| The Cyrus Cylinder and Ancient Persia: A New Beginning for the Middle East Contributor(s): Curtis, John (Author), MacGregor, Neil (Author), Finkel, Irving (Translator) |
|
 |
ISBN: 0714111872 ISBN-13: 9780714111872 Publisher: British Museum Press OUR PRICE: $38.00 Product Type: Hardcover Published: July 2013 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - History | Ancient - General - Social Science | Archaeology - History | Asia - Central Asia |
| Physical Information: 0.9" H x 9" W x 10.9" (2.15 lbs) 144 pages |
| Themes: - Chronological Period - Ancient (To 499 A.D.) |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: The Cyrus Cylinder is one of the most famous objects to have survived from the ancient world. The Cylinder was inscribed in Babylonian cuneiform on the orders of the Persian King Cyrus the Great (559-530BC) after he captured Babylon in 539BC. It is often referred to as the first bill of human rights as it appears to permit freedom of worship throughout the Persian Empire and to allow deported people to return to their homelands. It is valued by people all around the world as a symbol of tolerance and respect for different peoples and different faiths, so much so that a copy of the cylinder is on display in the United Nations building in New York. This catalogue is being published in conjunction with the first ever tour of the object to the United States, along with sixteen other objects from the British Museum's collection. The book discusses how these objects demonstrate the innovations initiated by Persian rule in the Ancient Near East (550 BC-331 BC), a prime example being a gold plaque from the Oxus Treasure with the representation of a priest that shows the spread of the Zoroastrian religion. The book offers a new authoritative translation of the Cyrus Cylinder by Irving Finkel and the publication of two fragments of a cuneiform tablet that show how the Cyrus Cylinder was most probably a proclamation and not just a foundation deposit. |
Contributor Bio(s): Finkel, Irving: - Irving Finkel, philologist and Assyriologist, is a spellbinding storyteller and a familiar figure in academic and literary circles. He is the Assistant Keeper of Ancient Mesopotamian script, languages and cultures in the Department of the Middle East in the British Museum, where he reads cuneiform inscriptions on tablets of clay from ancient Mesopotamia. An expert on the history of board games, he is also the author of many children's books as well as the best-selling The Ark Before Noah, which recounts his discovery of a cuneiform tablet that contained a Flood narrative far older than the story of Noah and which led to the recreation of the ark for a 2014 TV documentary.Curtis, John: - John Curtis is Keeper of Special Middle East Projects at the British Museum and a Fellow of the British Academy. His personal research interests focus on the archaeology and history of Iraq and Iran, c.1000-330 BC. He is the author of a number of books including An Examination of Late Assyrian Metalwork, Ancient Persia, The Oxus Treasure, Forgotten Empire (with Nigel Tallis) and The Horse: From Arabia to Royal Ascot (with Nigel Tallis). |