"The Cyrus Cylinder and Ancient Persia: Charting a New Empire"

This ancient treasure from the collection of the British Museum dates to the rise of Persian rule in the Middle East, following King Cyrus the Great's conquest of Babylon in 539 B.C. Covered in cuneiform, this clay object is literally a hard drive, inscribed with the new masters' rules for governing the defeated Babylonians. The show includes related objects also on loan from the British Museum.