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Comparing Cyrus The Great Of The Persian Empire And Emperor Caesar Essay

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Paper #2 The Ancient Roman Poet, Virgil, once wrote, “They can conquer who believe they can.” King Cyrus the Great of the Persian Empire and Emperor Caesar Augustus of the Roman Republic/Empire are leaders whose conviction in their rights to power establish the unwavering support of the people they lead. King Cyrus the Great rises to the throne of an expansive Persian Empire. As King, he brings virtually the entire Near East under his control. In 539, claiming to be under the divine right the Babylonian God Marduk, peacefully conquers Babylon and drives out Nabonidus, the last of the Neo-Babylonian kings. Cyrus the Great produces a clay cylinder denouncing Nabonidus as an impious oppressor of the people of Babylonia, and of low born origins, making him lesser than Cyrus 's kingly heritage. Cyrus portrays himself as having been chosen by the chief Babylonian God Marduk to restore peace and order to the Babylonians. It concludes with a description of how Cyrus repairs the city wall of Babylon and leaves his cylindrical legacy beneath the wall forever. The Res Gestae Divi Augusti is an autobiography of the achievements of Octavian, who is later named Augustus by the Senate, during his reign from 44 BC to 13 CE. Following his death, this text is displayed in front of his Mausoleum and copies are distributed to Roman provinces throughout the empire. The achievements listed by Augustus provide an insight into the thoughts and beliefs of ancient Romans during his time, and more

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