Cyrus the Great
Cyrus the Great, also known as Cyrus II of Persia, was thefounder of the Achaemenid Empire, the First Persian Empire, which expanded vastly and eventually conquered most of Western Asia and much of Central Asia.2
He is considered by many to be an exemplary case of a benevolent conqueror as he allowed his subjects to live and worship the same way as before his political reign over them.1
Cyrus pieced his kingdom together using a mixture of conquest and diplomacy, attesting to his skills as a warrior and a statesman.0
He transformed a small group of semi-nomadic tribes into the mighty Persian Empire, the ancient world's first superpower, in less than 15 years through far-reaching military conquests and benevolent rule.3
The Bible identifies Cyrus as the ruler who freed the Jewish people from captivity in Babylonia.