SAEDNEWS: The Cyrus Cylinder, housed at the British Museum, will travel to the United States starting tomorrow, January 13, 2024. It will be on view for a limited time at the Yale University Art Gallery in New Haven, Connecticut, before embarking on a rare exhibition in Israel.
According to Saed News, citing Euronews, the British Museum has announced that the ancient Cyrus Cylinder will remain in the United States until June 30, before traveling to Israel on October 4, where it will be on display in Jerusalem until November 29.
The Cyrus Cylinder is a small clay tablet shaped like a cylinder, inscribed with cuneiform script, and regarded as one of the most iconic objects in the British Museum’s global collection. It is celebrated as a symbol of multiculturalism, tolerance, and human rights. Measuring 23 centimeters in length and 11 centimeters in diameter, the cylinder is a compact yet profoundly historic artifact.
Buried under the walls of Babylon (modern-day Iraq) around 539 BCE, the cylinder recounts how Cyrus, the Persian king of the time, conquered the city. It describes how he overcame Nabonidus, the Babylonian king, with the support of Marduk, the Babylonian god who had lost patience with Nabonidus.
Unlike typical conquests of the era, Cyrus did not raze the city upon entering. Instead, he freed the people from forced labor, returned the statues of gods to their respective temples, and allowed those brought to Babylon by previous kings—primarily the Jewish population—to return to their homes. The cylinder effectively granted people the freedom to practice their religious beliefs without interference.
A passage from the cylinder reads:
"I commanded that all the shrines which had been closed be reopened. I returned the gods of those shrines to their places. I brought back all the peoples who had been scattered and displaced to their homes. I rebuilt the ruined houses. I called upon all the people to live in unity."
The cylinder remained undisturbed for more than 2,400 years until 1879, when British archaeologist Hormuzd Rassam discovered it during excavations in Mesopotamia on behalf of the British Museum. Once the Babylonian cuneiform script was translated, scholars recognized its extraordinary historical significance.
The Cyrus Cylinder toured the United States ten years ago, in 2013, but there is no record of it being displayed in Israel previously. So far, neither the Israeli government nor any related institutions have issued a statement regarding its upcoming exhibition in Jerusalem.
Previously, the cylinder was exhibited in Iran in 2010, drawing nearly one million visitors. It had first been brought to Iran around fifty years earlier for the 2,500-year celebration of the Persian Empire.
