1. Biography of Cyrus the Great (Sources: Ducksters.com)
Occupation: King of the Persian Empire Born: 580 BCE in Anshan, Iran Died: 530 BCE in Pasargadae, Iran Reign: BCE Best known for: Founding the Persian Empire Early Life Cyrus the Great was born around 580BCE in the land of Fars (also known as Persia), which is today the country of Iran. His father was King Cambyses 1 of Anshan. There isn’t a lot of known recorded history on the early life of Cyrus, but there is a legend told by the Greek historian Herodotus.

2. Early Life Cyrus the Great was born around 580BCE in the land of Fars (also known as Persia), which is today the country of Iran. His father was King Cambyses 1 of Anshan. There isn’t a lot of known recorded history on the early life of Cyrus, but there is a legend told by the Greek historian Herodotus.. Legend of Cyrus’ Youth According to the legend, Cyrus was the grandson of the Median King Astyages. When Cyrus was born, Astyages had a dream that Cyrus would one day overthrow him. He ordered that the baby Cyrus should be left in the mountains to die. The baby, however, was rescued by some shepherds and raised them as their own. When Cyrus turned ten years old, it became apparent that he was noble born. King Astyages heard of the child and realized that the boy had not died and allowed Cyrus to return home to his birth parents.

3. Founding an Empire Around the age of twenty-one Cyrus took over the throne as king of Anshan. At this time Anshan was still part of the Median Empire (Note: the Median Empire was ruled by the Medes – an Aryan tribe that settled in modern day Iran near the Caspian Sea). Cyrus led a revolt against the Median Empire and by 549 bce he has completely conquered Media. He then called himself the “King of Persia” Cyrus continued to expand his empire. He conquered the Lydians to the west and then turned his eyes south to Mesopotamia and the Babylonian Empire. In 540 bce Cyrus marched into the city of Babylon and took control of the city. His empire was now the largest in the history of the world to that point. A Good King Cyrus the Great saw himself as a liberator of people and not a conqueror. As long as his subjects didn’t revolt and paid their taxes, he treated them equally regardless of religion or ethnic background. He agreed to let the people he

4. conquered maintain their religion and local customs and language
conquered maintain their religion and local customs and language. This was a different way of ruling from previous empires such as the Babylonians and the Assyrians. As part of this role as a liberator, Cyrus let the Jews return home to Jerusalem from their exile in Babylon. There were more than 40,000 Jewish people held captive in Babylon at the time. Because of this, he earned the name “the anointed of the Lord” from the Jewish people. Death Cyrus died in 530 bce. He had ruled for 30 years. He was succeeded by this son Cambyses. There are different accounts as to how Cyrus died. Some say he died in battle, while others say that he died peacefully in his capital city.