[3] Cyrus the Great Day, which began in the early 2000s[4] as an invented tradition on the internet and social networking websites,[5] observed by Iranian nationalists and monarchists and democrats to pay homage to Iran's pre-Islamic history, had by the mid-2010s become an unofficial holiday in Iran, being known amongst Iranians as "Cyrus the Great Day" as early as ten years prior (2006) to the protest,[6] as well as an increasingly popular and explicitly anti-government occasion.

[6] As such, many monarchist supporters than before were inspired to turn out to the march, with people learning of the upcoming march on internet platforms such as Telegram, and reports stated that people started gathering in the Pasargadae area, especially around the Tomb of Cyrus, from as early as the evening of 27 October 2016, resulting in heavy traffic on roads to the site.

[7] Despite this, on 28 October 2016, the tomb of Cyrus at Pasargadae attracted tens of thousands of people from across the country who celebrated the day and began chanting shouting slogans praising the Achaemenid king, such as.

The sheer number of people who showed up at Pasargadae has been described as "surprising"[7] with those who had witnessed similar get-togethers saying they had never seen such a large gathering.

[6] As the slogans began to quickly escalate into full-scale demonstrations at Pasargadae against the Iranian government, the largest in Iran since the 2009 Iranian presidential election protests,[9] plainclothed government agents surrounded Cyrus's tomb as the crowd continued to gather, threatening people and physically attacking them in order to prevent them from getting close to the monument.

"[13][14][12] Many chants praised the former Pahlavi dynasty with many protesting in support of Iran's past monarchy of former Shah that was overthrown by the 1979 Revolution.

[15][16] Other slogans praised the late Shah of Iran Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and expressed anti-Arab sentiment.

[17] In 2021, the elderly parents of the recently executed Navid Afkari, were arrested for having a picture of Cyrus the Great on a birthday cake.