The Cyrus Cylinder
Dublin Core
Title
The Cyrus Cylinder
Subject
Cyrus Cylinder, Achaemenid Iran, Cuneiform Inscriptions, Akkadian inscriptions, Cyrus II the Great, Human Rights, British Museum
Description
The Cyrus Cylinder is considered by many contemporary scholars to be the first declaration associated with the development of human rights in pre-modern or ancient societies. Today, the cylinder is on display at the British Museum, and was excavated from Ottoman Iraq in March 1879.
Creator
Cyrus II of Persia (Cyrus the Great)
Source
British Museum: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/W_1880-0617-1941
Date
539 BCE
Rights
Public Domain
Format
Phyiscal Dimensions:
7.80 - 8.20 centimetres (end A/Diameter)
7.90 centimetres (end B/Diameter)
10 centimetres (maximum/Diameter)
21.90 - 22.80 centimetres (Length)
7.80 - 8.20 centimetres (end A/Diameter)
7.90 centimetres (end B/Diameter)
10 centimetres (maximum/Diameter)
21.90 - 22.80 centimetres (Length)
Language
Akkadian
Type
PhysicalObject
Identifier
BM/Big number: 90920
Citation
Cyrus II of Persia (Cyrus the Great), “The Cyrus Cylinder,” Omeka, accessed June 4, 2026, https://omeka.ischool.utoronto.ca/items/show/626.