Tales of the Mule King

“Cambyses was a madman. Darius was a huckster. But Cyrus was a father to us.”-Persian proverb. In the ancient world kings ruled as despots, their subjects at the mercy of their every whim. But a mule, a half-breed child of two kingdoms, was destined to rule with tolerance and the restraint of law, earning him the name of Cyrus the Great. Warned by a prophetic dream, his grandfather sought to kill him on the day of his birth. But his destiny could not be thwarted. Author J. P. Hall vividly depicts the exciting and thought-provoking life of this historic figure, drawing from such sources as Herodotus’ Histories and the Bible. He uses both legend and fact to meld together a thoroughly entertaining tale of a man propelled toward greatness by forces beyond his control.