منشور کوروش — نخستین اعلامیه حقوق بشر جهان
The Cyrus Cylinder (c. 539 BC) is a small clay barrel, 22.5cm long, inscribed in Akkadian cuneiform. It records Cyrus the Great's peaceful conquest of Babylon in 539 BC and his subsequent proclamation — widely regarded as the world's first declaration of human rights. The original is housed in the British Museum; a replica sits at the United Nations.
The inscription declares: Cyrus freed the peoples of Babylon from servitude; allowed deported peoples to return to their homelands; ordered temples repaired and religious practices respected; and abolished compulsory labor. It records the freeing of tens of thousands of enslaved peoples — including, according to the Hebrew Bible, the Jewish Babylonian captives.
While historians debate whether to call it a 'human rights document' by modern standards, the Cyrus Cylinder's emphasis on tolerance, religious freedom, and respect for conquered peoples was extraordinarily advanced for 539 BC. For modern Iranians, it is a profound symbol: proof that Persian civilization was built on values of freedom and dignity, not oppression.
The Cylinder records Cyrus the Great's peaceful conquest of Babylon, his declaration of religious freedom for all peoples of the empire, the abolition of forced labor, permission for deportees to return home, and the restoration of religious sanctuaries.
The original Cyrus Cylinder is in the British Museum in London. A replica was gifted to the United Nations in 1971, where it still stands as a symbol of human rights.