World's oldest human rights charter returns to Iran on loan

guardian.co.uk

Cyrus cylinder, world's oldest human rights charter, returns to Iran on loan

Deal agreed after Tehran threatens to cut cultural ties with British Museum

A Babylonian artefact sometimes described as the world's first human rights charter is to go on display in Iran after Tehran threatened to cut ties with the British Museum if it did not lend the object.

The Cyrus cylinder is a 6th century BC clay object inscribed with an account in cuneiform of the conquest of Babylon by the Persian king Cyrus the Great. It arrived in Iran today and will go on display soon at Iran's national museum for four months, state TV reported.

Iran said it was in a dispute with the British Museum for months over its request for a loan of the object and had repeatedly threatened to cut ties with the institution. At one point, a senior Iranian cultural official accused the museum of turning a cultural issue into a political issue.

The loan discussions, which began last October, took place during a time of tension between the two countries. Tehran is under pressure from the west over its nuclear programme, and it has accused Britain and other foreign governments of interfering in its domestic policies by stoking the street protests that followed the disputed presidential election in June 2009.

The British Museum said it acted in good faith throughout the negotiations and has a policy of cultural exchanges with other nations independent of political considerations.

The object's inscription describes how Cyrus conquered Babylon in 539BC and captured the last Babylonian king. It also tells of how he then freed many people held captive by the Babylonians and arranged for them to return to their homelands. It does not mention the Jews brought to Babylon as slaves by Nebuchadnezzar, but their freedom was also part of that policy.

State TV said a delegation from the British Museum accompanied the artefact and another British expert would soon arrive to arrange its display.

The Cyrus cylinder is often called the world's oldest human rights document, but it was common in Mesopotamia for kings to begin their rule with such reform declarations, according to the British Museum.