Cyrus the Great

c. 600 BCE – 530 BCE · died at about 70^[1][2]

Politics & Leadership

Fun Facts About Cyrus the Great

• Cyrus the Great is the only non-Jewish figure revered as messiah: the Book of Isaiah gives him the title for helping the Jews build a new Temple in Jerusalem.^[1]
• Thomas Jefferson owned two copies of Cyropaedia, Xenophon's book about Cyrus, one with substantial markings by Jefferson.^[1][3][4]
• Alexander the Great admired Cyrus from an early age. Finding Cyrus's tomb looted, he was horrified, put the Magi on trial and ordered the tomb restored.^[1][5][6]
• According to Plutarch, Cyrus's epitaph asked visitors not to begrudge him this bit of earth that covers my bones.^[1]
• At the Battle of Thymbra, Cyrus placed his camels in front of his troops. The Lydian horses, not used to the camels' smell, panicked, and the Lydian cavalry was routed.^[1]
• According to Herodotus, Cyrus's army took Babylon by diverting the Euphrates so the water dropped to thigh height, then marching in through the riverbed at night.^[1][7][8]
• Cyrus the Great was alive at the same time as Confucius — their lives overlapped for about 21 years (c. 551 BCE–530 BCE).^{[1][2][9][10]}
• Cyrus the Great lived to about 70, from c. 600 BCE until 530 BCE.^[1][2]

Cyrus II of Persia, commonly known as Cyrus the Great, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire. Hailing from Persis, he brought the Achaemenid dynasty to power by defeating the Median Empire and embracing all of the previous civilized states of the ancient Near East, expanding vastly across most of West Asia and much of Central Asia to create what would soon become the largest empire in history at the time. The Achaemenid Empire's greatest territorial extent was achieved under Darius the Great, whose rule stretched from Southeast Europe and Northeast Africa in the west to the Indus Valley in the east.^[1]

Contemporaries

Lao Tzu

41 yr overlap

Pythagoras

40 yr overlap

Aesop

36 yr overlap

Gautama Buddha

33 yr overlap

Sappho

30 yr overlap

Confucius

21 yr overlap

Sun Tzu

14 yr overlap

Leonidas I

10 yr overlap

Questions About Cyrus the Great

When was Cyrus the Great born?

Cyrus the Great was born about 600 BCE and died in 530 BCE.

How old was Cyrus the Great at death?

Cyrus the Great died in 530 BCE at about 70 years old (c. 600 BCE–530 BCE).

What was Cyrus the Great known for?

Cyrus the Great was known for: Founder of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. Cyrus II of Persia, commonly known as Cyrus the Great, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire. Hailing from Persis, he brought the Achaemenid dynasty to power by defeating the Median Empire and embracing all of the previous civilized states of the ancient Near East, expanding vastly across most of West Asia and much of Central Asia to create what would soon become the largest empire in history at the time. The Achaemenid Empire's greatest territorial extent was achieved under Darius the Great, whose rule stretched from Southeast Europe and Northeast Africa in the west to the Indus Valley in the east.

Who was alive at the same time as Cyrus the Great?

Cyrus the Great's closest contemporary was Lao Tzu. Their lives overlapped for 41 years.