Cyrus
Persian:کورش
Other Forms:Kurosh, Kourosh, Koresh
King of
Persia;
Persian prince; male first name; family name; village in Minnesota/
US
Cyrus II known as Cyrus the
Great ( 585-529 BC) founder of the Achaemenian Empire: As the grandson of Cyrus I came to power by overthrowing his maternal grandfather, the king of the
Medes. The empire he developed was thenceforth centered on Persia and included
Media,
Ionia,
Lydia,
Mesopotamia,
Syria, and
Palestine. Cyrus conquered mostly by diplomacy. The subject of a rich legend in Persia and
Greece, Cyrus was called the father of his people. He appears in the
Bible as the liberator of the Jews held captive in
Babylon. He died battling nomads in
Central
Asia. His legacy is the founding not only of an empire but of a culture and civilization that continued to expand after his death and lasted for two centuries. He exerted a strong influence on the Greeks. Awarded heroic qualities in legend, he has long been revered by Iranians almost as a religious figure.
