Cyrus the Great as a “King of the City of Anshan”

Abstract

In the famous inscription of the Cylinder of Cyrus the Great composed after thefallofBabylonin539BC,thefounderofthePersianempireisreferredtoas “king of the city of Anshan” and is made to indicate that this title was equally borne by his ancestors, Cambyses, Cyrus andTeispes.Referencetothevenerable–butnonethelessElamiteandtoallappearances nolongerpoliticallyimportantatthetime–cityofAnshaninCyrus’royalfami- lytitularyhastriggeredmuchscholarlydiscussion.Itiscurrentlythoughtthat thereferencestoCyrus’dynasticassociationwithAnshanmightacknowledge somesenseofanElamiteaffinityonthepartofCyrus’royalline.Thepresentstudyarguesthatthetitle“kingofthecityofAnshan”ofCyrus and his forebears was meant to accommodate traditional perceptions of “le- gitimate kingship” within a native Mesopotamian/Elamite environment and cannot be used as evidence for an Elamite affiliation of Cyrus’ dynasticline.