Treasures of Ancient Persia go on show
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The exhibition, which brings together treasures from the National Museum of Iran, the Louvre and the British Museum itself, aims to tell the story of an empire that, between 550BC and 330BC, was the biggest the world had seen .
Highlights include the "Cyrus Cylinder", a barrel-shaped inscribed foundation deposit sometimes referred to as the first declaration of human rights because of its reference to religious tolerance.
This, say organisers, goes some way to exploding the myth of Persia as a ruthless and despotic war machine.
Other key exhibits include a large stone dog that guarded the palace at Persepolis which was burnt by Alexander. Casts of reliefs from Persepolis, taken by a British expedition in 1892, also go on show for the first time. Other items relate to the three great rulers of the region, Cyrus, Darius and Xerxes.
John Curtis, keeper of the museum's Ancient Near East department said: "We call it a forgotten empire not because it's been forgotten by the Islamic Republic of Iran or any other country in the Middle East but because it's been forgotten in western Europe."
Forgotten Empire: the World of Ancient Persia, sponsored by BP, runs from 9 September to 8 January; admission, £8.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments