Throughout history, religion has been used as a means to justify actions and control people. The two prime examples are Zoroastrianism and Hinduism. The time frames that will be discussed will cover the reign of Cyrus, from 521 to 486 BC, and India from 1500 to 500 BC, before the Persians had a direct effect on India. The Persian religion is thought to be Zoroastrianism or a derivative thereof, called Achaemenian. (In this article the Persian religion will be called Zoroastrianism.) However, Cyrus did not strive to spread his religion but presented himself to other religions as a divine figure. Hinduism is a religion whose origins are unknown but it is hypothesized that it was started by the Aryan people. The development of the caste system intertwined with the Hindu religion was an effective way to control the Indian population by dividing the people into four main divisions: the Brahman priests, the Kshatriyas, the warriors, the Vaisya merchants and the Sudra farmers. There was another class that was considered outcaste: they were called the Untouchables. A compare and contrast of these two cultures will answer: how and why they used religion to ascertain their control over the general population. Cyrus implemented his control over the population by integrating himself into religions by portraying himself as chosen by God. This has been well documented in two areas: one with the Babylonian population, with their god Murdock, and in the Hebrew Bible. With Murdock he took advantage of the fact that the king, Nabonidus, of Babylon was reorienting his worship away from the god Murdock and towards Sîn. When he missed an important ritual renewal of his kingship associated with Murduck, Murdock's priest was enraged. Cyrus caught a whiff of this… middle of paper… the empires that came after these two and concluded that religion has been used in this sense for years and years. Bibliography Halsall, Paul. "Indian History Sourcebook: The Laws of Manu, c. 1500 BC translated by G. Buhler." http://www.fordham.edu. 1998. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/india/manu-full.asp.Jones, John P. India in Life and Thought. New York: The Macmillian Company, 1908. Lincoln, Bruce. Religious empire and torture. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2007. Works Cited Halsall, Paul. "Indian History Sourcebook: The Laws of Manu, c. 1500 BC translated by G. Buhler." http://www.fordham.edu. 1998. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/india/manu-full.asp.Jones, John P. India in Life and Thought. New York: The Macmillian Company, 1908. Lincoln, Bruce. Religious empire and torture. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007.