The Tomb of Cyrus at Pasargadae, Persia, from the 6th century B.C. is important in the subject of Biblical Archaeology because it reveals the existence of Cyrus, who made the decree for the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild their city. This decree was prophesied by Daniel and began the countdown for the 69 weeks when Messiah would be cut off.
The Achaemenid kings of ancient Persia—such as Darius the Great, Xerxes, and Artaxerxes—were usually buried in monumental rock-cut tombs carved into cliffs. The best-known examples are at Naqsh-e Rostam near Persepolis and at Pasargadae, where Cyrus the Great was placed in a freestanding stone tomb. These tombs were designed to symbolize royal authority and divine favor: high on the cliff face, inaccessible to ordinary people, with carved façades showing the king standing before the sacred fire—an important symbol of Zoroastrian religion, which shaped Persian royal ideology. Inside these tombs were chambers where the king’s body was laid to rest, sometimes along with objects believed to have symbolic or ritual value.
