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ID: 157834

Many deaths of cyrus the great / Beckman, Daniel

Beckman, Daniel	Journal Article
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This article uses narratives of the death of Cyrus the Great as a test case in order to examine the use of propaganda in the Achaemenid empire. By comparing the accounts found in Herodotus, Ctesias, and Xenophon, it is shown that these Greek historians have captured propagandistic messages created in the courts of contemporary Achaemenid kings. While the Greek works were very much the product of their authors’ literary imagination, nevertheless they preserved substantial evidence about the role of propaganda during the Achaemenid period.

Key Words

Cyrus the Great ; Achaemenid Period

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ID: 141268

Religious appropriation of national symbols in Iran: searching for Cyrus the great / Merhavy, Menahem

Merhavy, Menahem	Article
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Summary/Abstract

In this article I examine the debate over the character of Cyrus the Great in Iran during the last four decades, using it as a prism to view the struggle over the desired balance between religious and ethnic components of Iranian identity. Heated polemics over the historical figure of Cyrus and his legacy reveal undercurrents of Iranian identity dilemmas as well as different and conflicting views of Iranian identity. Beyond a mere historical or religious controversy, the debate over the “right” memory of Cyrus presents an interesting case of shifting emphasis on identity and sources of political inspiration in Iranian society from the late 1960s to the present. Moreover, putting the debate over the ancient king in perspective, there emerges a wider picture of religious adaptation and embrace of what once seemed pagan or secular.

Key Words

Iran ; National Symbols ; Iranian Identity ; Religious Appropriation ; Cyrus the Great ; Religious and Ethnic Components

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