Throughout history, religion has been used as a means to justify actions and control people. The first two examples are Zoroastrianism and Hinduism. The periods that will be discussed will be the reign of Cyrus, from 521 to 486 BCE, and India from 1500 to 500 BCE, before the Persians had a direct effect on India. The Persian religion is believed to be Zoroastrianism or a derivative of it, called Achaemenian. (For this article, the Persian religion will be referred to as Zoroastrianism.) However, Cyrus did not strive to propagate his religion, he presented himself in other religions as a divine figure. Hinduism is a religion whose origins are unknown but is believed to have been initiated by the Aryan people. The development of the caste system, closely linked to the Hindu religion, was an effective means of controlling the Indian population by dividing the people into four main divisions: Brahmin priests, Kshatriya warriors, Vaisya merchants and Sudra peasants. . There was another class that was considered out of caste, they were called the Untouchables. A comparison and contrast of these two cultures will answer: how and why they used religion to check their control over their general population. Cyrus implemented his control over the population by integrating into religions by presenting 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 used the fact that King Nabonidus of Babylon was refocusing his worship of the god Murdock towards Sin. When he missed an important ritual renewing his associated kingship with Murduck, Murdock's priest was furious. Cyrus got a whiff of it... middle of paper......referees who followed these two and concluded that religion was used in this sense for years well after.BibliographyHalsall, Paul. "Sourcebook of Indian History: The Laws of Manu, circa 1500 BCE, translated by G. Buhler." http://www.fordham.edu. 1998. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/india/manu-full.asp.Jones, John P. India, 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. "Sourcebook of Indian History: The Laws of Manu, circa 1500 BCE, translated by G. Buhler." http://www.fordham.edu. 1998. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/india/manu-full.asp.Jones, John P. India, Life and Thought. New York: The Macmillian Company, 1908. Lincoln, Bruce. Religious empire and torture. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007.