As I mentioned in my blog in December, I intended to visit this exhibition and finally managed to make it just before it closed on 8^th Jan.  Whilst small, it really did cover well just how significant an empire Ancient Persia was.  Founded in 550BC by Cyrus the Great at it’s height it stretched from the Indus Valley to North Africa, and from the Aral Sea to the Persian Gulf.  What was great about the exhibition was that much of what was shown hadn’t ever come out of Iran before, and I have to say that the exhibits on the “Royal Table” – gold and silver plates and vessels, and the Jewellery was incredibly intricate, beautiful and lavish.  The other really impressive item was the Cyrus Cylinder.  A bit like the Rosetta Stone, the Cyrus Cylinder was found in Babylon and records on it a decree that made it possible for deported people like the Jews to return to their homes.  Written in cuneiform script, finally deciphered in the mid-19^th century, this cylinder shows the surprising degree of tolerance that existed at this time.