Scientific Afternoons

On 4 March, as part of UNG’s academic afternoon, the Research Centre for the Humanities (RCH) hosted American historian Michael Kozuh, a specialist in the ancient history of Persia and Babylon. Dr Kozuh is one of the few researchers fluent in the ancient languages of the Near East, which enables him to read and interpret source texts directly. Notably, he is a Slovenian-American who is particularly proud of his roots.

In his lecture, he presented one of the most famous yet often misunderstood ancient texts, the so-called Cyrus Cylinder, which many describe as the first declaration of human rights. But does this interpretation withstand historical scrutiny? At a time of growing tensions in the Middle East, the question of a critical understanding of history is especially relevant.

The lecture offered a dual perspective: on one hand, a precise reconstruction of the historical context in the 6th century BCE; on the other, an analysis of contemporary interpretations of this historical artefact. Kozuh demonstrated that the Cyrus Cylinder is not an early document of human rights, but rather a typical example of Mesopotamian royal propaganda, in which a new ruler legitimises his authority by discrediting his predecessor, invoking divine support, and making symbolic political gestures, such as the return of religious artefacts.

He placed particular emphasis on understanding these actions within the framework of ancient political logic: the return of statues of gods and the restoration of temples were not expressions of universal religious freedom, but deliberate strategies for consolidating power and establishing loyalty within the empire.

In the second part of the lecture, he highlighted how the meaning of the Cyrus Cylinder was radically transformed in the 20th century, particularly during the reign of the Iranian Shah Reza Pahlavi, who promoted it as a symbol of enlightened rule and even as the first human rights charter. In the digital age, these interpretations have been further reinforced, including through the spread of entirely fabricated translations with no basis in the original text.

The lecture thus raised a broader methodological question: how and why do contemporary societies reinterpret the past according to their ideological needs, and what is the role of historiography in this context, in an era of informational fragmentation and digital myths?

The lecture was followed by a discussion over refreshments and was moderated by Dr Milan Mrđenović.

You can watch the entire lecture (in English) here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GggRiZwIGes"