The Cyrus Cylinder is defined as the document which is issued by Cyrus the Great, that consists of the cylinder of clay inscribed in the Akkadian cuneiform script. The respective cylinder was created in 539 BCE with the order of Cyrus the Great when he took Babylon from Nabonidus, ending the Neo Babylonian empire. The text on the Cyprus Cylinder helps in praising Cyrus, sets out genealogy along with portraying him as the king from line of kings. The Babylonian king Nabonidus who was being defeated as well as deposed by Cyprus is denounced as impious oppressor of people of Babylonia and his low born origins are implicitly contrasted to Cyrus kingly heritage. The victorious Cyrus is portrayed as having been chosen by chief Babylonian god Marduk to restore peace and order to the different Babylonians.

In addition, the next text in the Cylinder has been seen by biblical scholars as corroborative evidence of the Cyrus policy of repatriation of Jewish people following the Babylonian captivity. The respective text refers to the fact of restoration of cult sanctuaries along with repatriation of the different cult sanctuaries and there is no making or mentioning of the Jewish people. Additionally, the main significance of the Cyrus Cylinder is the fact that it has been referred to by Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last shah of Iran as the first declaration of the different universal human rights, the view was being rejected by historians as anachronistic and it is considered ton be the misunderstanding of the generic nature of the cylinder as the main typical statement which was being made by new monarch at beginning of their reign.

The main message which can be generated from Cyrus Cylinder is one of the tolerances, multi-culturalism. Moreover, it helps in portraying the very modern process f ruling with pluralism and tolerance at its core. The Iranians are proud of the Cyrus Cylinder as it was Persian King who decided to break the overall tradition and allowed deported peoples to return home. To the different Jewish people, the story of the Cyrus Cylinder was the magnificent one as it helped in corroborates events in Old testament regarding King Cyrus allowing the different captive Jews for returning to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple effectively as well. Even the different founding fathers of United States sought the inspiration from Cyrus regarding what he did was being explained by Cyrus Cylinder and it helps in marking the fundamental kind of shift in Middle Eastern History.

The cylinder played an essential role in the imperial propaganda of Shah Mohammad Reza Palavi, who in the year 1971 used as the symbol of the celebration of what he called and the main idea of Cyrus Cylinder was related to the history of the human rights and it has turned out to be quite persistent as the text itself does not help in resembling and enabling the interpretation appropriately and it was mainly known as the world’s human rights charter.