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Dhul-Qarnayn and the Alexander Romance (view source)
Revision as of 08:03, 28 August 2024
, 28 August→Religious practices of Cyrus: Added further academic polytheistic references to Cyrus the Great - seemingly the main alternative choice for Dhul-Qarnayn amoung apologists.
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(→Early Islamic Scholars: Added in their death dates to show when they lived for context.) |
(→Religious practices of Cyrus: Added further academic polytheistic references to Cyrus the Great - seemingly the main alternative choice for Dhul-Qarnayn amoung apologists.) |
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====Religious practices of Cyrus==== | ====Religious practices of Cyrus==== | ||
There is some uncertainty about the personal religious beliefs of Cyrus, though he was widely praised for religious tolerance. Supporters of the Cyrus theory claim he followed Zoroastrianism, which they also claim is monotheistic. However, the Encyclopedia Iranica in its online article on Cyrus, in a section on his religious policies, notes the following:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/cyrus-iiI|title=CYRUS iii. Cyrus II The Great|publisher=Encyclopedia Iranica |website=iranicaonline.org}}</ref> | There is some uncertainty about the personal religious beliefs of Cyrus, though he was widely praised for religious tolerance. Supporters of the Cyrus theory claim he followed [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism], which they also claim is monotheistic (despite being hugely different to Islam), and he is remembered fondly by Jews in the bible ''(see the below: [[Dhul-Qarnayn and the Alexander Romance#Reference%20in%20the%20Bible|Dhul-Qarnayn and the Alexander Romance - Reference in the Bible]])''. However, the Encyclopedia Iranica in its online article on Cyrus, in a section on his religious policies, notes the following:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/cyrus-iiI|title=CYRUS iii. Cyrus II The Great|publisher=Encyclopedia Iranica |website=iranicaonline.org}}</ref> | ||
* Babylonian texts record that Cyrus "restored the statues of the Babylonian gods to their sanctuaries" | * Babylonian texts record that Cyrus "restored the statues of the Babylonian gods to their sanctuaries" | ||
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* On the Cyrus cylinder he claimed that the god Marduk had ordered him to become ruler of the whole world and to treat the Babylonians with justice | * On the Cyrus cylinder he claimed that the god Marduk had ordered him to become ruler of the whole world and to treat the Babylonians with justice | ||
* According to the same text, the idols that Nabonidus had brought to Babylon from various other Babylonian cities were reinstalled in their former sanctuaries, as were the statues of alien gods from Susa and the cities of northern Mesopotamia. The ruined temples of Babylonia, Elam, and what had been Assyria were reconstructed. | * According to the same text, the idols that Nabonidus had brought to Babylon from various other Babylonian cities were reinstalled in their former sanctuaries, as were the statues of alien gods from Susa and the cities of northern Mesopotamia. The ruined temples of Babylonia, Elam, and what had been Assyria were reconstructed. | ||
Touraj Daryaee (2013)<ref>Touraj Daryaee (2013) [https://www.academia.edu/108699173/Cyrus_the_Great_An_Ancient_Iranian_king ''Cyrus the Great: An Ancient Iranian king''] Chapter 2. The Region of Cyrus. pp. 25-44. Afshar Publications.</ref> similarly notes that Cyrus, in both the Babylonian (pagan) and Jewish texts, acts as a restorer of a chaotic situation, where the rightful god(s) and men are dissatisfied, while the unrighteous men are in charge... Cyrus is chosen by the god(s) and evokes the love of the god(s) of each city and people.<ref>Ibid. pp. 26.</ref> An Akkadian text from Babylon or Sippar, condemning the preceding ruler of Babylon, Nabounides, for his carelessness in regard to proper ceremonies and religious practices, states that “he (Cyrus) declared peace for them” and that he provided the proper sacrifices for the gods and even increased the amount for the sacrifice (Kuhrt 2007; 78).<ref>Ibid. pp. 27.</ref> In this way, Cyrus becomes the chosen instrument of the gods who have been neglected by the ill reputed ruler.<ref>Ibid. pp. 27-28.</ref> In a similar fashion, Cyrus is seen by the Jewish God as his supporter: “Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight” (Isaiah 42.1).<ref>Ibid. pp. 28.</ref> | |||
He also notes that the Cyrus Cylinder is the best example of presenting the conquering king as the restorer of Order and the harbinger of peace to an otherwise chaotic world. According to the cylinder, what had taken place before Cyrus was the forsaking of the New Year festival with its proper rituals, which caused much dissatisfaction, not only for men, but also for the gods. Of course, Marduk, the most important of the Mesopotamian gods, just like Yahweh, chose Cyrus to reinstate what had gone wrong.<ref>Ibid. pp. 30.</ref> Honoring other Gods would of course be among the worst forms of [https://www.britannica.com/topic/shirk shirk] and an unthinkable sin in Islam.<ref>[https://islamqa.info/en/answers/34817/what-is-shirk-and-its-types What Is Shirk and its types?] IslamQA. 2021.</ref> | |||
A translation of the Cyrus Cylinder by Irvin Finkel of the British Museum includes the following lines:{{Quote|Cyrus Cylinder translated by Irvin Finkel<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/article/166/the-cyrus-cylinder/ |title=The Cyrus Cylinder |last=Simonin |first=Antoine |publisher=worldhistory.org |date=2012 |website=worldhistory.org}}</ref>|"Marduk, the great lord, rejoiced at [my good] deeds [...] From [Shuanna] I sent back to their places to the city of Ashur and Susa, | |||
Akkad, the land of Eshnunna, the city of Zamban, the city of Meturnu, Der, as far as the border of the land of Guti - the sanctuaries across the river Tigris - whose shrines had earlier become dilapidated, the gods who lived therein, and made permanent sanctuaries for them. [...] I collected together all of their people and returned them to their settlements, and the gods of the land of Sumer and Akkad which Nabonidus – to the fury of the lord of the gods – had brought into Shuanna, at the command of Marduk, the great lord, I returned them unharmed to their cells, in the sanctuaries that make them happy. May all the gods that I returned to their sanctuaries, every day before Bel and Nabu, ask for a long life for me, and mention my good deeds, and say to Marduk, my lord, this: 'Cyrus, the king who fears you [...] May Marduk, the great lord, present to me as a gift a long life and the fullness of age"}} | Akkad, the land of Eshnunna, the city of Zamban, the city of Meturnu, Der, as far as the border of the land of Guti - the sanctuaries across the river Tigris - whose shrines had earlier become dilapidated, the gods who lived therein, and made permanent sanctuaries for them. [...] I collected together all of their people and returned them to their settlements, and the gods of the land of Sumer and Akkad which Nabonidus – to the fury of the lord of the gods – had brought into Shuanna, at the command of Marduk, the great lord, I returned them unharmed to their cells, in the sanctuaries that make them happy. May all the gods that I returned to their sanctuaries, every day before Bel and Nabu, ask for a long life for me, and mention my good deeds, and say to Marduk, my lord, this: 'Cyrus, the king who fears you [...] May Marduk, the great lord, present to me as a gift a long life and the fullness of age"}} | ||