Tuesday, October 14, 2025
Why Trump Is Compared to Cyrus II
Nadene Goldfoot
Israelis have likened Donald Trump to the ancient Persian ruler Cyrus the Great, celebrating him as a modern-day liberator who, like Cyrus who ended the Jewish exile in Babylon, has restored Israel's fortunes through his decisive actions.
Cyrus II was a King of Persia; b: abt 600 BCE and died in 529 BCE. Hailing from Persis, he brought the Achaemenid dynasty to power by defeating the Median Empire and embracing all of the previous civilized states of the ancient Near East, expanding vastly across most of West Asia and much of Central Asia to create what would soon become the largest empire in history at the time. The Achaemenid Empire's greatest territorial extent was achieved under Darius the Great, whose rule stretched from Southeast Europe in the west to the Indus Valley in the east.
The Medes were an Iron Age Iranian people who spoke the Median language and who inhabited an area known as Media between western and northern Iran. Around the 11th century BCE, they occupied the mountainous region of northwestern Iran and the northeastern and eastern region of Mesopotamia in the vicinity of Ecbatana.
Darius the Great was a king of ancient Persia with Darius I reigning from 522-486 BCE who had inherited the throne of Cyrus.
At the beginning of his reign, he permitted Zerubbabel and the Jews who had returned to Jerusalem to resume reconstruction of the Temple. Darius has been thought to be connected to Queen Esther and her story, possibly a son or grandson.
Now he had subjects that included Judea and pursued an enlightened policy towards his subject peoples.
In 538 BCE he granted permission to the exiles of Judah in Babylon to return to their homeland and rebuild the Temple. (Ezra 1:1-44; II Chron. 36:22-23).
The Jewish exiles regarded Cyrus as a Divine agent. (Is.44:28; 45:I).
Cyrus was also called Cyrus the Great. Cyrus the Great was the founder of the Achaemenid Persian Empire in 550 BCE, creating the largest empire the world had yet seen through military conquest and a policy of respect for diverse cultures and religions. He overthrew the Median Empire and unified various states into the Achaemenid dynasty, creating an empire that stretched from parts of modern-day Iran to Asia Minor and Egypt.
He is remembered for his tolerant rule, his liberation of the Jewish people from Babylonian captivity in 539 BCE, and his administrative innovations like the Royal Roads. Cyrus was also called the King of the Four Corners of the World.
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