Cyrus the Great Day · Ruz-e Kurosh-e Bozorg

Culture of origin: Iranian · Cultural

Holiday sources: Iran

Cyrus the Great Day honours Cyrus II, founder of the Achaemenid Empire, on 7 Aban (28–31 October); by some historical records, 29 October is the day he entered Babylon. It has never been official, and people mark it by gathering at his tomb at Pasargadae. The Islamic Republic has cracked down on these gatherings: it arrested the organizers after the 2016 gathering became a protest against clerical rule, closed the roads to Pasargadae in 2017, and in 2021 police barred visitors from the tomb.