The life of Cyrus the Great is a tapestry woven from the accounts of ancient historians, the remnants of inscriptions, and the echoes of oral traditions that shaped the understanding of his rule. His story, blending history and legend, has been passed down through the centuries primarily through the works of Herodotus, Xenophon, Ctesias, Berossus, and various Near Eastern sources, including the famous Cyrus Cylinder. While these sources differ in their depictions of his life and deeds, they together create a portrait of one of antiquity's most remarkable rulers, the founder of the Persian Empire, and a leader whose influence extended far beyond his own era.