Historical RecordUniversally Accepted ✓
The Cyrus Cylinder
What Was Written
A clay cylinder inscribed in Akkadian cuneiform, discovered in 1879 in the ruins of Babylon by Hormuzd Rassam on behalf of the British Museum. Composed after Cyrus the Great's conquest of Babylon in 539 BC, it records his policy of returning deported peoples to their homelands and restoring their sanctuaries — a policy consistent with the biblical account in Ezra 1:1-4 and Isaiah 44:28–45:13 of Cyrus's decree permitting Judean exiles to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple.
Acceptance Assessment
Universally Accepted
Authenticity and the general policy of repatriation are universally accepted; scholars debate how directly the cylinder's general language applies to the specific case of Judah.
