propaganda" that "reflects a long tradition in Mesopotamia where, from as early as the third millennium BC, kings began their reigns with declarations of reforms." The cylinder emphasizes Cyrus's continuity with previous Babylonian rulers, asserting his virtue as a traditional Babylonian king while denigrating his predecessor. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, has stated that the cylinder was "the first attempt we know about running a society, a state with different nationalities and faiths – a new kind of statecraft." He explained that "It has even been described as the first declaration of human rights, and while this was never the intention of the document – the modern concept of human rights scarcely existed in the ancient world – it has come to embody the hopes and aspirations of many." Titles His regal titles in full were The Great King, King of Persia, King of Anshan, King of Media, King of Babylon, King of Sumer and Akkad, and King of the Four Corners of the World. The Nabonidus Chronicle notes the change in his title from "King of Anshan" to "King of Persia". Assyriologist François Vallat wrote that "When Astyages marched against Cyrus, Cyrus is called 'King of Anshan", but when Cyrus crosses the Tigris on his way to Lydia, he is 'King of Persia.' The coup therefore took place between these two events." Family tree See also Kay Bahman List of biblical figures identified in extra-biblical sources List of people known as the Great 2016 Cyrus the Great Revolt Notes References Bibliography Ancient sources The Nabonidus Chronicle of the Babylonian Chronicles The Verse account of Nabonidus The Prayer of Nabonidus (one of the Dead Sea scrolls) The Cyrus Cylinder Herodotus (The Histories) Ctesias (Persica) The biblical books of Isaiah, Daniel, Ezra and Nehemiah Flavius Josephus (Antiquities of the Jews) Thucydides (History of the Peloponnesian War) Plato (Laws (dialogue)) Xenophon (Cyropaedia) Quintus Curtius Rufus (Library of World History) Plutarchos (Plutarch's Lives) Fragments of Nicolaus of Damascus Arrian (Anabasis Alexandri) Polyaenus (Stratagems in War) Justin (Epitome of the Philippic History of Pompeius Trogus ) Polybius (The Histories (Polybius)) Diodorus Siculus (Bibliotheca historica) Athenaeus (Deipnosophistae) Strabo (History) Quran (Dhul-Qarnayn, Al-Kahf) Modern sources Church, Alfred J. (1881). Stories of the East From Herodotus. London: Seeley, Jackson & Halliday. Frye, Richard N. (1962). The Heritage of Persia. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. Moorey, P.R.S. (1991). The Biblical Lands, VI. New York: Peter Bedrick Books