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[[Image:BehistunInscriptionSketch.jpg|thumb|300px|The '''Behistun Inscription,''' carved into a cliff side, gives the same text in three languages, telling the story of King Darius' conquests, with the names of twenty-three provinces subject to him. It is illustrated by life-sized carved images of King Darius with other figures in attendance.]]
  
[[Image:BehistunInscriptionSketch.jpg|thumb|300px|The '''Behistun Inscription''', carved into a cliffside, gives the same text in three languages, telling the story of [[Darius I of Persia|King Darius']] conquests, with the names of twenty-three provinces subject to him. It is illustrated by life-sized carved images of King Darius with other figures in attendance.]]
+
The '''Behistun Inscription''' (also '''Bisitun''' or '''Bisutun,''' بیستون in modern [[Persian language|Persian]]; in [[Old Persian]] is '''Bagastana''' the meaning is "the god's place or land") is to [[cuneiform]] what the [[Rosetta Stone]] is to [[ancient Egypt|Egyptian]] [[hieroglyph]]s: The document most crucial in the deciphering of a previously lost script. It is located in the Kermanshah Province of [[Iran]], and contains three versions of the same text, written in three different cuneiform script languages: Old Persian, [[Elamite language|Elamite]], and [[Babylonian language|Babylonian]].
 +
{{toc}}
 +
Successive work by [[Georg Friedrich Grotefend]], [[Henry Rawlinson]], and others resulted in translation of the text by the mid-nineteenth century. Their efforts enabled many other cuneiform texts, preserved but undeciphered for centuries, to be translated, revealing much about the most ancient [[civilization]]s of human history. This is a significant step in the advancement of human knowledge and the understanding of ourselves and our past, and serves as an essential foundation for a better future.
  
The '''Behistun Inscription''' (also '''Bisitun''' or '''Bisutun''', بیستون in [[Persian language|modern Persian]]; in Old Persian is '''Bagastana''' the meaning is "the god's place or land") is to [[Cuneiform script|cuneiform]] what the [[Rosetta Stone]] is to [[Egyptian hieroglyph]]s: the document most crucial in the [[decipherment]] of a previously lost [[writing system|script]]. It is located in the [[Kermanshah Province]] of [[Iran]].
+
==The inscription==
 +
The text of the inscription is a statement by [[Darius I of Persia]], written three times in three different scripts and languages: two languages side by side, [[Old Persian language|Old Persian]] and [[Elamite language|Elamite]], and [[Babylonian language|Babylonian]] above them. The inscription described his accession in the face of the usurper Smerdis of Persia, and Darius' subsequent successful [[war]]s and suppressions of rebellion. Darius ruled the [[Persian Empire]] from 521 B.C.E. to 486 B.C.E., and some time around 515 B.C.E., he arranged for the inscription to be made. It was inscribed on a cliff near the modern town of Bisistun, in the foothills of the Zagros Mountains of [[Iran]], just as one reaches them from the Kermanshah Plain.
 +
[[Image:Darius I the Great's inscription.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Modern day picture of the inscription.]]
 +
The inscription is approximately 15 meters high by 25 meters wide, and 100 meters up a [[limestone]] cliff from an ancient road connecting the capitals of Babylonia and Media ([[Babylon]] and [[Ecbatana]]). The site itself is extremely inaccessible, as the mountainside was removed to make the inscription more visible after its completion.  
  
The inscription includes three versions of the same text, written in three different [[cuneiform script]] languages: [[Old Persian language|Old Persian]], [[Elamite language|Elamite]], and [[Babylonian language|Babylonian]]. A British army officer, [[Sir Henry Rawlinson]], had the inscription transcribed in two parts, in 1835 and 1843. Rawlinson was able to translate the Old Persian cuneiform text in 1838, and the Elamite and Babylonian texts were translated by Rawlinson and others after 1843. Babylonian was a later form of [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]]: both are [[Semitic languages]].
+
The Old Persian text contains 414 lines in five columns; the Elamite text includes 593 lines in eight columns and the Babylonian text is in 112 lines. The inscription was illustrated by a life-sized bas-relief of Darius, holding a [[bow]] as a sign of kingship, with his left foot on the chest of a figure lying on his back before him. The prostrate figure is reputed to be the pretender Gaumata. Darius is attended to the left by two servants, and ten one-meter figures stand to the right, with hands tied and rope around their necks, representing conquered peoples. Faravahar floats above, giving his blessing to the king. One figure appears to have been added after the others were completed, as was (oddly enough) Darius' beard, which is a separate block of stone attached with [[iron]] pins and [[lead]].  
  
==The inscription==
+
It is believed that Darius placed the inscription in an inaccessible position to make it tamper-resistant. Readability took second place to this demand: The text is completely illegible from ground level. The Persian king did not account for the creation of a pool of water at the bottom of the cliff, which brought increased human traffic to the area, leading to considerable damage being caused to some of the figures.
The text of the inscription is a statement by [[Darius I of Persia]], written three times in three different scripts and languages: two languages side by side, [[Old Persian language|Old Persian]] and [[Elamite language|Elamite]], and [[Babylonian language|Babylonian]] above them. Darius ruled the [[Persian Empire]] from [[521 B.C.E.|521]] to [[486 B.C.E.]]. Some time around [[515 B.C.E.]], he arranged for the inscription of a long tale of his accession in the face of the usurper [[Smerdis of Persia]] (and Darius' subsequent successful wars and suppressions of rebellion) to be inscribed into a cliff near the modern town of Bisistun, in the foothills of the [[Zagros Mountains]] of [[Iran]], just as one reaches them from the [[Kermanshah Plain]].  
 
  
The inscription is approximately 15 [[metre]]s high by 25 metres wide, and 100 metres up a [[limestone]] cliff from an ancient road connecting the capitals of [[Babylonia]] and [[Medes|Media]] ([[Babylon]] and [[Ecbatana]]). It is extremely inaccessible as the mountainside was removed to make the inscription more visible after its completion. The Old Persian text contains 414 lines in five columns; the Elamite text includes 593 lines in eight columns and the Babylonian text is in 112 lines. The inscription was illustrated by a life-sized bas-relief of Darius, holding a [[bow]] as a sign of kingship, with his left foot on the chest of a figure lying on his back before him.  The prostrate figure is reputed to be the [[pretender]] [[Gaumata]].  Darius is attended to the left by two servants, and ten one-metre figures stand to the right, with hands tied and rope around their necks, representing conquered peoples.  [[Faravahar]] floats above, giving his blessing to the king. One figure appears to have been added after the others were completed, as was (oddly enough) Darius' beard, which is a separate block of stone attached with [[iron]] pins and [[lead]]. [[Image:Behistun DB1 1-15.jpg|thumb|330px|Column 1 (DB I 1-15), sketch by [[Friedrich von Spiegel|Fr. Spiegel]] (1881)]]
+
==Depiction in history==
 +
The first historical mention of the inscription is by the Greek [[Ctesias of Cnidus]], who noted its existence some time around 400 B.C.E., and mentions a well and a garden beneath the inscription dedicated by Queen Semiramis of [[Babylon]] to [[Zeus]] (the Greek analogue of Ahura Mazda). [[Tacitus]] also mentions it and includes a description of some of the long-lost ancillary monuments at the base of the cliff, including an altar to [[Hercules]]. What has been recovered of them, including a statue dedicated in 148 B.C.E., is consistent with Tacitus' description. [[Diodorus]] also writes of "Bagistanon" and claims it was inscribed by Queen Semiramis.
  
It is believed that Darius placed the inscription in an inaccessible position to make it tamper-resistant. Readability took second place to this demand: the text is completely illegible from ground level.  The Persian king did not account for the creation of a pool of water at the bottom of the cliff, which brought increased human traffic to the area.  Considerable damage has been caused to some figures.
+
After the fall of the [[Persian Empire]] and its successors, and the loss of [[cuneiform]] writing, the nature of the inscription was forgotten and fanciful origins became the norm. For centuries, instead of being attributed to Darius—one of the first Persian kings—it was believed to be from the reign of Chosroes II of Persia—one of the last.  
  
==In ancient history==
+
The transcription kept it's wondrous aura, however, and a [[legend]] arose found in the book of Chosroes and Shirin that states that Farhad, a lover of Chosroes' wife, Shirin, was the one who moved half the mountain away as this was part of his punishment for his transgression. He died, but was also credited with being the source of a tree with fruit that will cure the sick. It is unknown, however, if anyone has been cured in the pool at the inscription.
The first historical mention of the inscription is by the Greek [[Ctesias|Ctesias of Cnidus]], who noted its existence some time around [[400 B.C.E.]], and mentions a well and a garden beneath the inscription dedicated by Queen [[Semiramis of Babylon]] to [[Zeus]] (the Greek analogue of [[Ahura Mazda]]). [[Gaius Cornelius Tacitus|Tacitus]] also mentions it and includes a description of some of the long-lost ancillary monuments at the base of the cliff, including an altar to [[Hercules]]. What has been recovered of them, including a statue dedicated in 148 B.C.E., is consistent with Tacitus' description. [[Diodorus Siculus|Diodorus]] also writes of "Bagistanon" and claims it was inscribed by Queen Semiramis.
 
  
After the fall of the Persian Empire and its successors, and the fall of cuneiform writing into disuse, the nature of the inscription was forgotten and fanciful origins became the norm. For centuries, instead of being attributed to Darius — one of the first Persian kings — it was believed to be from the reign of [[Khosrau II of Persia|Chosroes II of Persia]] — one of the last.  
+
[[Image:Behistun DB1 1-15.jpg|thumb|330px|Column 1 (DB I 1-15), sketch by Friedrich von Spiegel (1881)]]
 +
The inscription was noted by an Arab traveler, Ibn Hawqal, in the mid-900s, who interpreted the figures as a teacher punishing his pupils. It was not until 1598, when the [[England|Englishman]] [[Robert Sherley]] saw the inscription during a diplomatic mission to [[Iran|Persia]] on behalf of [[Austria]], that the inscription first came to the attention of western European scholars. His party came to the conclusion that it was a picture of the ascension of [[Jesus]] with an inscription in [[Greek language|Greek]].  
  
A legend arose that it had been created by [[Farhad]], a lover of Chosroes' wife, [[Shirin]]. Exiled for his transgression, Farhad is given the task of cutting away the mountain to find water; if he succeeds, he will be given permission to marry Shirin. After many years and the removal of half the mountain, he does find water, but is informed by Chosroes that Shirin had died. He goes mad, throws his axe down the hill, kisses the ground and dies. It is told in the book of [[Chosroes and Shirin]] that his axe was made out of a Pomegranate tree, and where he threw the axe a Pomegranate tree grew with fruit that would cure the ill. Shirin is not dead, naturally, and mourns upon hearing the news.
+
Biblical misinterpretations by Europeans were rife for the next two centuries. French General Gardanne thought it showed [[Christ]] and his twelve [[apostle]]s, and Sir Robert Ker Porter thought it represented the twelve tribes of [[Israel]] and Shalmaneser of [[Assyria]].  
  
==Translation==
+
==Translation efforts==
[[Image:Darius I the Great's inscription.jpg|thumb|300px|Modern day picture of the inscription.]]
+
Italian explorer Pietro della Valle visited the inscription in the course of a [[pilgrimage]] around 1621, and German surveyor [[Carsten Niebuhr]] visited it around 1764, while exploring [[Arabia]] and the middle east for [[Frederick V of Denmark]], publishing a copy of the inscription in the account of his journeys in 1777. Niebuhr's transcriptions were used by [[Georg Friedrich Grotefend]] and others in their efforts to decipher the Old Persian [[cuneiform]] script. Grotefend had deciphered ten of the 37 symbols of Old Persian by 1802.
The inscription was noted by an Arab traveller, [[Ibn Hawqal]], in the mid-900s, who interpreted the figures as a teacher punishing his pupils. It was not until 1598, when the [[England|Englishman]] [[Robert Sherley]] saw the inscription during a diplomatic mission to [[Iran|Persia]] on behalf of [[Austria]], that the inscription first came to the attention of western European scholars. His party came to the conclusion that it was a picture of the [[ascension]] of [[Jesus]] with an inscription in [[Greek language|Greek]].  
+
[[Image:Behistuntexte.png|thumb|left|300px|Transcription of a part of the Behistun inscription]]
 +
In 1835, [[Henry Rawlinson|Sir Henry Rawlinson]], a British army officer training the army of the Shah of Iran, began studying the inscription in earnest. As the town of Bisistun's name was anglicized as "Behistun" at this time, the monument became known as the "Behistun Inscription." Despite its inaccessibility, Rawlinson was able to scale the cliff and copy the Old Persian inscription. The Elamite was across a chasm, and the Babylonian four meters above; both were beyond easy reach and were left for later.
  
Biblical misinterpretations by Europeans were rife for the next two centuries.  French General Gardanne thought it showed Christ and his [[twelve apostles]], and [[Robert Ker Porter|Sir Robert Ker Porter]] thought it represented the 12 [[tribes of Israel]] and [[Shalmaneser I|Shalmaneser of Assyria]]. Italian explorer [[Pietro della Valle]] visited the inscription in the course of a pilgrimage in around 1621, and German surveyor [[Carsten Niebuhr]] visited in around 1764 while exploring Arabia and the middle east for [[Frederick V of Denmark]], publishing a copy of the inscription in the account of his journeys in 1777.  Niebuhr's transcriptions were used by [[Georg Friedrich Grotefend]] and others in their efforts to decipher the Old Persian cuneiform script. Grotefend had deciphered ten of the 37 symbols of Old Persian by 1802.
+
Armed with the Persian text, and with about a third of the [[syllabary]] made available to him by the work of Grotefend, Rawlinson set to work on deciphering the text. Fortunately, the first section of this text contained a list of Persian kings identical to that found in [[Herodotus]], and by matching the names and the characters, Rawlinson was able to crack the form of cuneiform used for Old Persian by 1838, and present his results to the Royal Asiatic Society in [[London]] and the Société Asiatique in [[Paris]].
  
In 1835, [[Henry Rawlinson|Sir Henry Rawlinson]], a British army officer training the army of the [[Shah]] of Iran, began studying the inscription in earnest. As the town of Bisistun's name was anglicized as "Behistun" at this time, the monument became known as the "Behistun Inscription". Despite its inaccessibility, Rawlinson was able to scale the cliff and copy the Old Persian inscription. The Elamite was across a chasm, and the Babylonian four metres above; both were beyond easy reach and were left for later.
+
Next came the remaining two texts. After a stretch of service in [[Afghanistan]], Rawlinson returned in 1843. Using planks he crossed the gap between the Old Persian text and the Elamite, and copied the Elamite text. He was then able to find an enterprising local boy to climb up a crack in the cliff and rig ropes across the Babylonian writing, so that [[papier-mâché]] casts of it could be taken. Rawlinson set to work and translated the Babylonian writing and language, working independently of Edward Hincks, Julius Oppert and [[William Henry Fox Talbot]], who also contributed to the decipherment; Edwin Norris and others were the first to do the same for the Elamite. As three of the primary languages of [[Mesopotamia]], and three variations of the cuneiform script, these decipherments were one of the keys to putting [[Assyriology]] on a modern footing.
  
Armed with the Persian text, and with about a third of the [[syllabary]] made available to him by the work of Grotefend, Rawlinson set to work on deciphering the text. Fortunately, the first section of this text contained a list of Persian kings identical to that found in [[Herodotus]], and by matching the names and the characters, Rawlinson was able to crack the form of cuneiform used for Old Persian by 1838 and present his results to the [[Royal Asiatic Society]] in [[London]] and the [[Société Asiatique]] in [[Paris]].
+
==Translation==
 +
The monument tells of the ancient glory of [[Persia]] when she was the supreme power in the world, before Darius was defeated by the Greeks in 490 B.C.E. at Marathon.  
  
Next came the remaining two texts. After a stretch of service in [[Afghanistan]], Rawlinson returned in 1843. Using planks he crossed the gap between the Old Persian text and the Elamite, and copied that. He was then able to find an enterprising local boy to climb up a crack in the cliff and rig ropes across the Babylonian writing, so that [[papier-mâché]] casts of it could be taken. Rawlinson set to work and translated the Babylonian writing and language, working independently of [[Edward Hincks]], [[Julius Oppert]] and [[William Henry Fox Talbot]], who also contributed to the decipherment; [[Edwin Norris]] and others were the first to do the same for the Elamite. As three of the primary languages of [[Mesopotamia]], and three variations of the cuneiform script, these decipherments were one of the keys to putting [[Assyriology]] on a modern footing.
+
The [http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/txt/ah/Persia/Behistun_txt.html English translation of the text] begins with the [[genealogy]] of Darius, traced direct to Achaemenes, and then refers to the reign of Cambyses, who had preceded Darius, the [[murder]] of Smerdis (the brother of Cambyses), and the revolt of the Persians during the absence of Cambyses on his campaign in Egypt. At this moment, Gaumata, also called "the great pretender" and the Magian, seized his opportunity. He declared himself to be Smerdis, the son of Cyrus, with a claim to the throne. Cambyses hastened homeward, but died on the way, and Gaumata, as the Babylonian contract tablets show, held sway for a brief period.  
  
==After Rawlinson==
+
It was Darius, the son of Hystaspes, who challenged the usurper, and with a small force, slew him and took the throne. Revolts broke out in many of the provinces, and the first years of Darius were spent in subduing them. Nidintu-Bel seized Babylon, claiming to be [[Nebuchadnezzar]]; Martiya headed a revolution in Susiana: In Media, Phraortes gave himself out to be Khshathritha, of the family of Cyaxares, and led another revolt. These were all dealt with successfully, and all these unfortunate "pretenders" are to be seen on the sculptured panel above the inscription. The king stands with his arm raised and his foot on Gaumata; behind him are his generals or satraps. Before him, roped one to another, come the recalcitrant chiefs in the following order: Atrina, the first Susian pretender; Nidintu-Bel, of Babylon; Fravartish (Phraortes), of Media; Martiza, the second Susian pretender; Citrantakhma, of Sagartia; Vahyazdata, the second pseudo-Smerdis; Arakha, the second Babylonian pretender; Frada, of Margiana; and afterwards, even though it destroyed part of the Susian inscription, Skunkha, the Scythian, in his high peaked hat was added.
Later expeditions, in 1904 sponsored by the [[British Museum]] and led by Leonard William King and Reginald Campbell Thompson and in 1948 by George G. Cameron of the [[University of Michigan]], obtained photographs, casts and more accurate transcriptions of the texts, including passages that were not copied by Rawlinson.  It also became apparent that rainwater had dissolved some areas of the limestone in which the text is inscribed, while leaving new deposits of limestone over other areas, covering the text.
 
  
The monument suffered some damage from soldiers using it for target practice during [[World War II]].  In recent years, Iranian archaeologists have been undertaking conservation works. The site became a [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]] in 2006. [http://www.payvand.com/news/06/jul/1130.html]
+
==Later work==
 +
Later expeditions, in 1904, sponsored by the [[British Museum]] and led by Leonard William King and Reginald Campbell Thompson and in 1948, by George G. Cameron of the [[University of Michigan]], obtained photographs, casts, and more accurate transcriptions of the texts, including passages that were not copied by Rawlinson. It also became apparent that rainwater had dissolved some areas of the [[limestone]] in which the text is inscribed, while leaving new deposits of limestone over other areas, covering the text.
  
 +
The monument suffered some damage from soldiers using it for target practice during [[World War II]]. Later, [[Iran]]ian [[archaeology|archaeologists]] began undertaking conservation works. The site became a [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]] in 2006.
  
 
==References==
 
==References==
{{citations missing}}
+
*Cameron, George G. 1950. "Darius Carved History on Ageless Rock." ''National Geographic Magazine,'' Vol. XCVIII, No. 6, 825–844.
*Rawlinson, H.C., ''Archaeologia'', 1853, vol. xxxiv, p. 74
+
*Payvand's Iran News. [http://www.payvand.com/news/06/jul/1130.html Iran's Bisotoon Historical Site Registered in World Heritage List.] Retrieved March 20, 2007.
*Thompson, R. Campbell. "The Rock of Behistun". ''Wonders of the Past''. Edited by Sir J. A. Hammerton. Vol. II. New York: Wise and Co., 1937. (p. 760–767) [http://members.ozemail.com.au/~ancientpersia/behistun.html]
+
*Rawlinson, H.C. 1953. ''Archaeologia,'' Vol. XXXIV, 74.
*Cameron, George G. "Darius Carved History on Ageless Rock". ''[[National Geographic Magazine]]''. Vol. XCVIII, Num. 6, December 1950. (p. 825–844) [http://members.ozemail.com.au/~ancientpersia/behistun.html]
+
*Thompson, R. Campbell. 1937. [http://members.ozemail.com.au/~ancientpersia/behistun.html "The Rock of Behistun."] ''Wonders of the Past,'' Vol. II. New York: Wise and Co. 760–767. Retrieved March 20, 2007.
  
== External links ==
 
*[http://www.livius.org/be-bm/behistun/behistun01.html The Behistun Inscription], livius.org article by Jona Lendering, including Persian text (in cuneiform and transliteration), English translation, and additional materials
 
*[http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/txt/ah/Persia/Behistun_txt.html English translation of the inscription text]
 
*[http://library.case.edu/ksl/ecoll/books/anoscu00/anoscu00.pdf Case Western Reserve University Digital Library] — the complete text of the Behistun inscription, in transcribed cuneiform and English translation, available in [[Portable Document Format|PDF]] format
 
*[http://visopsys.org/andy/essays/darius-bisitun.html Darius the Great and the Bisutun Inscription], by J. Andrew McLaughlin
 
*[https://www.sharemation.com/zoroaster7/BISOTUN.PDF?uniq=ksz8bm  Bisotun]— the complete text of the bisotun inscription, in transcribed cuneiform and [[Persian language|Persian]] translation, available in pdf format.
 
*[http://www.payvand.com/news/04/aug/1149.html Iran: Documentation of Behistun Inscription Nearly Complete]
 
*[http://www.avesta.org/op/op.htm Behistun and many others persian royal inscriptions]
 
*[http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1222 Brief description of Bisotun] from [[UNESCO]]
 
  
 +
==External links==
 +
All links retrieved January 17, 2022.
  
 +
*[http://www.avesta.org/op/op.htm Behistun and many other Persian royal inscriptions]
 +
*[http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1222 Brief description of Bisotun] UNESCO.
 +
*[http://www.payvand.com/news/04/aug/1149.html Iran: Documentation of Behistun Inscription Nearly Complete]
  
 
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{{Credit1|Behistun_Inscription|88681391|}}

Revision as of 04:49, 11 January 2023


The Behistun Inscription, carved into a cliff side, gives the same text in three languages, telling the story of King Darius' conquests, with the names of twenty-three provinces subject to him. It is illustrated by life-sized carved images of King Darius with other figures in attendance.

The Behistun Inscription (also Bisitun or Bisutun, بیستون in modern Persian; in Old Persian is Bagastana the meaning is "the god's place or land") is to cuneiform what the Rosetta Stone is to Egyptian hieroglyphs: The document most crucial in the deciphering of a previously lost script. It is located in the Kermanshah Province of Iran, and contains three versions of the same text, written in three different cuneiform script languages: Old Persian, Elamite, and Babylonian.

Successive work by Georg Friedrich Grotefend, Henry Rawlinson, and others resulted in translation of the text by the mid-nineteenth century. Their efforts enabled many other cuneiform texts, preserved but undeciphered for centuries, to be translated, revealing much about the most ancient civilizations of human history. This is a significant step in the advancement of human knowledge and the understanding of ourselves and our past, and serves as an essential foundation for a better future.

The inscription

The text of the inscription is a statement by Darius I of Persia, written three times in three different scripts and languages: two languages side by side, Old Persian and Elamite, and Babylonian above them. The inscription described his accession in the face of the usurper Smerdis of Persia, and Darius' subsequent successful wars and suppressions of rebellion. Darius ruled the Persian Empire from 521 B.C.E. to 486 B.C.E., and some time around 515 B.C.E., he arranged for the inscription to be made. It was inscribed on a cliff near the modern town of Bisistun, in the foothills of the Zagros Mountains of Iran, just as one reaches them from the Kermanshah Plain.

Modern day picture of the inscription.

The inscription is approximately 15 meters high by 25 meters wide, and 100 meters up a limestone cliff from an ancient road connecting the capitals of Babylonia and Media (Babylon and Ecbatana). The site itself is extremely inaccessible, as the mountainside was removed to make the inscription more visible after its completion.

The Old Persian text contains 414 lines in five columns; the Elamite text includes 593 lines in eight columns and the Babylonian text is in 112 lines. The inscription was illustrated by a life-sized bas-relief of Darius, holding a bow as a sign of kingship, with his left foot on the chest of a figure lying on his back before him. The prostrate figure is reputed to be the pretender Gaumata. Darius is attended to the left by two servants, and ten one-meter figures stand to the right, with hands tied and rope around their necks, representing conquered peoples. Faravahar floats above, giving his blessing to the king. One figure appears to have been added after the others were completed, as was (oddly enough) Darius' beard, which is a separate block of stone attached with iron pins and lead.

It is believed that Darius placed the inscription in an inaccessible position to make it tamper-resistant. Readability took second place to this demand: The text is completely illegible from ground level. The Persian king did not account for the creation of a pool of water at the bottom of the cliff, which brought increased human traffic to the area, leading to considerable damage being caused to some of the figures.

Depiction in history

The first historical mention of the inscription is by the Greek Ctesias of Cnidus, who noted its existence some time around 400 B.C.E., and mentions a well and a garden beneath the inscription dedicated by Queen Semiramis of Babylon to Zeus (the Greek analogue of Ahura Mazda). Tacitus also mentions it and includes a description of some of the long-lost ancillary monuments at the base of the cliff, including an altar to Hercules. What has been recovered of them, including a statue dedicated in 148 B.C.E., is consistent with Tacitus' description. Diodorus also writes of "Bagistanon" and claims it was inscribed by Queen Semiramis.

After the fall of the Persian Empire and its successors, and the loss of cuneiform writing, the nature of the inscription was forgotten and fanciful origins became the norm. For centuries, instead of being attributed to Darius—one of the first Persian kings—it was believed to be from the reign of Chosroes II of Persia—one of the last.

The transcription kept it's wondrous aura, however, and a legend arose found in the book of Chosroes and Shirin that states that Farhad, a lover of Chosroes' wife, Shirin, was the one who moved half the mountain away as this was part of his punishment for his transgression. He died, but was also credited with being the source of a tree with fruit that will cure the sick. It is unknown, however, if anyone has been cured in the pool at the inscription.

Column 1 (DB I 1-15), sketch by Friedrich von Spiegel (1881)

The inscription was noted by an Arab traveler, Ibn Hawqal, in the mid-900s, who interpreted the figures as a teacher punishing his pupils. It was not until 1598, when the Englishman Robert Sherley saw the inscription during a diplomatic mission to Persia on behalf of Austria, that the inscription first came to the attention of western European scholars. His party came to the conclusion that it was a picture of the ascension of Jesus with an inscription in Greek.

Biblical misinterpretations by Europeans were rife for the next two centuries. French General Gardanne thought it showed Christ and his twelve apostles, and Sir Robert Ker Porter thought it represented the twelve tribes of Israel and Shalmaneser of Assyria.

Translation efforts

Italian explorer Pietro della Valle visited the inscription in the course of a pilgrimage around 1621, and German surveyor Carsten Niebuhr visited it around 1764, while exploring Arabia and the middle east for Frederick V of Denmark, publishing a copy of the inscription in the account of his journeys in 1777. Niebuhr's transcriptions were used by Georg Friedrich Grotefend and others in their efforts to decipher the Old Persian cuneiform script. Grotefend had deciphered ten of the 37 symbols of Old Persian by 1802.

Transcription of a part of the Behistun inscription

In 1835, Sir Henry Rawlinson, a British army officer training the army of the Shah of Iran, began studying the inscription in earnest. As the town of Bisistun's name was anglicized as "Behistun" at this time, the monument became known as the "Behistun Inscription." Despite its inaccessibility, Rawlinson was able to scale the cliff and copy the Old Persian inscription. The Elamite was across a chasm, and the Babylonian four meters above; both were beyond easy reach and were left for later.

Armed with the Persian text, and with about a third of the syllabary made available to him by the work of Grotefend, Rawlinson set to work on deciphering the text. Fortunately, the first section of this text contained a list of Persian kings identical to that found in Herodotus, and by matching the names and the characters, Rawlinson was able to crack the form of cuneiform used for Old Persian by 1838, and present his results to the Royal Asiatic Society in London and the Société Asiatique in Paris.

Next came the remaining two texts. After a stretch of service in Afghanistan, Rawlinson returned in 1843. Using planks he crossed the gap between the Old Persian text and the Elamite, and copied the Elamite text. He was then able to find an enterprising local boy to climb up a crack in the cliff and rig ropes across the Babylonian writing, so that papier-mâché casts of it could be taken. Rawlinson set to work and translated the Babylonian writing and language, working independently of Edward Hincks, Julius Oppert and William Henry Fox Talbot, who also contributed to the decipherment; Edwin Norris and others were the first to do the same for the Elamite. As three of the primary languages of Mesopotamia, and three variations of the cuneiform script, these decipherments were one of the keys to putting Assyriology on a modern footing.

Translation

The monument tells of the ancient glory of Persia when she was the supreme power in the world, before Darius was defeated by the Greeks in 490 B.C.E. at Marathon.

The English translation of the text begins with the genealogy of Darius, traced direct to Achaemenes, and then refers to the reign of Cambyses, who had preceded Darius, the murder of Smerdis (the brother of Cambyses), and the revolt of the Persians during the absence of Cambyses on his campaign in Egypt. At this moment, Gaumata, also called "the great pretender" and the Magian, seized his opportunity. He declared himself to be Smerdis, the son of Cyrus, with a claim to the throne. Cambyses hastened homeward, but died on the way, and Gaumata, as the Babylonian contract tablets show, held sway for a brief period.

It was Darius, the son of Hystaspes, who challenged the usurper, and with a small force, slew him and took the throne. Revolts broke out in many of the provinces, and the first years of Darius were spent in subduing them. Nidintu-Bel seized Babylon, claiming to be Nebuchadnezzar; Martiya headed a revolution in Susiana: In Media, Phraortes gave himself out to be Khshathritha, of the family of Cyaxares, and led another revolt. These were all dealt with successfully, and all these unfortunate "pretenders" are to be seen on the sculptured panel above the inscription. The king stands with his arm raised and his foot on Gaumata; behind him are his generals or satraps. Before him, roped one to another, come the recalcitrant chiefs in the following order: Atrina, the first Susian pretender; Nidintu-Bel, of Babylon; Fravartish (Phraortes), of Media; Martiza, the second Susian pretender; Citrantakhma, of Sagartia; Vahyazdata, the second pseudo-Smerdis; Arakha, the second Babylonian pretender; Frada, of Margiana; and afterwards, even though it destroyed part of the Susian inscription, Skunkha, the Scythian, in his high peaked hat was added.

Later work

Later expeditions, in 1904, sponsored by the British Museum and led by Leonard William King and Reginald Campbell Thompson and in 1948, by George G. Cameron of the University of Michigan, obtained photographs, casts, and more accurate transcriptions of the texts, including passages that were not copied by Rawlinson. It also became apparent that rainwater had dissolved some areas of the limestone in which the text is inscribed, while leaving new deposits of limestone over other areas, covering the text.

The monument suffered some damage from soldiers using it for target practice during World War II. Later, Iranian archaeologists began undertaking conservation works. The site became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2006.

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External links

All links retrieved January 17, 2022.

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