Analyzing Cyrus Legitimacy In Marduk's Life

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When God Marduk killed Tiamat and became the god of Babylon, the idea of kingship and legitimacy grew, however, when Babylon was conquered by the Persian Empire, it was a start of the Achaemenids Empire to expand its power and rule from Babylon to Egypt and other parts of Asia. By then God Marduk wanted to find a new king for Babylon. In 539 BCE, Cyrus the great, the founder of the Achaemenids Empire, one of the biggest empire the world could ever see (WOTW). Cyrus became the king of Anshan with request of God Marduk as it is also written in his well-known cylinder, which is written in Semitic style of writing. This shows a positive link between Babylon and Persia because the Cyrus Cylinder was written in Semitic language. Cyrus wrote his success…show more content…
All great kings should be legitimate in order their rules to be extended. With such ideologies such as the “The great chain of being”, it shows below God there is a chosen king and below him his people. This hierarchy is what creates legitimacy, Marduk. He inspected and checked all the countries, seeking for the upright king of his choice. He took under his hand Cyrus, king of the city of Anshan, and called him by his name, proclaiming him aloud for the kingship over all of everything. This evidence makes Cyrus legitimate as an omnipotent being has announced him king of everything. Therefore, despite everything, from the beginning this foreshadows that Cyrus will be a great king as he was chosen. Furthermore, besides this he was technically also a usurper. Cyrus killed Nabondius, the former king. This is also an evidence to show that Cyrus was a legitimate king. Moreover, “all the people of Tintir, of all Sumer and Akkad, nobles and governors, bowed down before him and kissed his feet, rejoicing over his kingship and their faces shone.” This implies Cyrus’s legitimacy as in a democratic system he would have also been chosen to rule, because he was trusted. To interpret, Cyrus might have freed the slaves to go back to their countries and killed Nabondius to build a political relationship with the places he conquered because he wanted to reinforce his force and empire through communicating with his subjects relatively. To bolster this argument more, it also says that “the lord through whose trust all were rescued from death and who saved them all from distress and hardship, they blessed him sweetly and praised his name.” This sums up his legitimacy as he was blessed by god and by his people. Cyrus’s Cylinder might also have the purpose of conveying how societies could function a multicultural and multi-faith society on a large scale correctly. Therefore, it

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