On This Day In History: Cyrus The Great Entered Babylon And Allowed Jews To Return To Their Land

the Neo-Babylonian Empire fell to Cyrus the Great, king of Persia and it is said that Jews were allowed to return to their land.

According to 2 Chronicles 36 of the Hebrew Bible, Cyrus later issued a decree permitting captive people, including the Jews, to return to their own lands.

Text found on the Cyrus Cylinder has traditionally been seen by biblical scholars as an evidence of this policy and the Cyrus Cylinder, what it is believed to be the first historically documented declaration of human rights.

However, the interpretation is disputed because the text only identifies Mesopotamian sanctuaries but makes no mention of Jews, Jerusalem, or Judea.

The Declaration of Cyrus the Great, emphasizes on the removal of all racial, national discrimination and slavery, bestowing to the people, freedom to choose their places of residence, faith and religion and giving prominence to the perpetual peace amongst the nations.

Although some have asserted that the cylinder represents a form of human rights charter, historians generally portray it in the context of a long-standing Mesopotamian tradition of new rulers beginning their reigns with declarations of reforms.