A POPULAR CIRCUS MARCH WRITTEN BY KARL KING IN 1921 THAT PAYS HOMAGE TO THE FOUNDER OF THE PERSIAN EMPIRE. HE RULED FROM 550 T0 530 B.C. ALSO A FAVORITE FOR THE MILITARY MARCHING BANDS HERE IN EAST TEXAS. PERFORMED BY THE 1971 ILLINOIS UNIV. BAND.
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Story behind the song
Cyrus the Great (reigned 550-530 B.C.) was the founder of the Persian Empire. His reign witnessed the first serious contacts between Persians and Greeks and the permanent loss of political power by the peoples of the old centers of power in Mesopotamia.
Cyrus's right to be called "the Great" can hardly be questioned, and not only because his conquests were vastly larger than any before him anywhere on earth. The sudden emergence of Persia as the dominant power in the Near East is the most striking political fact of the 6th century B.C., while the conquest of Mesopotamia (Egypt was left for Cyrus's son Cambyses) marks the first time that a true Indo-European-speaking people had gained control of the old centers of civilization. Further, Cyrus's policy of generosity toward the conquered became standard Persian practice; among the imperial peoples of history, the Persians remain outstanding in their ready toleration of local customs and religions.