 Dr. <unk> Farrokh in a paper entitled " The 300 Movie : Separating Fact from Fiction " notes that the film falsely portrays " the Greco @-@ Persian Wars in binary terms : the democratic , good , rational ' Us ' versus the tyrannical , evil and irrational , ' other ' of the ever @-@ nebulous ( if not exotic ) ' Persia ' " . He reminds the reader about three commonly accepted historical pieces of evidence that demonstrate the fundamental and essential contribution of the Achaemenid Empire to the creation of democracy and human rights . " The founder of the Achaemenid Empire , Cyrus the Great , was the world 's first world emperor to openly declare and guarantee the sanctity of human rights and individual freedom " , " Cyrus was a follower of the teachings of Zoroaster , the founder of one of the world 's oldest monotheistic religions " , and to put his own words in action " When Cyrus defeated King Nabonidus of Babylon , he officially declared the freedom of the Jews from their Babylonian captivity . This was the first time in history that a world power had guaranteed the survival of the Jewish people , religion , customs and culture . " 
