<P> The Cylinder 's text has traditionally been seen by biblical scholars as corroborative evidence of Cyrus ' policy of the repatriation of the Jewish people following their Babylonian captivity ( an act that the Book of Ezra attributes to Cyrus ) , as the text refers to the restoration of cult sanctuaries and repatriation of deported peoples . This interpretation has been disputed , as the text identifies only Mesopotamian sanctuaries , and makes no mention of Jews , Jerusalem , or Judea . The Cylinder has also been referred to by Mohammad Reza Pahlavi , the last Shah of Iran as the first declaration of universal human rights , a view rejected by some historians as anachronistic and a misunderstanding of the Cylinder 's generic nature as a typical statement made by a new monarch at the beginning of his reign . Neil MacGregor , Director of the British Museum , has stated that the cylinder was `` the first attempt we know about running a society , a state with different nationalities and faiths -- a new kind of statecraft . '' It was adopted as a national symbol of Iran by the Imperial State which put it on display in Tehran in 1971 to commemorate 2,500 year celebration of the Persian Empire . On October 14 , the Mohammad Reza Shah 's sister , Princess Ashraf Pahlavi , presented the United Nations Secretary General U Thant with a replica of the Cylinder . The princess asserted that `` the heritage of Cyrus was the heritage of human understanding , tolerance , courage , compassion and , above all , human liberty '' . </P>
who wrote the first declaration of human rights
Cyrus