Cyrus the Great Day ( fa, روز کوروش بزرگ, ruz-e kuroš-e bozorg) is an unofficial

Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian lan ...

holiday that takes place on the seventh day of

Aban Apas (, ae, āpas) is the Avestan language term for "the waters", which, in its innumerable aggregate states, is represented by the Apas, the hypostases of the waters. ''Āb'' (plural ''Ābān'') is the Middle Persian-language form. Introduc ...

, the eighth month of the

Solar Hijri calendar The Solar calendar ( fa, گاه‌شماری هجری خورشیدی, Gâhšomâri-ye Xoršidi; ps, لمريز لېږدیز کلیز, lamrez legdez kalhandara; ku, ڕۆژژمێری کۆچیی ھەتاوی, Salnameya Koçberiyê) is a solar ...

( October 29th on the

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years dif ...

), to commemorate

Cyrus the Great Cyrus II of Persia (; peo, 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 ), commonly known as Cyrus the Great, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, the first Persian empire. Schmitt Achaemenid dynasty (i. The clan and dynasty) Under his rule, the empire embraced ...

, the founder of the ancient

Achaemenid Persian Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest emp ...

. The holiday prominently consists of gatherings at the

tomb of Cyrus The Tomb of Cyrus ( – ''Ârâmgâh ye Kuroš Bozorg'') is the final resting place of Cyrus the Great, the founder of the ancient Achaemenid Empire. The mausoleum is located in Pasargadae, an List of archaeological sites in Iran, archaeological s ...

Pasargadae Pasargadae (from Old Persian ''Pāθra-gadā'', "protective club" or "strong club"; Modern Persian: ''Pāsārgād'') was the capital of the Achaemenid Empire under Cyrus the Great (559–530 BC), who ordered its construction and the location of ...

, Fars Province. In October 2021 Iranian police barred people from visiting the mausoleum.

History of observance

Based on some historical records, 29 October was the day when Cyrus entered

Babylon ''Bābili(m)'' * sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 * arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel'' * syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel'' * grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn'' * he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel'' * peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru'' * elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...

after the

Neo-Babylonian Empire The Neo-Babylonian Empire or Second Babylonian Empire, historically known as the Chaldean Empire, was the last polity ruled by monarchs native to Mesopotamia. Beginning with the coronation of Nabopolassar as the List of kings of Babylon, King of B ...

fell to the Achaemenid Persians in the

Battle of Opis The Battle of Opis was the last major military engagement between the Achaemenid Persian Empire and the Neo-Babylonian Empire, which took place in September 539 BC, during the Persian invasion of Mesopotamia. At the time, Babylonia was the las ...

. The holiday is observed by

Iranian nationalists Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian lan ...

and

monarchists Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalist. ...

to pay homage to Iran's pre-Islamic history. The celebrations are unofficial, and the holiday is not designated on any official calendar, neither on the

Iranian calendars The Iranian calendars or Iranian chronology ( fa, گاه‌شماری ایرانی, ) are a succession of calendars invented or used for over two millennia in Iran, also known as Persia. One of the longest chronological records in human history, ...

nor on those of the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

. There have been calls for the

Iranian government The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran ( fa, نظام جمهوری اسلامی ایران, Neẓām-e jomhūrī-e eslāmi-e Irān, known simply as ''Neẓām'' ( fa, نظام, lit=the system) among its supporters) is the ruling state a ...

to recognize the day at the official level. In 2017, Bahram Parsaei, the representative of the electoral district of

Shiraz Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As o ...

in the

Iranian parliament The Islamic Consultative Assembly ( fa, مجلس شورای اسلامی, Majles-e Showrā-ye Eslāmī), also called the Iranian Parliament, the Iranian Majles (Arabicised spelling Majlis) or ICA, is the national legislative body of Iran. The P ...

, openly voiced the demand for the state to recognize and observe the holiday.

2016 Cyrus the Great Revolt

In 2016, the holiday occurred on 28 October (due to the overlapping of

leap years A leap year (also known as an intercalary year or bissextile year) is a calendar year that contains an additional day (or, in the case of a lunisolar calendar, a month) added to keep the calendar year synchronized with the astronomical year or s ...

in the

and Gregorian calendars) and fell on Friday (official weekend day in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

due to its Islamic significance). Consequently, the

attracted thousands of people from across the country who celebrated the day and chanted nationalist slogans. Nomads, tribesmen and ethnic minorities, including

Kurds ug:كۇردلار Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Ir ...

and

Iranian Arabs Iranian Arabs ( ar, عرب إيران ''ʿArab Īrān''; fa, عرب‌های ايران ''Arabhāye Irān'') are the Arab inhabitants of Iran who speak Arabic as their native language. In 2008, Iranian Arabs comprised about 1.6 million people, ...

, were present at the celebrations in their traditional ethnic clothing. The attendance was unprecedented according to spectators, and the roads leading to the tomb reportedly saw a large traffic jam. An unofficial 2017 estimate puts the attendance figure at between 15,000 and 20,000 people.

Protests

The gatherings eventually morphed into protests against the ruling

Islamic theocracy Theocracy is a form of government in which one or more deities are recognized as supreme ruling authorities, giving divine guidance to human intermediaries who manage the government's daily affairs. Etymology The word theocracy originates fro ...

. Iranian protestors reportedly chanted "No Gaza, no

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

, we will only sacrifice ourselves for Iran!", "Iran is our homeland;

Cyrus Cyrus ( Persian: کوروش) is a male given name. It is the given name of a number of Persian kings. Most notably it refers to Cyrus the Great ( BC). Cyrus is also the name of Cyrus I of Anshan ( BC), King of Persia and the grandfather of Cyrus ...

is our father," and “Clerical rule is synonymous with only tyranny, only war,” as well as “Freedom of thought cannot take place with beards” were among the slogans in the amateur videos going viral on social media. According to

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...

, protesters shouted

anti-Arab Anti-Arabism, Anti-Arab sentiment, or Arabophobia includes opposition to, dislike, fear, or hatred of Arab people. Historically, anti-Arab prejudice has been an issue in such events as the reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula, the condemnati ...

and pro-

Shah Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...

slogans. A judiciary official said that the organizers of the event were arrested.

2017 government crackdown

In October 2017, an official statement by local authorities from the

Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicraft Organization ( fa, وزارت میراث فرهنگی، گردشگری و صنایع دستی ایران, ''Vâzart-e Miras-e Ferhengi-ye, Gârdâshigâri-ye vâ Sânai'-ye Dâsti-ye Iran'') is ...

in Fars Province was published and circulated on social media, declaring that Cyrus' tomb would be closed to the Iranian public between 27 and 30 October 2017. However, the director of the ministry officially denied that any plans for a shutdown of the tomb were being made in the days leading up to the holiday. Subsequently, all roads leading to

Pasargad County Pasargad County ( fa, شهرستان پاسارگاد) is in Fars province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey ...

were closed by Iranian authorities, who cited "ongoing construction" as the reason for the shutdown. Fences were erected around the mausoleum in

and paramilitary

Basij The Basij ( fa, بسيج, lit. "The Mobilization"), Niru-ye Moghāvemat-e Basij ( fa, نیروی مقاومت بسیج, "Resistance Mobilization Force"), full name Sâzmân-e Basij-e Mostaz'afin ( fa, سازمان بسیج مستضعفین, "The ...

troops were stationed in the region to hold a drill. The mouthpiece of the

Iranian judiciary A nationwide judicial system in Iran was first implemented and established by Abdolhossein Teymourtash under Reza Shah, with further changes during the second Pahlavi era. After the 1979 overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty by the Islamic Revol ...

stated that the Ministry of Intelligence had disrupted plans for the "illegal gathering" on Cyrus the Great Day.

References

{{Cyrus the Great Cultural depictions of Cyrus the Great Remembrance days October observances Observances set by the Solar Hijri calendar Autumn events in Iran