The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1879-12-12
CYRUS, FAMILY TREE.
A Cylinder that Tells the Story Of
Babyion's Conqueror.
ILondon rimes1

tLpnuOn IlneSl
On Monday the Royal Asiatic Society
met for the first time after the recess.
Sir Henry c. Rawlinson was in the chair,
and read an important paper on "a New
Undiscovered Cylinder of Cyrus the
Great" which he described as the most
interesting historical record in the cunei-
form character as yet brought to light.
II is in the Babylonian scrip, as was to
have been expected from its having been
discovered among the ruins Of the Birs
Nimroud, the acknowledged site of the
ancient Borsippa, of which city, as Sir
Henry Rawlinson remarked, it was the
more surprising that it mikes no men,
ton. The cylinder SHINE inches long by
three and half inches in diameter, and
must originally have been covered with
fortv-five lines of text The writing is
very minute, and it is computed that the
inscription would run to about one hun
dred and thirty lines Of the average
length.
Unfortunately, the monument is very
badly injured, and the beginning is
wholly lost, with the exception of few
scattered signs. When it does begin to
be legible it is found to relate to the
very moment of that great historical
event, the capture of Babylon by the
founder of the Persian Universal Mon
archy. Nabonidus has abandoned his
capital, which has fallen into the hands
of Cyrus, though he is still struggling
against his fate in Babylonia. But the
worshipers of the rising sun de-
clare that the gods have rejected him
for his impiety and for his scandalous
neglect of their temples. On the other
hand, they extol the piety and the great
ness and glory of Cyrus, whom the
heavenly powers have raised up to
avenge their cause. q
The Guti, whose overthrow Sir Henry
Rawlinson thinks was involved in that of
the Medes, and a people whose name is
taken to be equivalent to Blackheads, re-
minding us Of the negroes, are described
as his subjects, and the god Merodach
has delivered King Nabonidus into his
hands. OF Brlshazzar no mention is dis
coverable, although it is conceivable that
this may be due to the many and serious
gaps in the inscription. The long intro
duction is followed by what purports to
be tue text of proclamation issued by
Cyrus upon the taking Of the city, aud
in which the King repeats in the first
person the principrl allegations of the
preamble. 1t is partly mutilated, but
the beginning, II am Cyrus" with his
genea|ogy in full, and his description of
himself as "King of Gyndia," &C., can be
pretty clearly made out. and Sir Henry
gave translation of all that is legible.
Cyrus is made to speak of his reparation
OF the temples of Babylon and of the
favors conferred upon him by Merodach,
Bel and Nebo, in answer to his prayers to
them, of the homage paid him by distant
nations, and of the gatherings of people
in the city to acclaim him King.
The last ten lines are lille lible. Sir
Henry r Wilkinson said this new text set
tied forever in favor of Herodotus as
against Ctesias Tin Diodorus) the geneal-
ogy of Cyrus. He was fifth in descent
from Achemenes next to whom came
Teispes, then Cyrus the grandfather, and
Cainbyses, the father of Cyrus the Great.
Moreover, the succession was direct, not
indirect, as Professor Oppert had main
tanned. The inscription styles the native
country of the Per>ians Assam" which
Sir Henry Rawlinson gave reasons for
locating in the plains between the mod
ern Shaster and the Persis Of the class
ical writer's. He gaVe An interest ing ac-
count of the great temples of Baby lon.
An important religious center named
Calana in the inscription he illustrated
by reference to the Calneah of Genes S
and the Calno of Isaiah. The great diff
fculty, he said, in the inscription was
the transformation of the royal zealot of
Aurumazda in a devotee of the Baby
lonian gods.