» Cyrus the Great (at Zoroastrian Heritage)
» Cyrus the Great - His Religion & Inspiration
» Cyrus the Great - Pasargadae, Capital (at Zoroastrian Heritage)
» Cyrus the Great - Information Sources
» Cyrus the Great - Xenophon's Cyropaedia (at Zoroastrian Heritage)
» Cyrus the Great - Hebrew Bible Quotes
» Cyrus Cylinder
» Cyrus Cylinder & its Discoverer Hormuzd Rassam
» Cyrus Cylinder - its Remarkable Discovery
» Cyrus Cylinder - Contents (Eduljee)
» Cyrus Cylinder - Translation (Rogers)
» Cyrus Cylinder - Translation (Finkel)
» Cyrus' Edict & the Chinese Cuneiform Bones
» Cyrus Cylinder - Talk by Neil MacGregor
The Cyrus Cylinder. Image credit: David Holt at Flickr |
Historical sites of Mesopotamia |
The cylinder was discovered in the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon, which lies in the centre of today’s Iraq. The archaeologist credited with the discovery the cylinder is Hormuzd Rassam. Rassam was a native of Mosul – from which the name Muslin is derived – a city that lies on the east bank of the upper Tigris River in Northern Iraq today.
In February 1879, when Rassam visited the ruins of ancient Babylon, he found the site devastated, raised to the ground and looted. Local brick brokers had made a career out of digging up ancient Babylon’s bricks to sell as a cheap building material. Then when Rassam started his excavations, these “greedy” Arab brokers tried to bribe his workers to sell them not just the bricks they uncovered, but any antiquities they found as well. Since the Turkish authorities – the then rulers of Iraq – were inclined to favour the local brokers, there was no point in even trying to apprehend the thieves.
Babylon ruins |
An old site map of Babylon |
Rassam had to make a deal with the locals. First, he employed those whose profession it had been to steal the bricks and next, he allowed them to keep and sell the bricks provided they would not steal any artifacts they uncovered. At least in some part, the devil’s bargain worked, for we are fortunate to have the Cyrus Cylinder not just for its enormous antiquity, but for the priceless information it contains.
Location of the Discovery
A 1944 Site Map of Babylon |
Scale model reconstruction of the Esagila complex containing the Marduk Temple. The model is made by Andre Caron of Quebec |
An overview model of Babylon made by Andre Caron of Quebec |
During our research on the subject, we found one reference stating that the cylinder was found in Nineveh (Nineveh is some 500 km to the north of Babylon near Mosul. See map above). The reference did not provide information substantiating the claim.
On November 17, 1879, another noted archaeologist and historian, Sir Henry Rawlinson, presented a paper to the Royal Asiatic Society titled A Newly discovered Cylinder of Cyrus the Great. In it, he stated that the Cyrus Cylinder was discovered at the Birs Nimrud site – ancient Borsippa – about 18 km to the south-west of the Babylon site. It is widely held that Rawlinson made an error in his pronouncement.
Rassam had stated in his book the cylinder was discovered at the Babylon site before he left Baghdad. However, in a news report dated November 21, 1879 and published in the Building News, Rawlinson states, “It (the Cyrus Cylinder) was not among the monuments lately brought home by Mr. Hormuzd Rassam himself, but must be credited to his last archaeological explorations in the East, under the auspices of the British Museum, having been sent to this country by one of the agents left behind by him to continue his excavations in the Mesopotamian mounds.” According to David Damrosch in his What Is World Literature? (Princeton, 2003, p. 48), “Rassam’s decisive role was often minimised or denied outright – most likely, as (Rassam’s previous employer and mentor) Layard later wrote to a friend, ‘because he is a ‘nigger’ and because Rawlinson as is his habit, appropriated to himself the credit of Rassam’s discoveries.’”
According to a recent book, The Cyrus Cylinder (2013), written by Irving Finkel (p. 49), Hormuzd Rassam had left the site in the charge his assistant and overseer of excavations, Daud Toma when the Cylinder was discovered between March 17 and 23, 1879. Finkel further notes that the shipping documents show that the cylinder was shipped 1879 and received in a broken condition. The Cylinder together with other finds from at Tell Amran (Omran) and Jumjamah were entrusted to a local merchant Baltazar for shipment to England via steamer. The Cylinder and other artifacts were received by the British Museum in August of that year as documented by the Museum's cuneiform curator, Theophilus Pinches.
Layard reconstruction of Babylon's inner city as seen from the west bank of the River Euphrates Image credit: Alex Mitchell |
Artist's reconstruction of Babylon and the Ishtar Gate as viewed from the north. Image Credit: Flickriver |
Present restored Babylon site (north end). Image credit: James Gordon at Flickr |
Portion of the Babylon site still in ruins. Image credit: James Gordon at Flickr |
» Cyrus the Great (at Zoroastrian Heritage)
» Cyrus the Great - His Religion & Inspiration
» Cyrus the Great - Pasargadae, Capital (at Zoroastrian Heritage)
» Cyrus the Great - Information Sources
» Cyrus the Great - Xenophon's Cyropaedia (at Zoroastrian Heritage)
» Cyrus the Great - Hebrew Bible Quotes
» Cyrus Cylinder
» Cyrus Cylinder & its Discoverer Hormuzd Rassam
» Cyrus Cylinder - its Remarkable Discovery
» Cyrus Cylinder - Contents (Eduljee)
» Cyrus Cylinder - Translation (Rogers)
» Cyrus Cylinder - Translation (Finkel)
» Cyrus' Edict & the Chinese Cuneiform Bones
» Cyrus Cylinder - Talk by Neil MacGregor
No comments:
Post a Comment