Trump issues inspirational Happy Norooz to Iranians, But includes a fake Cyrus the Great quote
Independent Aggregator of Iran-related News/Events, Kodoom.com: Some historians and Iranian media are surprised about a quote in Trump's unexpected Happy New Year message to Iranians. On Wednesday, the White House was two days late delivering its greeting for Nowruz (Spring Equinox), which falls on the first day of spring (Monday) and is also known as the Iranian New Year, though it is celebrated by people across the Middle East and Central Asia.
In his holiday message, Trump quoted the historical figure Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, which stretched from the Balkans to South Asia at its height:
"Cyrus the Great, a leader of the ancient Persian Empire, famously said that freedom, dignity and wealth together constitute the greatest happiness of humanity. If you bequeath all three to your people, their love for you will never die."
But, according to experts and historians who study the Achaemenids, Cyrus didn’t actually say that. "The historical Cyrus certainly never said such a motto," says Pierre Briant, a senior fellow at New York University’s Institute for the Study of the Ancient World and author of From Cyrus to Alexander: A History of the Persian Empire. "The saying probably comes from the alleged (unhistorical) last words of Xenophon's Cyrus on his death bed" — a reference to the Ancient Greek author Xenophon's Cyropaedia, which was written at least a century after Cyrus lived and, according to the Columbia University site Encyclopædia Iranica, is a "partly fictional biography of Cyrus the Great."
But Xenophon didn’t attribute those words to Cyrus, either!
Instead, the quote comes from Larry Hedrick, a retired U.S. Air Force officer. The words appeared from a 2006 leadership advice book by Hedrick called Xenophon's Cyrus the Great: The Arts of Leadership and War.
The rest of Trump's Nowruz message was insiprational:
"Nowruz means New Day in Persian. It is an occasion to celebrate new beginnings, a sentiment that is particularly meaningful for so many Iranians who have come to our country in recent decades to make a new start in a free land.
For many years, I have greatly enjoyed wonderful friendships with Iranian-Americans, one of the most successful immigrant groups in our country’s contemporary history. They come from diverse religious backgrounds—including Muslim, Jewish, Christian, Zoroastrian, and Baha’i—but all share an affection for their ancestral heritage."
During the Obama Administration, thanks to Obama, Kerry and Iranian American staffers at the White House, Norooz was celebrated at the White House during a special ceremony hosted by Michelle Obama.
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