I have a new historical hero. Cyrus
the Great by all appearances seems to be a pretty good guy. He was the king of
the humongous Persian Empire and tons of power at his fingertips and yet he
allowed the scattered religions to regroup after the terror of Babylonian rule
and worship in “the place that makes them happy.” (hehe I like that translation
J )In the Old Testament
he is praised up and down for not only allowing the Jews to return to Jerusalem
but also funding the rebuilding of the temple. I’ve been doing some reading
about a Persian cylinder found with a decree from Cyrus allowing peoples to
return from their exile and also legitimizes his own rule. It’s likely that it
was used for propaganda purposes and yet it seems to also have some measure of
truth to it because the Jews were
able to return to build their temple. I wish I could read a journal written by
Cyrus the King of Persia, I wonder if I would find one of the first examples of
benevolence alongside extreme wealth and corruption absent from ultimate power.
LOOK! LOOK! I GOT A LETTER! Plus a picture of my Dustin! :D This has got to be the best letter I've ever read in my entire life.
Whoever that studly man is on my desktop could you please stop distracting me, I'm trying to do my homework ;)
