Cyrus the Great, founder of the Persian Empire, He united the majority of the ancient Middle East into a single state extending from India to the Mediterranean Sea.

Cyrus the Great (Kurush in Persian, Kouros in Greek) was born about 580 BC in Persis, Iran. About 558 BC, Cyrus succeeded his father Cambyses I as King of the Persian.
Cyrus conquered the Lydian Empire in Asia Minor, which was ruled by King Croesus, a wealthy man. By 546 BC Cyrus had conquered the Lydian Empire and Croesus became his prisoner. After several campaigns, Cyrus conquered eastern Iran and incorporated it into his empire.
In 539 BC Babylon surrendered to Cyrus without going to battle. The Babylonian Empire included Syria and Palestine. Cyrus as a humane ruler. In 586 BC, when the Babylonians conquered Judea, they deported the majority of the population to Babylon. In 537, after Cyrus conquered Babylonia, he allowed the Jews to return to Palestine.
The Jews regarded him as “the annointed of the Lord.” In “The Kurash Prism,” Cyrus says,
“When I entered Babilani as a friend and when I established the seat of the government in the palace of the ruler under jubilation and rejoicing, Marduk the great lord, induced the magnanimous inhabitants of Babilani to love me”¦I returned to these sacred cities on the other side of the Tigris the sanctuaries of which have been ruins for a long time, the images which use to live therein and established from them permanent sancturaies. I also gathered all their former inhabitants and returned them to their habitations.”
Cyrus overthrew three great empires, Babylonians, Medes, and Lydians and united most of the ancient Middle East into one state, extending from India to the Mediterranean Sea. Cryus became the first Achaemenian Emperor of Persia, and had the title of “King of Babylon-King of the Land.” He did not change the institution of the kingdoms he incorporated into the Persian empire, and allowed all the people to live in peace and harmony.
Cyrus issued a decree citing his policies and aims, which became known as the Charter of the Rights of Nations. This charter was the first declaration of Human Rights and is displayed at the British Museum. A replica of the charter is on display at the United Nations in New York. In portions of the charter, Cyrus wrote:
“When my soldiers in great numbers peacefully entered Babylon”¦I did not allow anyone to terrorize the people”¦I kept in view the needs of people and all its sanctuaries to promote their well-being..Freed all the slaves. I put an end to their misfortune and slavery.”
Cyrus was killed in a battle with the Massagetae tribes in Central Asia, east of the Caspian Sea. Cyrus’ son, Cambyses II, succeeded him. Cambyses defeated the Massagetae , recovered his father’s body and buried it at Pasargadae, the old Persian capital. The Persian empire thrived in peace and prosperity for two hundred years until its conquest by Alexander the Great.
The Australian Iranian community erected a replica of a Bas-Relief, which depicts Cyrus the Great. It is located in Sydney’s Bicentennial Park. Donations for the Bas-relief came from all over the world. The Bas-relief is a symbol for Multiculturalism, which expresses the coexistence and peaceful cohabitation of people from different cultures and backgrounds. This doctrine of Multiculturalism forms the basis of Cyrus’s regime.

Source : essortment.com