History UsefulNotes / CyrusTheGreat

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: Literature/TheBible loves Cyrus for letting the Jews return back to the Promised Land. Thus he's the only Gentile called "anointed" i.e. "messiah".

-> ''In scope and extent his achievements ranked far above that of the Macedonian king, UsefulNotes/{{Alexander|TheGreat}} who was to demolish the empire in the 320's but fail to provide any stable alternative.''

* Creator/{{Xenophon}}'s ''The Education of Cyrus'' is a [[VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory highly fictionalized]] account of the education and exploits of Cyrus the Great and the establishment of the Achaemenid Empire. Deliberately written as a "mirror of princes" to guide the proper education of wise and just rulers, Xenophon basically used Cyrus and his career as a canvas on which to paint his pragmatic picture of the [[UsefulNotes/{{Socrates}} Socratic]] philosopher-king.

--> ''In scope and extent his achievements ranked far above that of the Macedonian king, UsefulNotes/{{Alexander|TheGreat}} who was to demolish the empire in the 320's but fail to provide any stable alternative.''

Cyrus (Persian: Kourosh, circa 600 – circa 530 BC) was one of the most famous rulers in history. He was born a prince of a recently-settled Iranian tribe, the Persians. According to a legend (familiar in biographies of conquerors) the previous king, at Cyrus' birth, heard in a dream that Cyrus was destined to seize his kingdom, whereupon the King ordered him abandoned. He was found by a herdsmen and raised as a son. Eventually. he proved himself as a warrior and came back to avenge himself. The more probable version of his story is that he was a vassal of the Medes, another Iranian tribe, and in a series of campaigns made himself king of both the Medes and the Persians. From there he began a life of conquest that spread until he had the largest and perhaps most successful empire yet created in the world, UsefulNotes/TheAchaemenidEmpire.

One of the most notable things about Cyrus was not just his skill as a warrior, but his skill as a politician. Previous conquerors had ruled by fear alone. Cyrus grasped the fact that if he was magnanimous and made enough PetTheDog gestures to his new subjects he would win their [[HappinessInSlavery willing submission]] from comparison with the probable alternatives. In essence he conquered as much through bribery as through war. It would probably be overly cynical to say that this was all PragmaticVillainy. Being a gracious conqueror (by comparison) seems to have fit his personality so well that there was some truth to it. Among the most famous of his gestures was encouraging the resettlement of the Jews in exile in Babylon. This got him a curious place in Literature/TheBible as the only Gentile prince to be specifically named as a [[TheChosenOne deliverer of Israel]].

!!Tropes as portrayed in fiction:

* [[YouKilledMyFather You Killed My Son]]: According to Creator/{{Herodotus}} (who admittedly liked a good yarn) a prince Cyrus was fighting against had on a whim forced one of his nobles to eat his own son. This noble for some odd reason happened to be in command of a large part of the army on the day of battle and refused to fight, leaving Cyrus with the victory. If this story is true it is a clinical example of StupidEvil. This could also apply to his troops capturing Queen Tomryis' son being the cause for his killing himself in shame, which then led to Tomyris going all-out savage on him and his army.

"Success always calls for greater generosity--though most people, lost in the darkness of their own egos, treat it as an occasion for greater greed. Collecting boot [is] not an end itself, but only a means for building [an] empire. Riches would be of little use to us now--except as a means of winning new friends." &
"When I became rich, I realized that no kindness between man and man comes more naturally than sharing food and drink, especially food and drink of the ambrosial excellence that I could now provide. Accordingly, I arranged that my table be spread everyday for many invitees, all of whom would dine on the same excellent food as myself. After my guests and I were finished, I would send out any extra food to my absent friends, in token of my esteem." as well as
"There is a deep--and usually frustrated--desire in the heart of everyone to act with benevolence rather than selfishness, and one fine instance of generosity can inspire dozens more. Thus I established a stately court where all my friends showed respect to each other and cultivated courtesy until it bloomed into perfect harmony."
* TrueCompanions: How Cyrus seemed to view and talk about his friends [When asked how he planned to dress for a celebration] "If I can only do well by my friends, I'll look glorious enough in whatever clothes I wear."

"Success always calls for greater generosity--though most people, lost in the darkness of their own egos, treat it as an occasion for greater greed. Collecting boot [is] not an end itself, but only a means for building [an] empire. Riches would be of little use to us now--except as a means of winning new friends."
"When I became rich, I realized that no kindness between man and man comes more naturally than sharing food and drink, especially food and drink of the ambrosial excellence that I could now provide. Accordingly, I arranged that my table be spread everyday for many invitees, all of whom would dine on the same excellent food as myself. After my guests and I were finished, I would send out any extra food to my absent friends, in token of my esteem."

* TheParagon: Just look at some of these quotes that informed his leadership style. "Success always calls for greater generosity--though most people, lost in the darkness of their own egos, treat it as an occasion for greater greed. Collecting boot [is] not an end itself, but only a means for building [an] empire. Riches would be of little use to us now--except as a means of winning new friends." & "When I became rich, I realized that no kindness between man and man comes more naturally than sharing food and drink, especially food and drink of the ambrosial excellence that I could now provide. Accordingly, I arranged that my table be spread everyday for many invitees, all of whom would dine on the same excellent food as myself. After my guests and I were finished, I would send out any extra food to my absent friends, in token of my esteem." As well as "There is a deep--and usually frustrated--desire in the heart of everyone to act with benevolence rather than selfishness, and one fine instance of generosity can inspire dozens more. Thus I established a stately court where all my friends showed respect to each other and cultivated courtesy until it bloomed into perfect harmony."

Cyrus (Persian: Kourosh, circa 600 – circa 530 BC) was one of the most famous rulers in history. He was born a prince of a recently-settled Iranian tribe, the Persians. According to a legend (familiar in biographies of conquerors) the previous king, at Cyrus' birth, heard in a dream that Cyrus was destined to seize his kingdom, whereupon the King ordered him abandoned. He was found by a herdsmen and raised as a son. Eventually. he proved himself as a warrior and came back to avenge himself. The more probable version of his story is that he was a vassal of the Medes, another Iranian tribe, and in a series of campaigns made himself king of both the Medes and the Persians. From there he began a life of conquest that spread until he had the largest and perhaps most successful empire yet created in the world.

* [[YouKilledMyFather You Killed My Son]]: According to Creator/{{Herodotus}} (who admittedly liked a good yarn) a prince Cyrus was fighting against had on a whim forced one of his nobles to eat his own son. This noble for [[WhatAnIdiot some odd reason]] happened to be in command of a large part of the army on the day of battle and refused to fight, leaving Cyrus with the victory. If this story is true it is a clinical example of StupidEvil. This could also apply to his troops capturing Queen Tomryis' son being the cause for his killing himself in shame, which then led to Tomyris going all-out savage on him and his army.

One of the most notable things about Cyrus was not just his skill as a warrior, but his skill as a politician. Previous conquerors had ruled by fear alone. Cyrus grasped the fact that if he was magnanimous and made enough PetTheDog gestures to his new subjects he would win their [[HappinessInSlavery willing submission]] from comparison with the probable alternatives. In essence he conquered as much through bribery as through war. It would probably be overly cynical to say that this was all PragmaticVillainy. Being a gracious conqueror (by comparison) seems to have fit his personality so well that there was some truth to it. In essence, while he was a bastard, he was a [[MagnificentBastard magnificent one]]. Among the most famous of his gestures was encouraging the resettlement of the Jews in exile in Babylon. This got him a curious place in Literature/TheBible as the only Gentile prince to be specifically named as a [[TheChosenOne deliverer of Israel]].

Cyrus (Persian: Kourosh) was one of the most famous rulers in history. He was born a prince of a recently-settled Iranian tribe, the Persians. According to a legend (familiar in biographies of conquerors) the previous king, at Cyrus' birth, heard in a dream that Cyrus was destined to seize his kingdom, whereupon the King ordered him abandoned. He was found by a herdsmen and raised as a son. Eventually. he proved himself as a warrior and came back to avenge himself. The more probable version of his story is that he was a vassal of the Medes, another Iranian tribe, and in a series of campaigns made himself king of both the Medes and the Persians. From there he began a life of conquest that spread until he had the largest and perhaps most successful empire yet created in the world.

One of the most notable things about Cyrus was not just his skill as a warrior, but his skill as a politician. Previous conquerors had ruled by fear alone. Cyrus grasped the fact that if he was magnanimous and made enough PetTheDog gestures to his new subjects he would win their [[HappinessInSlavery willing submission]] from comparison with the probable alternatives. In essence he conquered as much through bribery as through war. It would probably be overly cynical to say that this was all PragmaticVillainy. Being a gracious conqueror (by comparison) seems to have fit his personality so well that there was some truth to it. In essence, while he was a bastard, he was a [[MagnificentBastard magnificent one]]. Among the most famous of his gestures was encouraging the resettlement of the Jews in exile in Babylon. This got him a curious place in Literature/TheBible as the only Gentile prince to be specifically named as a [[TheChosenOne deliverer of Israel]]. He's also notable for having freed nearly all slaves in the Persian Empire, at a time when slavery served as the basis of most empires.

One of the most notable things about Cyrus was not just his skill as a warrior, but his skill as a politician. Previous conquerors had ruled by fear alone. Cyrus grasped the fact that if he was magnanimous and made enough PetTheDog gestures to his new subjects he would win their [[HappinessInSlavery willing submission]] from comparison with the probable alternatives. In essence he conquered as much through bribery as through war. It would probably be overly cynical to say that this was all PragmaticVillainy. Being a gracious conqueror(by comparison) seems to have fit his personality so well that there was some truth to it. In essence, while he was a bastard, he was a [[MagnificentBastard magnificent one]]. Among the most famous of his gestures was encouraging the resettlement of the Jews in exile in Babylon. This got him a curious place in Literature/TheBible as the only Gentile prince to be specifically named as a [[TheChosenOne deliverer of Israel]].

* [[YouKilledMyFather You Killed My Son]]: According to Creator/{{Herodotus}} (who admittedly liked a good yarn) a prince Cyrus was fighting against had on a whim forced one of his nobles to eat his own son. This noble for [[WhatAnIdiot some odd reason]] happened to be in command of a large part of the army on the day of battle and refused to fight, leaving Cyrus with the victory. If this story is true it is a clinical example of StupidEvil.

One of the most notable things about Cyrus was not just his skill as a warrior, but his skill as a politician. Previous conquerors had ruled by fear alone. Cyrus grasped the fact that if he was magnanimous and made enough PetTheDog gestures to his new subjects he would win their [[HappinessInSlavery willing submission]] from comparison with the probable alternatives. In essence he conquered as much through bribery as through war. It would probably be overly cynical to say that this was all PragmaticVillainy. Being a gracious conqueror(by comparison) seems to have fit his personality so well that there was some truth to it. In essence, while he was a bastard, he was a [[MagnificentBastard magnificent one]]. Among the most famous of his gestures was encouraging the resettlement of the Jews in exile in Babylon. This got him a curious place in Literature/TheBible as the only gentile prince to be specifically named as a [[TheChosenOne deliverer of Israel]].

--> ''In scope and extent his achievements ranked far above that of the Macedonian king, {{Alexander|TheGreat}} who was to demolish the empire in the 320's but fail to provide any stable alternative.''

----

!! Tropes associated with Kurosh a.k.a. Cyrus the Great:

* AsskickingEqualsAuthority
* BadassBookworm: He began the organization of Persia's system of rule with satraps and an intricate network of messengers.
* TheConqueror
* {{Courier}}: Persian couriers were famous. It is from them that the US Postal Service gets the famous [[BadassCreed Creed]] "Neither rain, nor wind, nor snow, nor hail..."
* CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming: Sparing Croesus' life.
* DependingOnTheWriter: Historians have been bickering about the man and his reign for millennia. Of note is his death: In addition to the account of Herodotus below, Ctesias wrote that Cyrus died in a campaign against rebellious tribes in the northern Iranian Plateau, and Xenophon wrote that he died peacefully in his palace.
* DueToTheDead: It is said that when UsefulNotes/AlexanderTheGreat came to Cyrus' tomb he read the inscription, "Whoso thou art that cometh (for come I know thou must). And whence thou comest from. I am Cyrus, King of the Persians. Grudge me not what little earth remains."
* [[FairForItsDay Fair For His Day]]: Because he had hit upon the secret that pragmatic generosity won submission and sometimes loyalty he was a more pleasant ruler than the Babylonians, let alone the Assyrians.
* FounderOfTheKingdom

* [[TheEmperor The Great King]]
* HappilyMarried: With his wife, Cassandane.

* ItIsPronouncedTroPAY: In Old Persian, his name would be pronounced "Kurush" and in modern Persian the name is "Kurosh."
* MagneticHero
* MagnificentBastard
* NobleSavage: Whether acting or real or a mixture of both, he played this role well, knowing how to act like the steppe peoples idea of what a real {{Badass}} warlord should be: he could act [[HonorBeforeReason honorable]] , dispense SacredHospitality with style, and fight well. And yes he could be "savage" as well as "noble" at times.
** He also knew how to change roles and act like a Babylonian GodEmperor with a splendid display of ErmineCapeEffect. He was enough of a politician to be flexible.
* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: And he played this role remarkably well.
* RagsToRoyalty: Well, petty local chief to emperor, anyway.
* SecretUndergroundPassage: During the siege of Babylon he created one by diverting the river.
* ShoutOut: When UsefulNotes/HarryTruman met a number of Zionist leaders he claimed credit for his part in assisting their cause by saying, "I am Cyrus, I am Cyrus, I am Cyrus."
* TakeOverTheWorld
* UnderestimatingBadassery: While he was busy conquering Ionia, some emissaries came to him and told him that if he did not slow down he would have [[{{Foreshadowing}} Sparta]] to answer to. Cyrus' army had gone farther then his intel reports, and so he turned to an aide and asked "Who are the Spartans?"
** Rather it's inverted, since Cyrus being from all the way in the Middle East would have never even heard of the Spartans, it's more of a case of SmallNameBigEgo on the Spartan's part, since they are a mere city-state while Cyrus is an Empire.
* WarriorPrince
* WorthyOpponent: Cyrus was a Persian that was actually admired by Greeks.

** This also worked against him. Cyrus killed the prince of the Massagetae in battle, and his enraged mother, Queen Tomyris (queen regnant, not the king's wife), took command of the army and defeated Cyrus, who was killed in the battle. Herodotus goes on to say that
Tomyris beheaded and crucified Cyrus' corpse, and threw his head in a sack full of blood to "quench his thirst for blood."
** It's should be noted that Herodotus is Greek and would be bit of an UnreliableNarrator. Some say that Cyrus died in a random battle or even died peacefully in his castle.
* YoungConqueror: He was this. Unlike UsefulNotes/AlexanderTheGreat, he was a good ruler of what he conquered.

Not to be confused with [[Film/ConAir Cyrus The Virus]].

** This also worked against him. Cyrus killed the prince of the Massagetae in battle, and his enraged mother, Queen Tomyris (queen regnant, not the king's wife), took command of the army and defeated Cyrus, who was killed in the battle. Herodotus goes on to say that Tomyris beheaded and crucified Cyrus' corpse, and threw his head in a sack full of blood to "quench his thirst for blood."

* DueToTheDead: It is said that when AlexanderTheGreat came to Cyrus' tomb he read the inscription, "Whoso thou art that cometh (for come I know thou must). And whence thou comest from. I am Cyrus, King of the Persians. Grudge me not what little earth remains."

* YoungConqueror: He was this. Unlike AlexanderTheGreat, he was a good ruler of what he conquered.

* [[YouKilledMyFather You Killed My Son]]: According to Creator/{{Herodotus}} (who admittedly [[UnreliableNarrator liked a good yarn]]) a prince Cyrus was fighting against had on a whim forced one of his nobles to eat his own son. This noble for [[WhatAnIdiot some odd reason]] happened to be in command of a large part of the army on the day of battle and refused to fight, leaving Cyrus with the victory. If this story is true it is a clinical example of StupidEvil.

* DueToTheDead: It is said that when AlexanderTheGreat came to Cyrus' tomb he read the inscription, "Whoso thou art that cometh(for come I know thou must). And whence thou comest from. I am Cyrus, King of the Persians. Grudge me not what little earth remains."

* [[YouKilledMyFather You Killed My Son]]: According to Creator/{{Herodotus}} (who admittedly [[UnreliableNarrator liked a good yarn]]) a prince Cyrus was fighting against had [[TheCaligula on a whim]] forced one of his nobles to eat his own son. This noble for [[WhatAnIdiot some odd reason]] happened to be in command of a large part of the army on the day of battle and refused to fight, leaving Cyrus with the victory. If this story is true it is a clinical example of StupidEvil.

* ShoutOut: When HarryTruman met a number of Zionist leaders he claimed credit for his part in assisting their cause by saying, "I am Cyrus, I am Cyrus, I am Cyrus."