Cyrus the Great (c. 600-530 BCE) was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, one of the largest empires of the ancient world. Born into the Persian royal family, he rose to power by uniting Persian tribes and defeating the Medes, Lydia, and Babylon. Cyrus is noted for his innovative and humane governance, including respecting local customs and religions of conquered peoples. His policies are recorded on the Cyrus Cylinder, often considered the first charter of human rights. His administration model influenced future empires, and he is remembered as a just and visionary leader whose empire left a lasting impact on history.
Cyrus the Great Quotes
1. “Even if the skies were shorter than my knees, I would not kneel.”
— Cyrus the Great
2. “Whenever you can, act as a liberator. Freedom, dignity, wealth – these three together constitute the greatest happiness of humanity. If you bequeath all three to your people, their love for you will never die.”
— Cyrus the Great
3. “A man’s enjoyment of all good things is in exact proportion to the pains he has undergone to gain them.”
— Cyrus the Great
4. “Diversity in counsel, unity in command.”
— Cyrus the Great
5. “Success always calls for greater generosity – though most people, lost in the darkness of their own egos, treat it as an occasion for greater greed. Collecting boot is not an end itself, but only a means for building an empire. Riches would be of little use to us now – except as a means of winning new friends.”
— Cyrus the Great
6. “We love ourselves notwithstanding our faults, and we ought to love our friends in like manner.”
— Cyrus the Great
7. “Brevity is the soul of command. Too much talking suggests desperation on the part of the leader. Speak shortly, decisively and to the point–and couch your desires in such natural logic that no one can raise objections. Then move on.”
— Cyrus the Great
8. “All men have their frailties; and whoever looks for a friend without imperfections, will never find what he seeks.”
— Cyrus the Great
9. “O man, whoever you are and wherever you come from, for I know you will come, I am Cyrus who won the Persians their empire. Do not therefore begrudge me this bit of earth that covers my bones.”
— Cyrus the Great
10. “In my experience, men who respond to good fortune with modesty and kindness are harder to find than those who face adversity with courage.”
— Cyrus the Great
11. “You cannot be buried in obscurity: you are exposed upon a grand theater to the view of the world. If your actions are upright and benevolent, be assured they will augment your power and happiness.”
— Cyrus the Great
12. “I am Cyrus, king of the world.”
— Cyrus the Great
13. “Do not suppose, my dearest sons, that when I have left you I shall be nowhere and no one. Even when I was with you, you did not see my soul, but knew that it was in this body of mine from what I did. Believe then that it is still the same, even though you see it not.”
— Cyrus the Great
14. “May all the gods whom I settled in their sacred centers ask daily of Bêl and Nâbu that my days be long and may they intercede for my welfare. … The people of Babylon blessed my kingship, and I settled all the lands in peaceful abodes.”
— Cyrus the Great