Many people do not know that in the Bible‘s history there was a non-Jewish Messiah, Cyrus II of Persia, known as “The Great”, an emperor who managed to influence the most important cultures in history and to reach our days as an example of charismatic and fair leader. From the Macedonians to the Romans of the Empire, from the Ottomans and up to the present day, the examples of fairness that Cyrus provided have remained immortal in the memory of peoples.
Origins
The name in ancient Persian is spelled Kuruš (Anshan, 590 B.C. – Iassarte, 530 B.C.), “The Great” ruler was the Persian emperor descendant of Cyrus I who freed his people from the rule of the Medes, thus becoming the heir of the great Middle Eastern monarchies.
His abilities as a conqueror and ruler have remained engraved in the centuries, he played in history a role almost of myth, and this not only among the Persian people, but also in many other cultures.
He became a synonym of the perfect Regent for the people, a man of great moral qualities, conqueror yes, but tolerant, brave and bold, but equally magnanimous. Cyrus then distinguished himself equally as a statesman and as a soldier, thanks to the political infrastructure created by him, the Achaemenid empire lasted long after his death.
The rise of Persia under Cyrus’ rule had a profound impact on the course of world history. Iranian philosophy, literature, and religion all played a dominant role in world events for the next millennium. Despite the Islamic conquest of Persia in the 7th century AD by the Islamic Caliphate, Persia continued to exert enormous influence in the Middle East during the Islamic Golden Age, and was particularly instrumental in the growth and expansion of Islam.
Alexander the Great was also a great fan of Cyrus the Great, from a young age reading Xenophon‘s Cyropedia, which described Cyrus’ heroism in battle and government and his abilities as a king and legislator.
So writes the Athenian Xenophon:
And those who were subject to him, he treated with respect and regard, as if they were his sons, while his own subjects respected Cyrus as their “Father” … What other man but “Cyrus'” after overthrowing an Empire, ever died with the title of “Father” from the people he had brought under his power? For it is clear that this is a name for one who gives, rather than one who takes away!
And also:
I thought sometimes how many democratic regimes have been overthrown by those who preferred any other regime rather than democracy; and again how many monarchies and oligarchies have been destroyed by popular factions, and that, of those who tried to become tyrants, some were immediately eliminated, others instead – regardless of the duration of their government – were admired as wise and happy […] Considering all this I was convinced that a given man can rule over any animal except other men. But when I reflected that Cyrus had been there […] I was forced to see sense.
(Xenophon, Ciropedia, I, 1,1-3)
In other words, a man of great qualities, and if the Iranians, his people, considered him and still do as a “father”, for the Babylonians he was “the Liberator”, this is just to remember two of the many nicknames that marked him praising him.
The non-Jewish Messiah
The Book of Ezra records these words of the Persian regent proclaiming his power:
This is what Cyrus king of Persia says:“The LORD, the GOD of the heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a Temple for Him at Jerusalem in Judah.
(Esdra 1, 2)
So not a position of power obtained by his sword in battle, but only by GOD’s concession. So, because of this submission to the Most High in 538 BC issued an edict that allowed the Jews not only to return home, but also to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem.
However, it must be remembered that Cyrus had a general policy of religious tolerance throughout his vast empire. His policies regarding the treatment of minority religions are well documented in Babylonian texts, as well as in Jewish sources and historians’ accounts. His treatment of the Jews during their exile in Babylon after Nebuchadnezzar II destroyed Jerusalem is recorded in the Bible. The Ketuvim (the Writings) of the Bible in the Second Book of Chronicles ends with Cyrus’ decree, which returned the exiles to the Promised Land from Babylon along with a commission to rebuild the temple:
This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: ‘The LORD, the GOD of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a Temple for Him at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of his people among you may go up, and may the LORD their GOD be with them.’”
(2Chronicles 36, 23)
This edict is also reproduced in full in the Book of Ezra (6:3-5).
The Jews therefore honored him as a dignified and righteous king, but the most relevant from a theological, doctrinal, but also eschatological point of view, is a biblical passage from Isaiah in which he is referred to as the Messiah (lit. “his anointed one”). In Isaiah 45, 1 Cyrus becomes the only non-Jew to be given this title, and the Covenant between Cyrus and GOD is made explicit:
This is what the Lord says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to subdue nations before him and to strip kings of their armor,
to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut:
2 I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron.
3 I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the GOD of Israel, who summons you by name.
(Isaiah 45, 1-3)
In the Book of Isaiah it is also stated:
I will raise up Cyrus in my righteousness: I will make all his ways straight. He will rebuild my city and set my exiles free, but not for a price or reward, says the LORD Almighty.”
(Isaiah 45, 13)
As the text suggests, Cyrus eventually freed the nation of Israel from its exile without compensation or tribute. Cyrus was thus praised in the Tanakh (Isaiah 45, 1-6 and Ezra 1, 1-11) for the liberation of the slaves, the humanitarian equality, and the costly works of reparation he did. However, there was criticism from the Jews against him as some of their enemies, intent because they were jealous to stop the construction of the Second Temple, accused them of conspiracy, and that their intent for the reconstruction of the walls was only with the purpose of rebelling against the Persian king as soon as they would be completed. So Cyrus stopped the construction, which would not be completed until 515 BC, during the reign of Darius I. According to the Bible it was King Artaxerxes who was persuaded to stop the construction of the temple in Jerusalem. (Ezra 4, 7-24)
Cyrus in the Quran
A great many contemporary Muslim scholars have suggested that the Qur’anic figure of Dhul-Qarnayn is a representation of Cyrus the Great. Dhul-Qarnayn, (Arabic: ذو القرنين ‘ḏū al-qarnayn’), or Zulqarnayn, “he of the two horns” appears in Surah 18 verses 83-101 of the Qur’an as a figure authorized by ALLAH (GOD written in Arabic) to erect a wall between mankind and Gog and Magog, who represent the disbelievers and chaos. In fact, Gog and Magog were wild tribes of Central Asia, known later by different names, including Scythians, Parthians, Tartars, Mongols and Huns, who had raided various kingdoms and empires from very ancient times. Strong bastions had been built in the southern regions of Caucasia, although it has not yet been determined historically whether these were built by Cyrus. Dhul-Qarnayn must therefore have been a monotheist and a just ruler. Even his enemies praised Cyrus for his righteousness, and Ezra states that he was a GOD worshipper and a GOD-fearing king who freed the Israelites because of his worship and ordered that Solomon’s Temple be rebuilt.
This theory has been proposed by Sunni scholars such as Maulana Maududi and Abul Kalam Azad and endorsed by Shiite scholars Allameh Tabatabaei, in his Tafsir al-Mizan and Makarem Shirazi.
Chapter 18 of the Qur’ān (al-Kāhf, “The Cave”) was revealed to Mohammed when his tribe, the Quraysh, sent two men to find out if the Jews, with their superior knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, could advise them as to whether Mohammed was a true prophet of GOD. The rabbis told them to ask Mohammed three things, one of which was “about a man who traveled and reached the east and west of the earth, what was his story.” “If he tells you these things, then he is a prophet, so follow him, but if he does not tell you, then he is a man who is making things up, so treat him as you see fit.”
Testimony of recent times
In addition to the Bible, Jewish historical sources include Flavius Josephus (1st century AD) who mentions Cyrus when he freed the Jews from captivity and helped them rebuild the Temple. He also wrote to the governors who were to help rebuild the Temple and helped them.
On December 10, 2003, in her acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize, Shirin Ebadi evoked Cyrus, saying:
I am an Iranian, a descendant of Cyrus the Great. This emperor proclaimed at the height of his power 2,500 years ago that he “would not rule over the people unless the people wanted it.” He promised not to force anyone to change religion or faith and guaranteed freedom for all. The Charter of Cyrus the Great should be studied in the history of human rights.
Bibliografia
- Jona Lendering (2012). “Messiah – Roots of the concept: From Josiah to Cyrus”. livius.org. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
- Antonino Pagliaro – Ciro e l’Impero Persiano . Roma , Accademia dei Lincei, 1972
- Cyrus; voce dell’Encyclopaedia Iranica, vol. 6, London , Routledge, 1993.
- Erodoto, Storie.
- (DE) Josef Wiesehöfer: Kyros . In: Der Neue Pauly (DNP). vol. 6, Metzler, Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-476-01476-2, col. 1014–1017.
- (DE) Franz Heinrich Weißbach: Kyros 6). In: Paulys Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft (RE). Supplementband IV, Stuttgart 1924, Col. 1129–1166.
- Cannadine, David; Price, Simon (1987). Rituals of royalty : power and ceremonial in traditional societies (1. publ. ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-33513-2.
- Freeman, Charles (1999). The Greek Achievement: The Foundation of the Western World. New York: Viking. ISBN 0-7139-9224-7.
