Cyrus Cylinder (539 BCE)

The famous clay cylinder (shown above) was discovered in 1879 as a foundation deposit in the
foundation of the Esagila temple (in now Iraq) by the Assyro-British archaeologist Hormuzd
Rassam is a cylinder about 9in wide and 3in in diameter, contains lines 1-35. It is housed at the
British Museum at London. The inscriptions recount the liberation of Babylon.
Translation of the surviving cuneiform is below:

1. (King Nabonidus of Babylon) put a low person in charge of the country and
constructed false temples in Ur and other cities. He no longer feared Marduk,
supreme God. He caused evil acts within the city every day, burdened the people
without relief thereby bringing ruin.
2. The supreme God became furious at these transgressions. Taking pity on all the
settlements whose sanctuaries were in ruins, and for the populations who had
become like corpses, He sought to find relief. He searched all the countries for a
saviour seeking an upright king. He took the hand of Cyrus, king of Anshan, and
proclaimed his kingship over all the world.
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3. Marduk, the great lord, who nurtures his people, saw with pleasure Cyrus' fine
deeds and true heart and ordered that Cyrus go to Babylon. He had Cyrus take the
road to Tintir, and, like a friend and companion, walked at his side. Cyrus' vast
troops whose number, like the water in a river, could not be counted, marched
fully-armed at his side. Marduk had Cyrus enter Shuanna without fighting or battle.
He saved Babylon from hardship.
4. All the people of Tintir, Sumer and Akkad, nobles and governors, bowed down
before Cyrus and kissed his feet, rejoicing over his kingship and their faces shone.
The lord through whose trust all were rescued from death and who saved them all
from distress and hardship, they blessed him sweetly and praised his name.
5. I am Cyrus, emperor, king of kings, king of Babylon, king of Sumer and Akkad,
king of the four quarters of the world, son of Cambyses, great king, king of the city
of Anshan, grandson of Cyrus, great king, descendant of Teispes, great king, king
of Anshan, of the lineage of kings whose reign is blessed by Bel and Nabu, and
whose kingship they are pleased to protect.
6. Amid jubilation and rejoicing, I entered Babylon in peace to establish a just
government and strive for peace. My troops wandered peacefully throughout
Babylon. In all of Sumer and Akkad, I gave no cause for fear and no one was
terrorized.
7. I concerned myself with the needs and welfare of the citizens of Babylon, Sumer
and Akkad, and with promoting their well-being. I freed them from their improper
oppression & bondage. I healed their afflictions and put an end to their misfortune.
I restored their dilapidated dwellings. I gathered and assisted the displaced held in
bondage, to return to their homes.

Persia: Gathas ("Hymns") of Zarathushtra

1. With outspread hands in petition for that help, O Mazda, I will pray for the works of the holy spirit, O
thou the Right, whereby I may please the will of Good Thought and the Ox-Soul.
2. I who would serve you, O Mazda Ahura and Vohu Mano, do ye give through Asha the blessings of
both worlds, the bodily and that of the Spirit, which set the faithful in felicity.
3. I who would praise ye as never before, Right and Good Thought and Mazda Ahura, and those for
whom Piety makes an imperishable Dominion to grow; come ye to me help at my call.
4. I who have set my heart on watching over the soul, in union with Good Thought, and as knowing the
rewards of Mazda Ahura for our works, will, while I have power and strength, teach men to seek after
Right.
5. O Asha, shall I see thee and Good Thought, as one that knows? (Shall I see) the throne of the mightiest
Ahura and the following of Mazda? Through this word (of promise) on our tongue will we turn the robber
horde unto the Greatest.
6. Come thou with Good Thought, give through Asha, O Mazda, as the gift to Zarathushtra, according to
thy sure words, long enduring mighty help, and to us, O Ahura, whereby we may overcome the enmity of
our foes.
7. Grant, O thou Asha, the reward, the blessing of Good Thought; O Piety, give our desire to Vishtaspa
and to me; O thou Mazda and King, grant that your Prophet may command a hearing.
8. The best I ask of Thee, O Best, Ahura (Lord) of one will with the Best Asha, desiring (it) for the hero
Frashaostra and for those (others) to whom thou wilt give (it), (the best gift) of Good Mind through all
time.
9. With these bounties, O Ahura, may we never provoke your wrath, O Mazda and Right and Best
Thought, we who have been eager in bringing you songs of praise. Ye are they that are the mightiest to
advance desire and the Dominion of Blessings.
10. The wise whom thou knowest as worthy, for their right (doing) and their good thought, for them do
thou fulfill their longing for attainment. For I know words of prayer are effective with Ye, which tend to a
good object.
11. I would thereby preserve Right and Good Thought for evermore, that I may instruct, do thou teach
me, O Mazda Ahura, from thy spirit by thy mouth how it will be with the First Life.

Assyria: Annals of Assur-Nasir-Pal

1. Assur, my great lord, who called me by name and made great my kingship over the kings of the four
quarters (of the world), had made my name exceeding great, and had intrusted his merciless weapon unto
my lordly power, and in his wrath had commanded me to conquer, to subdue and to rule; trusting in
Assur, my lord, I marched by difficult roads over steep mountains with the hosts of my army, and there
was none who opposed me.
2. I mobilized my chariots and armies, crossed over steep mountains by difficult roads which had not been
prepared for the passage of chariots and troops, and marched to the land of Tumme. Libe, their fortified
city, and the cities of Surra, Abuku, Arura, and Arube, which lie among the mountains of Urini, Aruni and
Etini, fortified cities, I captured. I slew great numbers of them.
3. Two hundred of their fighting men I cut down with the sword; their heavy booty I carried off like a
flock of sheep; with their blood I dyed the mountain red like wool; with the rest of them I darkened the
gullies and precipices of the mountain; their cities I destroyed, I devastated,I burned with fire.
4. While I was staying in the land of Kirruri, the awe-inspiring splendor of Assur, my lord, overwhelmed
the men of the lands of Gilzani and Hubushkia; horses, silver, gold, lead, copper and vessels of copper
they brought to me as their tribute.
5. Two hundred and sixty of their fighting men I cut down with the sword, I cut off their heads, and I
formed them into pillars. The rest of them built a nest on the rocks of the mountain like a bird. Their spoil
and their possessions I brought down from the mountain, and the cities which were in the midst of the
mighty ranges, I destroyed, I devastated, I burned with fire. All the men who had fled from before my
arms came down and embraced my feet. The governor of the city of Nishtun; I flayed in the city of Arbela
and I spread his skin upon the city wall.