The First Human Rights Charter! Cylinder of Cyrus the Great.

They say Cyrus the Great of Persia is the first king in the history that has issued the first charter of human rights inscribed in his famous Cylinder of which a copy is with UN. There raises an essential question in the mind of any thinker that "How is it possible to conquer the half of the world without violating the human rights and being a pioneer in this matter?" I decided to go after the problem and try to solve it for myself. First, I went to the text of the charter translated into Persian language. Yes, it was true. Cyrus the Great had promised the conquered subjects he would respect their religions, traditions, and even freedom in choosing his sovereignty. If his subjects did not like his ruling over them, he would never impose his authority on them. The best sort of human right that one can ever see and hear! Astounding! But then, it came to my mind to ask about his death. I learned that he was "killed" in one of the battles he had led in the north eastern borders against the nomadic tribes who had rejected his sovereignty. This story put my mind into a new perplexity. And enticed me to go after the true version of the Cylinder fervently. The version I found was a highly reliable version of a word-by-word translation of the original one. I could not find any sign of the humanitarian blessings I had read in the Persian version. I suspected that the Persians had inserted some sentences into the Persian translation to force prove the humanitarian services of their Great King. But they had never thought that there are many versions in other languages translated directly from the original text by international scholars which would will one day betray their fake job. Tom Holland in his Persian Fire believes that all the claims about Cyrus the Great are baseless and historically cannot be proved the way Iranians like. But Iranians need a mythological hero to stick themselves to and justify their passivity. Because they do not have any confidence. Because they do not have any idea of their own history. Instead of studying the true stories to learn about their destiny and manipulate it, they take refuge into the legends and historical fabrications. For example, Kambiz and Bardiya, two of Cyrus the Great's sons, are beloved and preferred names for modern Iranians. But how many of them know that they had married their own sisters Atossa and Rhoxane? I am sure not many. Their ignorance cannot be confined to their history. In every issue of their lives they are ignorant. This is the reason they have been caught in a deadly impassive. Always waiting for a foreign power to come and save them. And always they put all the blames on the shoulders of the foreigners.