Such an amazing story concerning humanity and a teaching from so long ago by the Achaemenian Persian King, Cyrus! I had no idea how far reaching and involved this particular artifact was and how impactful it was then and even now in affairs spanning the Ancient Persian Empire, The Israeli Peoples and Jewish faith, the United States and affairs over all in the Middle East concerning present day Iran, Iraq. The scope of how Cyrus and the Cyrus Cylinder has affected the entire Middle East and all players concerned is nothing less than monumental and relevant in this astounding presentation! Thank you Dr. MacGregor of the British Museum and thank you TED!
Such a brilliant speaker, and such an enlightened and fascinating speech. It's a shame most of the people making comments do not seem to have listened. Many already claiming possession of this object and using it to reinforce their arguments.
I am Cyrus, King of Kings, King of Babylon, King of the land of Sumer and Akkad, King Of Anshan, King of the four quarters of the world and I approve this vid.
Thank you Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum. The Persian Empire was the first Empire to exist on the edict of respect for all religions. Something the world, and Donald Trump, could learn from. Not to mention, Thomas Jefferson studied how Cyrus put together an Empire made up of different people with different languages and religions.
This should be watched by everyone who is cutting humanities studies, esp archaeology, at universities. This is why history/archaeology is important; the past is always present.
@SpaceChronologyCom You miss the point. It's a reminder that in the golden age of their ancestors, they were all one. It injects the idea of toleranse and secularism into their identity. If there's anything that can resolve the seemingly endless religious conflicts down there, it's this object.
English and Italian are not from Sanskrit. They may come from Proto-Indo-European, but that is not the same as coming from Sanskrit. Saying that any European language comes from Sanskrit is like saying French comes from Spanish.
@ZarlanTheGreen So some Brits make commentary about a Persian artifact and you take it at face value. They also said the Hindu Vedas were wrong about age of their culture. now we find underwater cities.
Some black women in America wear weaves, many don't. Some black men think black women in weaves are attractive, many others think the natural hair texture is more attractive. The reason black women wear weaves in America is Western standards of beauty.
ancient artifacts like these are fascinating. Interesting to hear multiple sides to the history they document. When politics and religion inject themselves I think you have to take those biases into account. But the spirit of what the thing represents clearly has survived through the years, so there's something there beyond a simple inscription
I've said nothing about attractiveness. That's a qualifier that you have added. The notion of what constitutes attractiveness varies wildly from culture to culture, and within cultures over any considerable length of time. It is completely subjective.
I've been talking about Persian History and Culture and how and if they won the greek war, the world would be much better off. Cyrus was probably the greatest ever.
I have read a great deal about the Islamic conquest of Persia. It happened during the Sassanid Shahanshah, not the Achemenid. The Achemenids had been gone for over a thousand years by that point. The Zoroastrians who refused to convert fled to India and became the Parsi ethnic minority. There is nothing about them fleeing to Ireland or Spain, and they wouldn't have been able to. Those countries were too far afield, and were already theocratically Christian and wouldn't have accepted them.
I think it's a mistake to try to decide what to do next in this day and age based on ANY document which is so old. The cylinder is an amazing artifact, but I think it will offer no specific help in our current situation in the world. We need to live in the here and now. If we are to turn the clock back to decide what to do next, who will decide what point in time is relevant? And who will decide what opinion in that point will be relevant?
Someone already commented on this but its a 9 year old comment... and with Westworld being fairly recent I thought I'd again mention Thandie Newton is in the audience at 6:47. I'm at least 95% sure it's her..
@sciences8 The Persian Empire is more impressive imho since it came way before. I don't really find the British Empire all that great. I'm a little biased since I'm portuguese but... Portugal was the first global empire, started the discovery age and lasted for 600 years. Sounds more impressive to me.
@TheWillwillwill Hypothesis or faith, theory or rule, is individuals choice to accept or reject. Everything depends on the perspective with which it is approached. Anything which is done for the preservation of civilization, living beings and love in this universe, it align with the energy of universe and sync with it and create a beauty or brings happiness..... the real pleasure of being here in this word.....
The "Aryan race" was not "founded in Punjab." Most of the theories I've heard for the Aryan migration across Central Asia is that it originated somewhere around the Black Sea, but even those sources are vague. One thing that reputable sources do not say is that Aryan culture originated in any specific part of India. There was no Aryan race 60,000 years ago. That was the Paleolithic era, when humans were just beginning to migrate out of Africa.
@TheWillwillwill Wikipedia: "interpretation of the Cylinder as a "charter of human rights" has been described by historians as "rather anachronistic" and tendentious.[99][100][9] It has been dismissed as a "misunderstanding"[10] and characterized as political propaganda devised by the Pahlavi regime.[87]" "/.../showed that rulers in ancient Iraq had been making comparable declarations upon succeeding to the [Babylonian] throne for two millennia before Cyrus"
@sciences8 Perhaps the debate can be settled by one question. How can anyone compare the Roman and English empires? They're totally different from totally different times. England expanded so much due to the fact that technology allowed it. Romans expanded vastly for what was available to them. In fact the English language wouldn't have nearly as many words as it does now if it weren't for the Roman influence on England at the time. They're both just totally different.
I like Niel Macgregor ( previous director of the British Museum) , his passion for archaeology and most importantly for the hidden truth and facts but; I lived in Iran when Iraq attacked the country and I don't remember that the Cylinder was ever used as propaganda for defeating Iraq's intrusion. I don't know where Niel has got this idea from. Another thing which is often forgotten is the importance of Zoroastrianism and fundamentals of their beliefs which shaped Cyrus and the Cylinder thousands of years ago!
Point of historical fact. The Achemenid Persian empire did not rule Ireland or have any contact with Ireland. Their Westernmost permanent border was the Hellespont. Any further west and the empire became overextended and was not able to sustain its borders. There are limits to how big an empire can get, it's part of the natural order, expansion comes at the cost of internal stability. Every empire in history that has tried to exceed its natural limits has ended in collapse and catastrophe.
Iran (Persia) have the most glorious history of the world. On the contrary of Greece, Romans, Egyptian and Chinese which engaged with cruelty and inhumanity, Iran brings humanity and love to the world. The first human right of the world in 2600 years ego...
True like America it was a new born freedom for all.Then after 200years of corruption you got tyranny. The people had it good for so long they grew arrogant and lazy.
Also, I wrote that "Eire" meant "fat," not necessarily "fat PEOPLE." It is highly likely that it refers to the land itself and its productivity, i.e. "the fat of the land." Ireland is well known for being green and fertile. The one famine they've suffered came not from poor soil, drought or poor climate, but from a bacterium that destroyed the roots of a specific plant, and through grossly exploitative British agricultural policies.
You know we need to store our information in this form so future generations can know at least something. Because I can't read floppy disks from 20 years ago. I wish I had taken printouts. :(
@Kohbra That's true, but Portugal didn't have the competition that Britain did. Britain managed to defend its overseas territories for a very long time given the distance between them and the scale. Britain also spurred tons of well-founded nations ( as I said above), whereas Portugal simply mined the fuck out of their states (although, India was treated in a similar manner- but not to the same degree). As I said, though, I'm not British. I just think it was the best overall.
If only Mr. MacGregor had looked up the timing of Isaiah before claiming it was written AFTER King Cyrus made his cylinder. lol. What a disgrace. Isaiah lived around 740 BC and Cyrus took power around 538 or 539 BC.
Grandson of Nebuchadnezzar ii, his father chilled far away from his civic duties and left him in charge. That is why he could only give Daniel 3rd in the kingdom. "Son" is not just son, but bloodline.
just goes on to show that with few basic principles, us humans can live with mutual respect and have our freedoms,but politicians these days make every effort to divide and sow hatred.
Correction Mr. MacGregor..the cylinder was created after the conquest of Babylon (539bc)..the scriptures of Isaiah date back to 700bc...looks like Isaiah was write when he prophesied
Actually clarifying what bad a mistake has brought along and what good it has prevented is good way to learn how grave a mistake can be so you don't let it happen again
For Sassanid-era Persians to get to Ireland at the time of the Islamic conquest, they would have had to trek through hundreds of kingdoms and empires whose people and governments had been conditioned to see them as the walking embodiment of evil. Right off, their way West would have been blocked by the Byzantine Empire. They migrated to India because the way East was the only route of escape.
@ZarlanTheGreen By the standards of the day, releasing all your prisoners of war and not making them into slaves or killing them all qualifies a being humanitarian and thus an act of peace.
@MartianStories I like the Roman Empire, however, it's conquest was nothing new. It didn't expand overseas like Britain did. It'd didn't dominate trade and culture like Britain did. And it especially didn't found 3 separate, very large nations based largely on British standards. Not to mention the fact that it was much, much, much smaller.
Alan you are correct, to be clear I never said the Achemenid Persian Empire ruled Ire-Land. I said people of that Ayran Clan the Kamboja were a founding wave of the Island that is calle dIre Land, and that lands people named it Ireland for Area Land or Ayra Land! Land of the Ayrans! This probably occurred way before the Achemenid PErsian Empire! That Empire did not Concur Ireland, but rather people of that race or lineage founded that land! Notice many Irish look hotter then the British!
@ZarlanTheGreen cherry picking isn't "academia". It's just, "your opinion" and that said you have no more creditbility than the "random dude" that talks on the TED. Again. Wikipedia is NOT academic research. Do no use that as an argument or you will be laughed out of the debate.
@TheWillwillwill Why bother with a single individual? An individual can be biased. An individual can be selective. Academia and the scientific method, is designed to get rid of such bias or selectivity. It encourages any and all ideas to be criticized, on all points. It doesn't matter if you "like" a hypothesis, or if it's good politically. Still, even academia may make biased mistakes, but given all the safe guards, it's a lot less than individuals do.
@ZarlanTheGreen Again you failed to provide "creditable source", and frankly, wikipedia isn't one of them. Why should I take your words over the internet, over someone making a point with creditable source in a well known highly intellect conference? That is just illogical on all fronts.
What strikes me is that the concept of 'tolerating different people; is only something revolutionary in a context where religion plays a major role. If it doesn't - then it's a no-brainer concept. The good things in religion are not profound truths - rather surprise that they even exist because they contrast heavily with the main body of scripture.
Neil MacGregor - 19 spet 20- Thank you for excellent summary of the history of Cyrus Cylinder. The vicotry of Cyrus over Babylon and freedom of Jews is symboized by the Cyrus Cylinder. A historical example of victory of peace is the history of Hindu India which has not invaded any country except in defence and the story of Mahatma Gandhi who peacefully asked British for independence from Britain and succeeded. India with Hindhu philocophy developed over several thousand years stands as an example of a country in history and in 21st century as the country which has all the religions living within its borders, including Jewish, Muslim, Bahai, Sikh, Christiranity, Bhuddist and many others. It is the only country today with the largest number of other religions. India's contitution of 1950 guarantees human rights. See my novel Love in the empire where I have narrated the story of the British Empire. Jay Chauhan
@ZarlanTheGreen @ZarlanTheGreen I have seen all of the information you are talking about, and my opinion still stands. Many issues are politicized by governments, but the knife cuts both ways. Think of the plight of the American Indians. Mass killing were routinely justified by the U.S. Government. It does not make it right.
@MiranUT Yeah, that is what Ajax was about. The CIA overthrew the democratically elected govt of Iran so that BP and American oil companies could have access to the Iranian oil fields. I wish that real history was uncontroversial.
I do not understand what you are laughing at, but history shows that when the Achaemenids and Parthians were great emperors of Iran you had nothing of your own
