Cyrus the Great, Savior of the Jews

On the seventh of Aban, the day commemorating Cyrus the Great, the Achaemenid king, Jews say they are the only people who regard Cyrus the Great as their 'savior' and 'liberator.' The titles 'savior' and 'liberator' have been used by Jews exclusively for Cyrus the Great, and such descriptions have not been applied to any other prophets of the Jewish people or to Moses himself. In the Torah, the Hebrew word 'Mashiach,' meaning Messiah or promised savior, is used solely for Cyrus the Great; because Jewish prophets comforted their people during the Babylonian captivity by promising that a savior would come to free them from oppression and rebuild Jerusalem. In the book of Ezra in the Torah or Old Testament, it is stated that Cyrus saved the Jews from the land of bondage in Babylon, where they had been forcibly taken, and sent them back to their ancestral land in Jerusalem with a caravan of Achaemenid soldiers. The book of Ezra in the Old Testament regards Cyrus the Great as the hand of God on earth; in the sections of Isaiah and the book of Daniel in the Old Testament, Cyrus's name is also mentioned with great respect multiple times. Jews emphasize that Cyrus the Great, as a just and fair king, returned the precious items that had been looted from the treasury of the destroyed holy temple of the Jews by the conquering forces, and brought them back to ancient Jerusalem alongside a caravan of his own forces. With the reconstruction of the Jewish holy temple aided by Cyrus the Great, the looted treasury was restored. The ancient items that belonged to the Jewish treasury were looted by Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, during his attack on Jerusalem and taken to Babylon. The charter of Cyrus the Great, known as the first declaration of human freedom and holding historical value for all humanity, refers to the liberation and freedom of all nations and ethnicities in the lands under the rule of the Achaemenid Empire; this is why the charter of Cyrus the Great is also of great importance to Jews. It is said that Cyrus the Great's name is mentioned with great respect at least 23 times in the Old Testament. In other historical texts of the Jews, Cyrus the Great is frequently referenced as the liberator of the Jews and a just ruler who ended the long period of Jewish captivity in Babylon. However, Cyrus the Great is not the only king from ancient Iranian empires revered and praised by Jews. Historical texts also respect Darius as another Achaemenid king because, after Cyrus's death, Darius facilitated the completion of the reconstruction of the Jewish holy temple in Jerusalem. Jews also express gratitude towards Queen Esther, the Jewish wife of Ahasuerus, who successfully saved the Jews of the Persian Empire from the danger of being killed due to a plot by Haman, the then prime minister. Esther and Ahasuerus are still venerated today. Ahasuerus is referred to as 'Ahashverosh' in the scroll of Esther; throughout history, Jews have celebrated the festival of Purim annually to give thanks for this protection by the Achaemenid king during the celebrations known as Purim. The respect of Jews for the ancient land of Iran and appreciation for the Achaemenid kings is not merely a historical aspect or a religious attachment; it sometimes spills over into political discussions and the recent decades-long conflict between Jews and Palestinians over the land they both inhabit. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, recently stated in his latest speech at the United Nations General Assembly that Mahmoud Abbas should go and complain to international courts about Cyrus the Great and ancient Iran instead of complaining about Britain regarding the Balfour Declaration that led to the establishment of the state of Israel, because it was Cyrus who returned the exiled Jews to their ancient land of historical Israel and helped in the reconstruction of the Jewish holy temple. Netanyahu made these remarks after Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of the Palestinian Authority, announced on the eve of the centenary of the Balfour Declaration that Palestinians have launched a year-long campaign against this declaration aimed at suing Britain for its role in the establishment of the state of Israel. Shimon Peres, the former President of Israel, also stated two years before his death to the Telegraph that Cyrus was the first 'Zionist' in the world. Jews say that 'Zionists' are those who have contributed to the nationalism of the Jewish people. Despite the 37-year political conflict between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Israel, Jews in Iran, Israel, and the world emphasize that their reverence for the history of Iran and the Achaemenid kings remains intact.