Instruct: Given a question, retrieve documents that can help answer the question.
Query: When did Cyrus the Great live?
Cyrus II of Persia (Old Persian: 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 Kūruš;[4] New Persian: کوروش Kuruš; Hebrew: כורש, Modern:Kōréš, Tiberian:Kōréš; c.600–530BC),[5] commonly known as Cyrus the Great[6] and also called Cyrus the Elder by the Greeks, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, the first Persian Empire.[7] Under his rule, the empire embraced all the previous civilized states of the ancient Near East,[7] expanded vastly and eventually conquered most of Western Asia and much of Central Asia. From the Mediterranean Sea and Hellespont in the west to the Indus River in the east, Cyrus the Great created the largest empire the world had yet seen.[8] Under his successors, the empire eventually stretched at its maximum extent from parts of the Balkans (Bulgaria-Paeonia and Thrace-Macedonia) and Eastern Europe proper in the west, to the Indus Valley in the east. His regal titles in full were The Great King, King of Persia, King of Anshan, King of Media, King of Babylon, King of Sumer and Akkad, and King of the Four Corners of the World. The Nabonidus Chronicle notes the change in his title from simply "King of Anshan", a city, to "King of Persia". Assyriologist François Vallat wrote that "When Astyages marched against Cyrus, Cyrus is called ‘King of Anshan’, but when Cyrus crosses the Tigris on his way to Lydia, he is ‘King of Persia’. The coup therefore took place between these two events."[9]
By his own account, generally believed now to be accurate, Cyrus was preceded as king by his father Cambyses I, grandfather Cyrus I, and great-grandfather.[42] Cyrus married Cassandane[43] who was an Achaemenian and the daughter of Pharnaspes who bore him two sons, Cambyses II and Bardiya along with three daughters, Atossa, Artystone, and Roxane.[44] Cyrus and Cassandane were known to love each other very much – Cassandane said that she found it more bitter to leave Cyrus than to depart her life.[45] After her death, Cyrus insisted on public mourning throughout the kingdom.[46] The Nabonidus Chronicle states that Babylonia mourned Cassandane for six days (identified from 21–26 March 538 BC).[47] After his father's death, Cyrus inherited the Persian throne at Pasargadae which was a vassal of Astyages. It is also noted that Strabo has said that Cyrus was originally named Agradates by his step-parents; therefore, it is probable that, when reuniting with his original family, following the naming customs, Cyrus's father, Cambyses I, named him Cyrus after his grandfather, who was Cyrus I.
Herodotus then finishes his "Histories" by mentioning an account of Artembares, the grandfather of Artayctes, suggesting Cyrus the Great to abandon the rocky land of Persia (Persis) and live in a better region in the empire, and Cyrus warned him that "soft countries breed soft men". Herodotus is said to be trying to point at that the Persians failed to follow this advice later on, and that it was also a veiled warning to the Athenians, who later did the same.
When Xenophon wrote his "Cyropaedia" (the Education of Cyrus) several years later, the "Histories" of Herodotus had already been published. Regarding the upbringing of Cyrus the Great, Herodotus said that he was choosing one of the stories he had heard, but that there were three other stories he did not choose to relate (1.95). The story he chose is adapted from myths that were current at the time. An integral part of Herodotus' story was his explanation of how Cyrus came to the throne of Persia. This was after he led a successful rebellion against his maternal grandfather Astyages, king of the Medes. Xenophon would have known this story from Herodotus, but he did not believe it, because his history of Cyrus' early years is quite different. Herodotus and Xenophon agree that Cyrus' mother was Mandane of Media, daughter of Astyages, but Herodotus says that Cyrus' father, Cambyses I, was not of "suitable rank" to be a king or the father of a king (1.07); however, Xenophon says that Cambyses was king of Persia. In contrast to Herodotus' having Cyrus lead a rebellion against his grandfather and seizing the throne of Media, Xenophon says Astyages died and was succeeded on the throne of Media by his son Cyaxares (II) some time before Cyrus—as prince regent of Persia and leader of their armies—began his campaign of conquest.
Xenophon mentions the Armenian King Tigranes in his "Cyropaedia", where he states that he was an ally of Cyrus the Great. According to the Armenian author H. Khachatryan, they were hunting companions. Tigranes was a great archer and was always victorious over Cyrus. The latter once decided to organize a tournament in which the participants were to drink ten cups of wine before shooting. Cyrus and Tigranes drank the wine, but, after that, Cyrus the Great took a special herb to counteract the effects of the wine. Tigranes, however, did likewise, and then won the tournament. After that, Cyrus claimed: "No, wine can not win such men like us. No matter how much we drink, we do not get drunk. And I miss only two times of four and you didn't miss at all".
Cyrus the Great Day (Persian: روز کوروش بزرگ "ruz-e kuroš-e bozorg"), also simply known as Cyrus Day (Persian:روز کوروش "ruz-e kuroš"), is an unofficial holiday in Iran that takes place annually in the tomb of Cyrus on October 29th, 7th of Aban on Iranian calendar, to commemorate Cyrus the Great. That is the anniversary of the entrance of Cyrus into Babylon. Cyrus is founder of the first Persian Empire also known as Achaemenid Empire.
Nowruz, the Persian New Year, celebrations are held annually in the tomb by Iranians which gather from all around the country. Iranians respect Cyrus the Great as the founder of the Iran and Persian Empire.
In 1848, when Cyrus was 45 years old, he began building a Greek inspired farmhouse. He hired a man from New York City named Charles Yarrington to build it. By the standards of the day and Cyrus' rural location, the style of the house would be considered quite extravagant and over-done for a stick frame farmhouse. In fact, the locals feeling somewhat miffed by Cyrus' use of an out of town builder, called the new house "Gates' white elephant." Construction on the building commenced in January 1848. Great x2 Granddaughter of Cyrus-Louis Gates-Gunsalus says that the house was completed enough to be lived in by the end of that year. The inside carpentry and other finish work of the house would not be completed until 1851.
With Astyages out of power, all of his vassals (including many of Cyrus's relatives) were now under his command. His uncle Arsames, who had been the king of the city-state of Parsa under the Medes, therefore would have had to give up his throne. However, this transfer of power within the family seems to have been smooth, and it is likely that Arsames was still the nominal governor of Parsa under Cyrus's authority—more a Prince or a Grand Duke than a King.[54] His son, Hystaspes, who was also Cyrus's second cousin, was then made satrap of Parthia and Phrygia. Cyrus the Great thus united the twin Achamenid kingdoms of Parsa and Anshan into Persia proper. Arsames lived to see his grandson become Darius the Great, Shahanshah of Persia, after the deaths of both of Cyrus's sons.[55] Cyrus's conquest of Media was merely the start of his wars.[56]
"Start All Over" is a song performed by American recording artist Miley Cyrus. It was released as the second and final single of Cyrus' debut album "Meet Miley Cyrus" on December 14, 2007. A live version is available on "Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert" and as a karaoke in Cyrus's . The song was originally written by Fefe Dobson, who passed the song to Cyrus, as she did not desire to include it on "Sunday Love". The up-tempo song is lyrically about having a second chance in a romantic relationship.
The Hebrew Bible states that Cyrus issued the decree of liberation to the Jews. Cyrus's edict for the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem marked a great epoch in the history of the Jewish people. According to Ezra 4:1-6 "the enemies of Judah and Benjamin" asked to help build the temple, and when this was denied hired counselors to frustrate the people of Judah from completing the rebuilding throughout the reign of Cyrus, Xerxes ('Ahasuerus'), and Artaxerxes, until the reign of Darius II. The work recommenced under the exhortations of the prophets, and when the authorities asked the Jews what right they had to build a temple, they referred to the decree of Cyrus. Darius II, who was then reigning, caused a search for this alleged decree to be made, and it was found in the archives at Ecbatana, whereupon Darius reaffirmed the decree and the work proceeded to its triumphant close.
The Cuthites were a people living in Samaria around 500 BC, and were to blame for the postponing of the 2nd temple, in the reign of Cyrus the Great. They did this after the Jewish people returned from Babylonian exile, and first agreed to help them, but after the Jews refused, they lied to king Cyrus who postponed the building process
Teïspes (from Greek ; in "Cišpiš") ruled Anshan in 675–640 BC. He was the son of Achaemenes of Persis and an ancestor of Cyrus the Great. There is evidence that Cyrus I and Ariaramnes were both his sons. Cyrus I is the grandfather of Cyrus the Great, whereas Ariaramnes is great grandfather of Darius the Great.
Cyrus (Persian: سیروس) is a male given name. Etymologically it is the English transliteration of the Persian name "Kourosh" (کوروش). It is the given name of a number of Persian kings. Most notably it refers to Cyrus the Great. Cyrus is also the name of Cyrus I of Anshan (ca. 650 BC), King of Persia the grandfather of Cyrus the Great; and Cyrus the Younger (died 401 BC), brother to the Persian King Artaxerxes II of Persia.
I am an Iranian, a descendant of Cyrus the Great. This emperor proclaimed at the pinnacle of power 2,500 years ago that he "would not reign over the people if they did not wish it". He promised not to force any person to change his religion and faith and guaranteed freedom for all. The Charter of Cyrus the Great should be studied in the history of human rights.[123]
When Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon in 539 BC, Cambyses was employed in leading religious ceremonies. In the cylinder which contains Cyrus' proclamation to the Babylonians, Cambyses' name is joined to his father's in the prayers to Marduk. On a tablet dated from the first year of Cyrus, Cambyses is called king of Babylon, although his authority seems to have been ephemeral. Only in 530 BC, when Cyrus set out on his last expedition into the East, did Cyrus associate Cambyses with the throne. Numerous Babylonian tablets of the time date from the accession and the first year of Cambyses, when Cyrus was "king of the countries" (i.e., of the world).
Nick Levin of Digital Spy reviewed "The Time of Our Lives", saying that, although not offering much original material, it did provide evidence that Cyrus could successfully dump her Disney Channel-affiliated image. He said that each of "the six genuinely new songs" are worth listening to, resulting in a worthwhile EP release. Michael Hann of "The Guardian" felt that Cyrus managed to project a very wholesome image of herself but argued that she did not succeed in convincing adult audiences there was anything else to her: "She has her name on plenty of inventive, imaginative and precisely calibrated examples of modern chart pop, songs that would have been noticed beyond her audience of young girls had they come from a more credible source". Jessica Holland of British newspaper "The Observer" wrote a favorable review of the EP, noting: "Still not yet 17, Miley doesn't need to worry about slipping yet." Jaime Gill of Yahoo! Music described the uptempo numbers on the EP as "brilliantly feisty skate pop" but described the record's ballads as tedious. Gill concluded that, if Cyrus were to take her music more seriously, instead of releasing albums in between various other projects, she might make a great pop album and stated that "As it is, "The Time Of Our Lives" is a great pop EP drowning in a sea of bilge."
The most prominent event of the day is gathering in the tomb of Cyrus, located in Pasargadae.
Cyrus the Great Day is an invented tradition introduced in the early 2000s, on the internet and social networking websites. Based on some historical records, 29 October was the day when Cyrus entered Babylon.
"The Time of Our Lives" received generally positive reviews, earning a collective score of 63 out of 100 on Metacritic. Bill Lamb of About.com said, "Cyrus is developing one of the more distinctive vocal instruments in current pop music, and her songs are turning slowly to reflective adult concerns. Consistent growth and improvement is the key here, and looks likely to turn Miley Cyrus into a long-term pop star." Lamb did, however, state that the ballads on "The Time of Our Lives" were throwaways. Heather Phares of Allmusic thought otherwise, saying that the EP's highlights came when Cyrus "lets her inner rock chick and ballad-singing diva come to the fore." Phares stated that "If "Breakout" began to establish Miley Cyrus as a singing star in her own right, free of Hannah Montana baggage, then this Walmart Exclusive EP is another confident step in that direction." Phares concluded that the EP was a good representation of Cyrus's vocal growth and presumed that her vocal abilities would enhance further as she grew into an adult. Mikeal Wood of "Entertainment Weekly" graded "The Time of Lives" a B+ because of its execution of various musical styles and genres.
It has been suggested by Louis Vandenberg that the Gur-e-Dokhtar is the tomb of Cyrus I. This is because all Achaemenid kings after Darius the Great were buried in rock-cut tombs, and because a similar building has been attributed to Cyrus the Great, it seemed logical to assume that a tomb like this must have been erected prior to the reign of Cyrus. However, other experts have claimed that it is the burial place of Mandane, mother of Cyrus the Great, while other scholars claim that the Gur-e-Dokhtar was the mausoleum of Atossa, the daughter of Cyrus the Great and the wife and queen of Darius the Great. Later, when the iron clamps were studied, it became clear that this building was erected in the 5th century BC, so it may have been for prince Cyrus the Younger.
Cyrus was in Ecbatana when the revolt had already begun. In Nicolaus's account, when Cyrus was let go, he fled from Astyages because he knew he might eventually be executed if Astyages discovered that Cyrus's true motive was to join and fight alongside his father, if necessary. This is because when Cyrus was half way to becoming an adult he learned that Astyages had already tried to execute him when he was an infant, but it did not succeed, and as time passed, Astyages came to respect Cyrus for the similarities of character they shared. Meanwhile, Astyages was not sure if it was safe to let Cyrus return to his homeland. Astyages eventually did, and it helped terminate the Median kingdom. When Astyages was tricked by Harpagus twice into believing Cyrus was not a danger to him, even when the revolt and impending signs of danger had already happened, Cyrus saw how easily Astyages could be swindled. For this reason, Cyrus may have taken advantage of this to bring freedom to his own kingdom.
The Neo-Babylonian Empire ended with the conquest of Babylon by the Persian king Cyrus the Great, founder of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, in 539 BC. The Cyrus Cylinder is an ancient clay cylinder written in Akkadian cuneiform script in the name of Cyrus, made to be used as a foundation deposit and buried in the walls of Babylon. In the text of the cylinder, Cyrus assumes several traditional Mesopotamian titles including those of "King of Babylon", "King of Sumer and Akkad" and "King of the Four Corners of the World". The title was not used after the reign of Cyrus but his successors did adopt similar titles. The popular regnal title "King of Kings", used by monarchs of Iran until the modern age, was originally a title introduced by the Assyrian Tukulti-Ninurta I in the 13th century BC (rendered "šar šarrāni" in Akkadian). The title of "King of Lands", also used by Assyrian monarchs since at least Shalmaneser III, was also adopted by Cyrus the Great and his successors.
After taking Babylon, Cyrus the Great proclaimed himself "king of Babylon, king of Sumer and Akkad, king of the four corners of the world" in the famous Cyrus Cylinder, an inscription deposited in the foundations of the Esagila temple dedicated to the chief Babylonian god, Marduk. The text of the cylinder denounces Nabonidus as impious and portrays the victorious Cyrus pleasing the god Marduk. It describes how Cyrus had improved the lives of the citizens of Babylonia, repatriated displaced peoples, and restored temples and cult sanctuaries. Although some have asserted that the cylinder represents a form of human rights charter, historians generally portray it in the context of a long-standing Mesopotamian tradition of new rulers beginning their reigns with declarations of reforms.[71]
Cyrus was raised as Mitridates' own son, and Harpagus presented the stillborn child to Astyages as the dead Cyrus. When Cyrus was found alive at age ten, Astyages spared the boy on the advice of his Magi, returning him to his parents in Anshan. Harpagus, however, did not escape punishment, as Astyages is said to have fed him his own son at a banquet. Cyrus succeeded his father in 559, and in 553, on the advice of Harpagus, who was eager for revenge for being given the "abominable supper," Cyrus rebelled against Astyages. After three years of fighting, Astyages' troops mutinied during the battle of Pasargadae, and Cyrus conquered the Median's empire. Astyages was spared by Cyrus, and despite being taunted by Harpagus, Herodotus says he was treated well and remained in Cyrus' court until his death. Rather than giving the popular mythology that Cyrus was suckled by a dog, the dog was sacred to Persians. cf. also the legend of Sargon, or the similar legend of Romulus and Remus, suckled by a she-wolf. () Herodotus explains that the herdsman Mitridates lived with another of Astyages' slaves, a woman named 'Spaco,' which he explains is Median for "dog." gives both the legend and Herodotus' rationalized version.
Cyrus recorded a cover version of "Kicking and Screaming", written by John Shanks and Kara DioGuardi, and originally recorded by Ashlee Simpson for her 2005 album "I Am Me". "Party in the U.S.A." was written by Dr. Luke, Claude Kelly, and Jessica Cornish. The song was not originally meant for Cyrus to perform, but, once it reached Cyrus, the writing team reworked the lyrics, intending to write an accompanying theme for the clothing line. In order to please audiences, Dr. Luke, Kelly, and Cornish fixated on composing a fun, upbeat song that narrated reflections of Cyrus' personality. To write his contributions to the song, Kelly said he tried to mimic Cyrus' songwriting: "It’s the same song from a different point of view, you just have to find that unique perspective." Cyrus was pleased with the song and selected it partially due to the need for tracks to appear on "The Time of Our Lives". "When I Look at You", written by Shanks and Hillary Lindsey, was initially to be included on Cyrus' succeeding album; it was eventually chosen to promote the 2010 film "The Last Song" after Cyrus recognized that it fit the film's concept well. According to Cyrus, when she sings "When I Look at You", she thinks of family and love. "It's kind of what this movie is all about", she said. The title track, "The Time of Our Lives", was composed by Dr. Luke, Kelly, Kesha Sebert (known as Ke$ha), and Pebe Sebert. Kesha co-wrote her contributions to "The Time of Our Lives" with the ideal of constructing a party anthem for young audiences, based on her first impression of Cyrus' personality; comedic and likable.
Before Cyrus and his army crossed the Aras River to battle with the Armenians, he installed his son Cambyses II as king in case he should not return from battle. However, once Cyrus had crossed the Aras River, he had a vision in which Darius had wings atop his shoulders and stood upon the confines of Europe and Asia (the known world). When Cyrus awoke from the dream, he inferred it as a great danger to the future security of the empire, as it meant that Darius would one day rule the whole world. However, his son Cambyses was the heir to the throne, not Darius, causing Cyrus to wonder if Darius was forming treasonable and ambitious designs. This led Cyrus to order Hystaspes to go back to Persis and watch over his son strictly, until Cyrus himself returned. Darius did not seem to have any treasonous thoughts as Cambyses II ascended the throne peacefully; and, through promotion, Darius was eventually elevated to be Cambyses's personal lancer.