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Cyrus the Great and the Cyrus Cylinder
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the Cyrus Cylinder, an ancient clay barrel inscribed with Akkadian cuneiform that records Cyrus the Great's conquest of Babylon in 539 BCE. Discovered in 1879, this artifact is often hailed as the first charter of human rights, but what does it actually say? Lucas delves into the cylinder's text, which describes Cyrus's restoration of temples, repatriation of deported peoples, and his claim of divine favor from the Babylonian god Marduk. They compare this to the biblical account of Cyrus allowing the Jews to return to Jerusalem, and discuss the…
The skinny
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