El Cilindro de Ciro, objeto de polémica entre el British Museum e Irán
El British Museum de Londres ha anunciado que enviará próximamente a Irán a uno
de sus directivos con la intención de reunirse con su Gobierno para discutir el
posible préstamo del llamado Cilindro de Ciro, una cuestión que está
siendo causa de una agria disputa entre las dos partes.
El Gobierno iraní afirma que el Museo Británico ha incumplido su
promesa, realizada en 2006, de ceder en préstamo esta pieza cilíndrica de
arcilla (559-529 a.C.) que contiene una declaración en lenguaje cuneiforme
acadio babilonio del rey persa Ciro el Grande y que algunos consideran la carta
de derechos humanos más antigua de la historia. En ella, el nuevo rey
legitima la conquista de Babilonia y toma medidas políticas para ganarse el
favor de sus nuevos súbditos.
Amenazas iraníes
Los funcionarios iraníes han amenazado –si el préstamo no se hace efectivo–
con cortar todos los lazos existentes con el British Museum, lo que sin duda
pondría poner en peligro varias investigaciones arqueológicas que se están
llevando a cabo en diferentes zonas del país.
Una portavoz del British Museum, Hannah Boulton, confirmó que el museo ha
prometido el préstamo del Cilindro de Ciro, pero que no existe ningún
calendario oficial ni el tema se ha discutido nunca entre las partes. En una
carta dirigida al Gobierno iraní, el director de la institución británica, Neil
MacGregor, ha refrendado: "Por favor, permítanme asegurarles que el Museo
Británico tiene la intención de enviar el Cilindro de Ciro en préstamo
al Museo Nacional de Irán, pero como en todos nuestros préstamos
internacionales, los detalles y aspectos prácticos tendrán que ser
discutidos".
El Cilindro fue descubierto en 1879 por el arqueólogo Hormuz Rassam durante
la excavación del templo de Marduk en Babilonia. Consta de dos fragmentos,
denominados A y B. El primero permaneció en el Museo Británico desde su
descubrimiento, mientras que el segundo estuvo en la Universidad de Yale hasta
su traslado al Museo Británico, donde se encuentra actualmente.
http://www.hoyesarte.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3063:el-cilindro-de-ciro-objeto-de-polemica-entre-el-british-museum-y-el-gobierno-irani&catid=104:museos&Itemid=397
El British Museum de Londres ha anunciado que enviará próximamente a Irán a uno
de sus directivos con la intención de reunirse con su Gobierno para discutir el
posible préstamo del llamado Cilindro de Ciro, una cuestión que está
siendo causa de una agria disputa entre las dos partes.
El Gobierno iraní afirma que el Museo Británico ha incumplido su
promesa, realizada en 2006, de ceder en préstamo esta pieza cilíndrica de
arcilla (559-529 a.C.) que contiene una declaración en lenguaje cuneiforme
acadio babilonio del rey persa Ciro el Grande y que algunos consideran la carta
de derechos humanos más antigua de la historia. En ella, el nuevo rey
legitima la conquista de Babilonia y toma medidas políticas para ganarse el
favor de sus nuevos súbditos.
Amenazas iraníes
Los funcionarios iraníes han amenazado –si el préstamo no se hace efectivo–
con cortar todos los lazos existentes con el British Museum, lo que sin duda
pondría poner en peligro varias investigaciones arqueológicas que se están
llevando a cabo en diferentes zonas del país.
Una portavoz del British Museum, Hannah Boulton, confirmó que el museo ha
prometido el préstamo del Cilindro de Ciro, pero que no existe ningún
calendario oficial ni el tema se ha discutido nunca entre las partes. En una
carta dirigida al Gobierno iraní, el director de la institución británica, Neil
MacGregor, ha refrendado: "Por favor, permítanme asegurarles que el Museo
Británico tiene la intención de enviar el Cilindro de Ciro en préstamo
al Museo Nacional de Irán, pero como en todos nuestros préstamos
internacionales, los detalles y aspectos prácticos tendrán que ser
discutidos".
El Cilindro fue descubierto en 1879 por el arqueólogo Hormuz Rassam durante
la excavación del templo de Marduk en Babilonia. Consta de dos fragmentos,
denominados A y B. El primero permaneció en el Museo Británico desde su
descubrimiento, mientras que el segundo estuvo en la Universidad de Yale hasta
su traslado al Museo Británico, donde se encuentra actualmente.
http://www.hoyesarte.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3063:el-cilindro-de-ciro-objeto-de-polemica-entre-el-british-museum-y-el-gobierno-irani&catid=104:museos&Itemid=397
http://www.protestantedigital.com/new/pdf/EdictoCiro.pdf
Extracts of Cyrus Cylinder found in China
British Museum curator has identified cuneiform text inscribed on horse bones
By Martin Bailey
LONDON. Two fossilised horse bones with cuneiform inscriptions have been found in China, carved with extracts from the Cyrus Cylinder. They were initially dismissed as fakes because of the improbability of ancient Persian texts turning up in Beijing. But following new research, British Museum (BM) specialist Irving Finkel is now convinced of their authenticity.
This discovery looks set to transform our knowledge about what is arguably the most important surviving cuneiform text, written in the world’s earliest script. Dating from 539BC, the Cyrus Cylinder was ceremonially buried in the walls of Babylon. Its text celebrates the achievements of Cyrus the Great, ruler of the Persian empire. The clay cylinder was excavated by BM archaeologists in 1879 and sent to London, where it is one of the museum’s most important antiquities.
The texts found in China inexplicably have fewer than one in every 20 of the Cyrus text’s cuneiform signs transcribed, although they are in the correct order. The two inscribed bones were donated to the Palace Museum in Beijing in 1985 by Xue Shenwei, an elderly Chinese traditional doctor who died later that year. He said that he had learned about the pair of inscriptions in 1928. He bought the first bone in 1935 and the second in 1940, and named the sellers. Xue acquired them because he thought they were written in an unknown ancient script, presumably from China. In 1966, during the Cultural Revolution, he buried the bones for protection, digging them up later. Chinese scholars who have pursued the story believe that Xue’s account is credible.
In 1983 Xue offered the bones to the Palace Museum in the Forbidden City, which collects inscriptions. It was then that specialists told him they were written in cuneiform. It was not until two years later, when Xue donated the objects, that specialist Wu Yuhong realised that the text of the first bone came from the Cyrus proclamation (the text of the second was not identified).
The discovery
Until this year it was generally assumed that the Cyrus Cylinder was a unique object, created for ceremonial burial, and that the text had not been disseminated. Then in January two fragments of an inscribed clay tablet in the BM’s collection were found to contain part of the proclamation, suggesting that it might have been widely copied. Finkel returned to the pair of Chinese bones, to reconsider whether they might be authentic. He realised that the text on the second bone was also from the Cyrus proclamation (which had been missed in 1985), and requested more information from Beijing.
Chinese Assyriologist Yushu Gong went to the Palace Museum store to examine the bones, and also arranged a new rubbing of the inscription (done with black wax on paper), which provides a much better image of the text than existing photographs. Yushu took these to London, for a workshop that was held at the BM on 23-24 June.
Are the bones fakes?
The obvious question is whether the inscriptions are fakes—although they would be bizarre objects to fake. Why would a faker use fossilised horse bone, a material never used before for this purpose? If the bones had indeed been acquired by Xue by 1940, it would not have been easy for a Chinese forger to have gained access to the Cyrus text, which only became widely known later in the 20th century. Why would a faker have carved only one in 20 of the characters, which meant that it took years before the Cyrus text was identified? And why would a faker have sold the bones in China, where there has been virtually no market for non-Chinese antiquities?
The clinching factor for Finkel is that the partial text on the bones differs slightly from that on the Cyrus Cylinder, although it is correct in linguistic terms. Cuneiform changed over the centuries, and the signs on the bones are in a less evolved form than that of the cylinder. The individual wedge-like strokes of the signs are also different and have a slightly v-shaped top, a form that was not used in Babylon, but was used by scribes in Persia.
“The text used by the copier on the bones was not the Cyrus Cylinder, but another version, probably originally written in Persia, rather than Babylon,” Finkel believes. It could have been a version carved on stone, written with ink on leather, or inscribed on a clay tablet. Most likely the original object was sent during the reign of Cyrus to the far east of his empire, in the west of present-day China.
Scholars at the workshop had little time to digest the new evidence, and inevitably there was some scepticism. But Finkel concludes that the evidence is “completely compelling”. He is convinced that the bones have been copied from an authentic version of the Cyrus proclamation, although it is unclear at what point in the past 2,500 years the copying was done.
http://www.theartnewspaper.com/articles/Extracts-of-Cyrus-Cylinder-found-in-China%20/21147
British Museum curator has identified cuneiform text inscribed on horse bones
By Martin Bailey
LONDON. Two fossilised horse bones with cuneiform inscriptions have been found in China, carved with extracts from the Cyrus Cylinder. They were initially dismissed as fakes because of the improbability of ancient Persian texts turning up in Beijing. But following new research, British Museum (BM) specialist Irving Finkel is now convinced of their authenticity.
This discovery looks set to transform our knowledge about what is arguably the most important surviving cuneiform text, written in the world’s earliest script. Dating from 539BC, the Cyrus Cylinder was ceremonially buried in the walls of Babylon. Its text celebrates the achievements of Cyrus the Great, ruler of the Persian empire. The clay cylinder was excavated by BM archaeologists in 1879 and sent to London, where it is one of the museum’s most important antiquities.
The texts found in China inexplicably have fewer than one in every 20 of the Cyrus text’s cuneiform signs transcribed, although they are in the correct order. The two inscribed bones were donated to the Palace Museum in Beijing in 1985 by Xue Shenwei, an elderly Chinese traditional doctor who died later that year. He said that he had learned about the pair of inscriptions in 1928. He bought the first bone in 1935 and the second in 1940, and named the sellers. Xue acquired them because he thought they were written in an unknown ancient script, presumably from China. In 1966, during the Cultural Revolution, he buried the bones for protection, digging them up later. Chinese scholars who have pursued the story believe that Xue’s account is credible.
In 1983 Xue offered the bones to the Palace Museum in the Forbidden City, which collects inscriptions. It was then that specialists told him they were written in cuneiform. It was not until two years later, when Xue donated the objects, that specialist Wu Yuhong realised that the text of the first bone came from the Cyrus proclamation (the text of the second was not identified).
The discovery
Until this year it was generally assumed that the Cyrus Cylinder was a unique object, created for ceremonial burial, and that the text had not been disseminated. Then in January two fragments of an inscribed clay tablet in the BM’s collection were found to contain part of the proclamation, suggesting that it might have been widely copied. Finkel returned to the pair of Chinese bones, to reconsider whether they might be authentic. He realised that the text on the second bone was also from the Cyrus proclamation (which had been missed in 1985), and requested more information from Beijing.
Chinese Assyriologist Yushu Gong went to the Palace Museum store to examine the bones, and also arranged a new rubbing of the inscription (done with black wax on paper), which provides a much better image of the text than existing photographs. Yushu took these to London, for a workshop that was held at the BM on 23-24 June.
Are the bones fakes?
The obvious question is whether the inscriptions are fakes—although they would be bizarre objects to fake. Why would a faker use fossilised horse bone, a material never used before for this purpose? If the bones had indeed been acquired by Xue by 1940, it would not have been easy for a Chinese forger to have gained access to the Cyrus text, which only became widely known later in the 20th century. Why would a faker have carved only one in 20 of the characters, which meant that it took years before the Cyrus text was identified? And why would a faker have sold the bones in China, where there has been virtually no market for non-Chinese antiquities?
The clinching factor for Finkel is that the partial text on the bones differs slightly from that on the Cyrus Cylinder, although it is correct in linguistic terms. Cuneiform changed over the centuries, and the signs on the bones are in a less evolved form than that of the cylinder. The individual wedge-like strokes of the signs are also different and have a slightly v-shaped top, a form that was not used in Babylon, but was used by scribes in Persia.
“The text used by the copier on the bones was not the Cyrus Cylinder, but another version, probably originally written in Persia, rather than Babylon,” Finkel believes. It could have been a version carved on stone, written with ink on leather, or inscribed on a clay tablet. Most likely the original object was sent during the reign of Cyrus to the far east of his empire, in the west of present-day China.
Scholars at the workshop had little time to digest the new evidence, and inevitably there was some scepticism. But Finkel concludes that the evidence is “completely compelling”. He is convinced that the bones have been copied from an authentic version of the Cyrus proclamation, although it is unclear at what point in the past 2,500 years the copying was done.
http://www.theartnewspaper.com/articles/Extracts-of-Cyrus-Cylinder-found-in-China%20/21147
Cyrus Cylinder row resolved: 'Ancient declaration of human rights' to visit Iran
The British Museum has announced that it is lending the Cyrus Cylinder to the National Museum of Iran. Together with two fragments of contemporary cuneiform tablets, it will be the centrepiece of an exhibition that celebrates a great moment in the history of the Middle East.
The artefact – which is described as 'an ancient declaration of human rights' by the United Nations – was originally due to arrive in Iran in September 2009. At that time, the British Museum cited the 'political situation' in post-election Iran as the reason for the delay. In August this year, the loan was once again delayed, prompting Iran's Cultural Heritage Organisation to declare it would cut all ties with the British Museum.
In a statement released today, the British Museum said that “although political relations between Iran and the UK are at the moment difficult”, the Cyrus Cylinder will – after all – be send to Tehran, where it will be on display for four months.
“One of the chief tasks of our generation is to build a global community, where peoples of differing ideologies can live together in respect and harmony,” said Karen Armstrong, author and commentator on religious affairs and a British Museum Trustee.
“At a time of political tension, it is essential to keep as many doors of communication open as possible. We all have much work to do to build a peaceful world. This cultural exchange may make a small but timely contribution towards the creation of better relations between the West and Iran.”
Objects are uniquely able to speak across time and space and this object must be shared as widely as possible.
In 2004, Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, wrote in 'The whole world in our hands' that the Cylinder may indeed be a document of human rights, and clearly linked with the history of Iran, but that it is in no real sense an Iranian document: it is part of a much larger history of the ancient Near East, of Mesopotamian kingship, and of the Jewish diaspora. According to McGregor, it is one of the British Museum's tasks “to resist the narrowing of the object's meaning and its appropriation to one political agenda.”
The two fragments of tablet that will accompany the Cylinder were also found in nineteenth century British Museum excavations in or near Babylon.
These fragments were identified by experts at the Museum earlier this year as being inscribed with parts of the same text as the Cylinder but do not belong to it. They show that the text of the Cylinder was probably a proclamation that was widely distributed across the Persian Empire.
Originally, the Cylinder was inscribed in cuneiform and buried in the foundations of a wall after Cyrus the Great, the Persian Emperor, captured Babylon in 539 BC. It stayed buried there until it was discovered by an excavation team from the British Museum in 1879, which brought the ancient document to England. Cyrus' Cylinder has been in London ever since.
The clay document records that, aided by the god Marduk, Cyrus captured Babylon without a fight. According to Cyrus (this part of the document is written as he himself is speaking) he abolished the labour-service of Babylon's free population and restored shrines dedicated to Marduk and other gods. He also repatriated deported peoples who had been brought to Babylon; the decree that allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild The Temple.
It is because of these enlightened acts, which were reasonably rare in antiquity (and quite the opposite of Nebuchadnezzar's behaviour), that the Cylinder has become a symbol of tolerance and respect for different peoples and different faiths.
“You could almost say that the Cyrus Cylinder is A History of the Middle East in one object and it is a link to a past which we all share and to a key moment in history that has shaped the world around us,” comments MacGregor, referencing the museum's 'A History of the World in 100 Objects' project.
“Objects are uniquely able to speak across time and space and this object must be shared as widely as possible,” he adds.
It does make you wonder. If this is true, shouldn't the Elgin Marbles be allowed to have their s(t)ay in Greece?
http://heritage-key.com/blogs/ann/cyrus-cylinder-row-resolved-ancient-declaration-human-rights-visit-iran
The British Museum has announced that it is lending the Cyrus Cylinder to the National Museum of Iran. Together with two fragments of contemporary cuneiform tablets, it will be the centrepiece of an exhibition that celebrates a great moment in the history of the Middle East.
The artefact – which is described as 'an ancient declaration of human rights' by the United Nations – was originally due to arrive in Iran in September 2009. At that time, the British Museum cited the 'political situation' in post-election Iran as the reason for the delay. In August this year, the loan was once again delayed, prompting Iran's Cultural Heritage Organisation to declare it would cut all ties with the British Museum.
In a statement released today, the British Museum said that “although political relations between Iran and the UK are at the moment difficult”, the Cyrus Cylinder will – after all – be send to Tehran, where it will be on display for four months.
“One of the chief tasks of our generation is to build a global community, where peoples of differing ideologies can live together in respect and harmony,” said Karen Armstrong, author and commentator on religious affairs and a British Museum Trustee.
“At a time of political tension, it is essential to keep as many doors of communication open as possible. We all have much work to do to build a peaceful world. This cultural exchange may make a small but timely contribution towards the creation of better relations between the West and Iran.”
Objects are uniquely able to speak across time and space and this object must be shared as widely as possible.
In 2004, Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, wrote in 'The whole world in our hands' that the Cylinder may indeed be a document of human rights, and clearly linked with the history of Iran, but that it is in no real sense an Iranian document: it is part of a much larger history of the ancient Near East, of Mesopotamian kingship, and of the Jewish diaspora. According to McGregor, it is one of the British Museum's tasks “to resist the narrowing of the object's meaning and its appropriation to one political agenda.”
The two fragments of tablet that will accompany the Cylinder were also found in nineteenth century British Museum excavations in or near Babylon.
These fragments were identified by experts at the Museum earlier this year as being inscribed with parts of the same text as the Cylinder but do not belong to it. They show that the text of the Cylinder was probably a proclamation that was widely distributed across the Persian Empire.
Originally, the Cylinder was inscribed in cuneiform and buried in the foundations of a wall after Cyrus the Great, the Persian Emperor, captured Babylon in 539 BC. It stayed buried there until it was discovered by an excavation team from the British Museum in 1879, which brought the ancient document to England. Cyrus' Cylinder has been in London ever since.
The clay document records that, aided by the god Marduk, Cyrus captured Babylon without a fight. According to Cyrus (this part of the document is written as he himself is speaking) he abolished the labour-service of Babylon's free population and restored shrines dedicated to Marduk and other gods. He also repatriated deported peoples who had been brought to Babylon; the decree that allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild The Temple.
It is because of these enlightened acts, which were reasonably rare in antiquity (and quite the opposite of Nebuchadnezzar's behaviour), that the Cylinder has become a symbol of tolerance and respect for different peoples and different faiths.
“You could almost say that the Cyrus Cylinder is A History of the Middle East in one object and it is a link to a past which we all share and to a key moment in history that has shaped the world around us,” comments MacGregor, referencing the museum's 'A History of the World in 100 Objects' project.
“Objects are uniquely able to speak across time and space and this object must be shared as widely as possible,” he adds.
It does make you wonder. If this is true, shouldn't the Elgin Marbles be allowed to have their s(t)ay in Greece?
http://heritage-key.com/blogs/ann/cyrus-cylinder-row-resolved-ancient-declaration-human-rights-visit-iran
Otro artículo sobre el cilindro de Ciro
The cyrus cilinder contyroversy
In a report from the Circle of Ancient Iranian Studies (CAIS) it has been confirmed that the Iranian government has requested an extension to the loan of the Cyrus the Great Cylinder.
The Cyrus Cylinder was originally loaned to the National Museum of Iran for an exhibition that opened for four months in Tehran on the 12th September 2010. Together with two fragments of contemporary cuneiform tablets, it became the centrepiece of an exhibition that celebrates a great moment in the history of the Middle East. The loan reciprocates one made by the National Museum of Iran to the Forgotten Empire and Shah Abbas exhibitions in 2005 and 2009 held at the British Museum.
Any extension to the loan of this priceless artefact could be a matter of some concern, given that Iran’s National Security and Foreign Policy Council voted in favour of completely cutting ties with the United Kingdom on Sunday.
When asked by the CAIS for a statement on the loan, the British Museum replied “The request for an extension of the loan of the Cyrus Cylinder is currently being considered by the Trustees of the British Museum, but no agreement has yet been reached.”
In a bizarre twist to the story this statement from the British Museum regarding the authenticity was posted on their website on 30th November: “The exhibition of the Cyrus Cylinder opened at the National Museum in Tehran on 12th September 2010. It has proved to be very popular, and 77,366 visitors saw the exhibition between 12th September and 22nd October.
In view of the great success of the exhibition, it is very much to be regretted that reports have been circulating on the internet that it is a copy of the Cyrus Cylinder that has been sent to Tehran. The Trustees of the British Museum would like to deny this in the strongest possible terms. Before the exhibition opened, a panel of Iranian experts was invited to inspect the Cylinder and they confirmed its authenticity.
The misunderstanding has arisen because of recent conservation work on the cylinder, which has led to the ends of the cylinder looking different in various photographs. Conservation work on this and other pieces in the British Museum is an ongoing process, designed to make objects as stable as possible and render them fit for travel.”
For many years the Cyrus Cylinder has been referred to as “the world’s first human rights charter“ and this has even led the United Nations to place a replica in their their New York Headquarters. But the British Museum describes the relic in these terms:
“This clay cylinder is inscribed in Babylonian cuneiform with an account by Cyrus, king of Persia (559-530 BC) of his conquest of Babylon in 539 BC and capture of Nabonidus, the last Babylonian king.
Cyrus claims to have achieved this with the aid of Marduk, the god of Babylon. He then describes measures of relief he brought to the inhabitants of the city, and tells how he returned a number of images of gods, which Nabonidus had collected in Babylon, to their proper temples throughout Mesopotamia and western Iran. At the same time he arranged for the restoration of these temples, and organized the return to their homelands of a number of people who had been held in Babylonia by the Babylonian kings. Although the Jews are not mentioned in this document, their return to Palestine following their deportation by Nebuchadnezzar II, was part of this policy.
This cylinder has sometimes been described as the ‘first charter of human rights’, but it in fact reflects a long tradition in Mesopotamia where, from as early as the third millennium BC, kings began their reigns with declarations of reforms.”
Read more >> http://www.pasthorizons.com/index.php/archives/12/2010/the-cyrus-cylinder-controversy#ixzz196qwblAU
Read the Archaeology News - then buy the Trowel at Past Horizons Tools
http://www.pasthorizons.com/index.php/archives/12/2010/the-cyrus-cylinder-controversy
The cyrus cilinder contyroversy
In a report from the Circle of Ancient Iranian Studies (CAIS) it has been confirmed that the Iranian government has requested an extension to the loan of the Cyrus the Great Cylinder.
The Cyrus Cylinder was originally loaned to the National Museum of Iran for an exhibition that opened for four months in Tehran on the 12th September 2010. Together with two fragments of contemporary cuneiform tablets, it became the centrepiece of an exhibition that celebrates a great moment in the history of the Middle East. The loan reciprocates one made by the National Museum of Iran to the Forgotten Empire and Shah Abbas exhibitions in 2005 and 2009 held at the British Museum.
Any extension to the loan of this priceless artefact could be a matter of some concern, given that Iran’s National Security and Foreign Policy Council voted in favour of completely cutting ties with the United Kingdom on Sunday.
When asked by the CAIS for a statement on the loan, the British Museum replied “The request for an extension of the loan of the Cyrus Cylinder is currently being considered by the Trustees of the British Museum, but no agreement has yet been reached.”
In a bizarre twist to the story this statement from the British Museum regarding the authenticity was posted on their website on 30th November: “The exhibition of the Cyrus Cylinder opened at the National Museum in Tehran on 12th September 2010. It has proved to be very popular, and 77,366 visitors saw the exhibition between 12th September and 22nd October.
In view of the great success of the exhibition, it is very much to be regretted that reports have been circulating on the internet that it is a copy of the Cyrus Cylinder that has been sent to Tehran. The Trustees of the British Museum would like to deny this in the strongest possible terms. Before the exhibition opened, a panel of Iranian experts was invited to inspect the Cylinder and they confirmed its authenticity.
The misunderstanding has arisen because of recent conservation work on the cylinder, which has led to the ends of the cylinder looking different in various photographs. Conservation work on this and other pieces in the British Museum is an ongoing process, designed to make objects as stable as possible and render them fit for travel.”
For many years the Cyrus Cylinder has been referred to as “the world’s first human rights charter“ and this has even led the United Nations to place a replica in their their New York Headquarters. But the British Museum describes the relic in these terms:
“This clay cylinder is inscribed in Babylonian cuneiform with an account by Cyrus, king of Persia (559-530 BC) of his conquest of Babylon in 539 BC and capture of Nabonidus, the last Babylonian king.
Cyrus claims to have achieved this with the aid of Marduk, the god of Babylon. He then describes measures of relief he brought to the inhabitants of the city, and tells how he returned a number of images of gods, which Nabonidus had collected in Babylon, to their proper temples throughout Mesopotamia and western Iran. At the same time he arranged for the restoration of these temples, and organized the return to their homelands of a number of people who had been held in Babylonia by the Babylonian kings. Although the Jews are not mentioned in this document, their return to Palestine following their deportation by Nebuchadnezzar II, was part of this policy.
This cylinder has sometimes been described as the ‘first charter of human rights’, but it in fact reflects a long tradition in Mesopotamia where, from as early as the third millennium BC, kings began their reigns with declarations of reforms.”
Read more >> http://www.pasthorizons.com/index.php/archives/12/2010/the-cyrus-cylinder-controversy#ixzz196qwblAU
Read the Archaeology News - then buy the Trowel at Past Horizons Tools
http://www.pasthorizons.com/index.php/archives/12/2010/the-cyrus-cylinder-controversy
El Cilindro de Ciro regresa al Museo Britanico
La pieza, de 2.500 años de antigüedad y considerada la primera Declaración de Derechos, se reincorpora a la colección de la pinacoteca británica tras su prestamo a Irán, donde la han visto más de un millón de personas
El llamado Cilindro de Ciro, un artefacto con 2.500 años de antigüedad, regresa este lunes a Londres para reincorporarse a la colección del Museo Británico tras haber estado expuesto en Teherán en calidad de préstamo temporal.
Más de un millón de iraníes acudieron a ver ese objeto, considerado como la primera Declaración de Derechos, durante los siete meses en que estuvo expuesto en la capital de ese país en un gesto destinado a cicatrizar "viejas heridas", según el director del museo británico, Neil McGregor. Ese préstamo significa que "a pesar del glacial estado de las relaciones diplomáticas" bilaterales, profesionales británicos e iraníes "pueden felizmente trabajar juntos en determinadas áreas", explica McGregor en un artículo que publica hoy The Times.
Derechos para los esclavos
El cilindro data del 539 antes de la era cristiana, cuando el rey de Persia Ciro conquistó Babilonia, el antiguo reino de Nabucodonosor y Baltasar, y decreta en escritura cuneiforme que se permitirá a los pueblos esclavizados por ese reino, entre ellos los judíos, volver a sus respectivas patrias y venerar a sus dioses particulares.
Gracias al préstamo por el Museo Británico de ese cilindro, escribe hoy el periódico, se pudo entregar una carta personal al consejero principal del presidente Mahmud Ahmadineyad, en la que se solicita poder entrevistar a Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, la iraní condenada en un principio a lapidación por supuesto adulterio.
El periódico contrasta el espíritu de tolerancia puesto de manifiesto por Ciro con el famoso cilindro y el Irán actual, donde más de 40 periodistas están en la cárcel, el año pasado se llevaron a cabo casi dos ejecuciones al día y donde las detenciones y las campañas de intimidación de abogados, políticos de la oposición y defensores de los Derechos Humanos están a la orden del día.
http://www.abc.es/20110418/cultura/abci-cilindro-ciro-201104181240.html
La pieza, de 2.500 años de antigüedad y considerada la primera Declaración de Derechos, se reincorpora a la colección de la pinacoteca británica tras su prestamo a Irán, donde la han visto más de un millón de personas
El llamado Cilindro de Ciro, un artefacto con 2.500 años de antigüedad, regresa este lunes a Londres para reincorporarse a la colección del Museo Británico tras haber estado expuesto en Teherán en calidad de préstamo temporal.
Más de un millón de iraníes acudieron a ver ese objeto, considerado como la primera Declaración de Derechos, durante los siete meses en que estuvo expuesto en la capital de ese país en un gesto destinado a cicatrizar "viejas heridas", según el director del museo británico, Neil McGregor. Ese préstamo significa que "a pesar del glacial estado de las relaciones diplomáticas" bilaterales, profesionales británicos e iraníes "pueden felizmente trabajar juntos en determinadas áreas", explica McGregor en un artículo que publica hoy The Times.
Derechos para los esclavos
El cilindro data del 539 antes de la era cristiana, cuando el rey de Persia Ciro conquistó Babilonia, el antiguo reino de Nabucodonosor y Baltasar, y decreta en escritura cuneiforme que se permitirá a los pueblos esclavizados por ese reino, entre ellos los judíos, volver a sus respectivas patrias y venerar a sus dioses particulares.
Gracias al préstamo por el Museo Británico de ese cilindro, escribe hoy el periódico, se pudo entregar una carta personal al consejero principal del presidente Mahmud Ahmadineyad, en la que se solicita poder entrevistar a Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, la iraní condenada en un principio a lapidación por supuesto adulterio.
El periódico contrasta el espíritu de tolerancia puesto de manifiesto por Ciro con el famoso cilindro y el Irán actual, donde más de 40 periodistas están en la cárcel, el año pasado se llevaron a cabo casi dos ejecuciones al día y donde las detenciones y las campañas de intimidación de abogados, políticos de la oposición y defensores de los Derechos Humanos están a la orden del día.
http://www.abc.es/20110418/cultura/abci-cilindro-ciro-201104181240.html
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