TEHRAN -- Filmmaker Masud Jafari-Jozani will lead the project “Cyrus the Great”, producer Ali Mo’allem said on Saturday.

The project centers on the founder of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, Cyrus the Great. “This is an international project examining the character of Cyrus in history as emperor of a great nation in the world. His respect for other religions is one of his most outstanding characteristics,” Mo’allem told the Persian service of ISNA.
“The identity of Zulqarnain mentioned in the Holy Quran and the likelihood of its conformity to Cyrus is an important issue to be depicted. In the world of today where the major powers try to ignore the high position of Iran, such an international project organized by Iranian cineastes is needed.”
Some scholars say that Cyrus the Great is Zulqarnain, whose story is told in the Holy Quran, because Zulqarnain means “one with two horns” in Arabic.
Pasargadae, the first dynastic capital of the Achaemenid Empire, which was founded by Cyrus the Great in the 6th century BC, is home to a stone bas-relief of a winged man considered to be Cyrus the Great by some archaeologists and historians. The bas-relief depicts a man with four wings who is standing and praying. He also is wearing a crown which has two horns on it.
Mo’allem regarded the project as international and said, “The first decision is to leave the investment to Iranian nationals inside and outside the country. All Iranian individuals who are willing to support this important national project should announce their intent to join in the collaboration.”
Mo’allem left details of the project to the future.
“Stone Lion”, “One Man, One Bear” and “Cold Roads” are among Jafari-Jozani’s credits.