Revelation, Rationality, Knowledge & Truth — Page 175
ZOROASTRIANISM through the mirror of Ashoka. The monotheism of Cyrus can be proved from the tribute paid to him in the Old. Testament (Isaiah 45:1-5). It is impossible to conceive "the. God of Israel" to have praised Cyrus in such high terms if he were a dualist. Thus spoke prophet Isaiah: "Thus says the LORD to His anointed,. To Cyrus, whose right hand I have heldTo subdue nations before him. And loose the armor of kings,. To open before him the double doors,. So that the gates will not be shut: 'I will go before you. And make the crooked places straight;. I will break in pieces the gates of bronze. And cut the bars of iron. . I will give you the treasures of darkness. And hidden riches of secret places,. That you may know that I, the LORD,. Who call you by your name,. Am the God of Israel. . For Jacob My servant's sake,. And Israel My elect,. I have even called you by your name;. I have named you, though you have not known Me. . I am the LORD, and there is no other;. There is no God besides Me. . . "I. Cyrus the great is also remembered in the Cyrus legend as a tolerant and ideal monarch who was called 'father of his people' by the ancient Persians. In the Bible an outstanding homage is paid to him as the liberator of the. Jews captive in Babylonia. . In short, the figure of Cyrus has survived throughout history as a man of exceptional qualities. He built a vast empire the like of which was seldom created by other warriors of heroic fame. Among the emperors, he is the 173