Cyrus Cylinder
 
The Cyrus Cylinder, obverse and reverse sides
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| Material | Baked clay |
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| Size | 22.5 centimetres (8.9 in) x 10 centimetres (3.9 in) (maximum) |
| Writing | Akkadian cuneiform script |
| Created | About 539–538 BC |
| Period/culture | Achaemenid Empire |
| Discovered | Babylon, Mesopotamia by Hormuzd Rassam in March 1879 |
| Present location | Room 51,British Museum, London |
| Identification | BM 90920 |
| Registration | 1880,0617.1941 |
The Cyrus Cylinder (Persian: Ostovane Kūrosh ; استوانه کوروش) or Cyrus Charter (Persian: Manshūre Kūrosh ; منشور کوروش) is an ancient clay cylinder, now broken into several pieces, on which is written a declaration in Akkadian cuneiform script in the name of Persia's Achaemenid king Cyrus the Great. It dates from the 6th century BCE and was discovered in the ruins of Babylon in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) in 1879. It is currently in the possession of the British Museum, which sponsored the expedition that discovered the cylinder. It was created and used as a foundation deposit following the Persian conquest of Babylon in 539 BC, when the Neo-Babylonian Empire was invaded by Cyrus and incorporated into his Persian Empire.
The text on the Cylinder praises Cyrus, sets out his genealogy and portrays him as a king from a line of kings. The Babylonian king Nabonidus, who was defeated and deposed by Cyrus, is denounced as an impious oppressor of the people of Babylonia and his low-born origins are implicitly contrasted to Cyrus's kingly heritage. The victorious Cyrus is portrayed as having been chosen by the chief Babylonian god Marduk to restore peace and order to the Babylonians. The text states that Cyrus was welcomed by the people of Babylon as their new ruler and entered the city in peace. It appeals to Marduk to protect and help Cyrus and his son Cambyses. It extols Cyrus as a benefactor of the citizens of Babylonia who improved their lives, repatriated displaced people and restored temples and cult sanctuaries across Mesopotamia and elsewhere in the region. It concludes with a description of how Cyrus repaired the city wall of Babylon and found a similar inscription placed there by an earlier king.
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