In the modern era, people track the origin of human rights back to 1948 and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. But the real history of human rights is much more extensive than that.
King Cyrus the Great from Persia (600-530 BC) was one notable historical figure who perhaps paved the way to some form of human rights. He freed the slaves, allowed freedom of religion, and adopted racial equality in his kingdom.
In England around 1215 CE, a group of noblemen forced King John to adopt a document called the Magna Carta Libertatum, thus establishing some rights that even the king couldn’t violate. This document today represents the foundation for democracy and human rights in the United Kingdom’s legal system.
It’s interesting to consider that the concept of human rights has ancient roots, but its modern adaptation only came into being with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.