Ancient Persian ruler whose tomb was being used by shepherds before European archaeologists arrived, symbolizing Iranians' disconnection from pre-Islamic history
"Before European archeologists arrived and started excavating, Iranians knew practically nothing about their pre-islamic history. the tomb of Cyrus the great was famously being used by sheppards. It has created a confused people. They glorify a long dead civilisation that culturally they inherited no"
"Allowed slaves to return to their homelands, let people worship whoever they wanted, created the Royal Road to promote trade, protected its subjects from bandits and warfare, allowed local elites to rule as long as they pledged their allegiance (the Jews even called Cyrus the Great a messiah)."