Emperor Cyrus II of Persia entered the city of Babylon in the year 539 B.C. He placed a cylinder under the walls of Babylon, following the customs of Babylonian tradition. In the 1970s, the Cyrus Cylinder was described as the world’s first charter of human rights. In fact, it was translated into all the official United Nations languages in 1971 and a replica of the cylinder is kept at the U.N. headquarters in New York City. Selected sections of the text have been interpreted as expressing Cyrus’ respect for humanity, and as promoting a form of religious tolerance and freedom. If only the Iranian government could adopt a similar attitude towards its largest religious minority group, the Bahais.

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