February 2, 2024
I ran has objected to plans by the British Museum to loan the Cyrus Cylinder, one of its most important antiquities, to a library in Jerusalem later this year.
According to the Tehran Times, Iran’s director general of museums, Hadi Mirzaei, has even threatened legal action against the London museum.
The basis for any legal action was not explained.
The British Museum started sending the cylinder to museums all around the world for exhibits of a few months each a dozen years ago. It was first sent to Tehran.
The cylinder is now on exhibit at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History in the “The British Museum plans to transfer the Cyrus Cylinder, currently on display in the United States, to the national library … in Jerusalem from October 4 to November 28 [2024],” says Mirzaei’s letter. “The transfer of this historical artifact, which holds global significance, will undoubtedly be inappropriate due to potential risks associated with it.”
He neglected to say what those “risks” were. The Cyrus Cylinder, a clay drum, dates from 539 BCE and has been described as the “first charter of human rights.” It records Cyrus the Great’s order for the humane treatment of the Babylonians after their conquest by the Persians. “The British Museum plans to transfer the Cyrus Cylinder, currently on display in the United States, to the national library … in Jerusalem from October 4 to November 28 [2024],” says Mirzaei’s letter. “The transfer of this historical artifact, which holds global significance, will undoubtedly be inappropriate due to potential risks associated with it.” He neglected to say what those “risks” were. The Cyrus Cylinder, a clay drum, dates from 539 BCE and has been described as the “first charter of human rights.” It records Cyrus the Great’s order for the humane treatment of the Babylonians after
