racists Undertone in Speigel Article
by manesh on Fri Aug 08, 2008 06:12 AM PDTNot only Dr. Shulz is inaccurate, there are racists allusions in his writing. One is:
"Those sentenced to death were buried up to their heads in sand,..."
"sand" is code word for everything Middle Eastern and Islamic. The landscape of even mountainous places like Afghanistan and Iran is imagined to be all sand in the mind's eyes of prejiduced Westerners.
The other is:
'Indeed, the UN Information Service in Vienna continues to insist that many still consider the cuneiform cylinder from the Orient to be the "first human rights document."'
"The Orient" is a derogatory term from the 19th century basically meaning the un-civilized people of the East. It was believed at the time that "the Oriental" was incapable of deciding for himself and needed a European, an "occidental" to run his affairs; the argument for colonialism. Dr. Shulz' use in this instance is a mockery that anything good or "humane" could come from the Orient. All good things, by his definition, must come from the occident.
Donate to Cyrus' Project
by manesh on Fri Aug 08, 2008 05:53 AM PDTI have and will again. Nobody else is going to teach the world about Cyrus.
//www.spentaproductions.com/
Thank You!
by samsam1111 on Fri Aug 08, 2008 05:11 AM PDTMay the old flame never go out.Cyrus legacy is infinite, timeless & a beacon of light for the lost generations.
Nefarious agenda
by Fred on Fri Aug 08, 2008 04:30 AM PDTThe numnuts in Iraq accused, detained and ill-treated Cyrus Kar on now proven to be bogus charges of terrorism. He sure does a fine job on the revisionist pseudo-historians with nefarious agendas.