What does the behistun inscription tell us?
The Behistun Inscription is a relief with accompanying text carved 330 feet (100 meters) up a cliff in Kermanshah Province, Western Iran. The work tells the story of the victory of the Persian king Darius I (the Great, r.
What 3 languages were on the behistun rock?
It was crucial to the decipherment of cuneiform script as the inscription includes three versions of the same text, written in three different cuneiform script languages: Old Persian, Elamite, and Babylonian (a variety of Akkadian).
What is the behistun rock?
The Bisitun (or Behistun) inscription is a monumental rock inscription in the Zagros mountains, near modern day Kermanshah (Iran). It was written at the behest of Darius I, king of the Achaemenid Empire, in ca. 520 BCE.
Who wrote the Bisitun inscription?
Darius I of Persia
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.
Can you visit the behistun inscription?
Bistoun’s inscription at Bisotun – which dates to 522 BCE, lies some 1300 meters high in the mountains. The site is a UNESCO World Heritage site and has been attracting visitors for centuries. The Behistun inscription is in old Persian cuneiform.
Who is depicted lying underneath Darius’s feet on the behistun inscription?
Darius overlooks nine representatives of conquered peoples, their necks tied. A tenth figure, badly damaged, is laying under the king’s feet. Above these thirteen people is a representation of the supreme god Ahuramazda.
Where was the key found to deciphering Old Persian?
Persepolis
His faithful copies of the cuneiform inscriptions at Persepolis proved to be a key turning-point in the decipherment of cuneiform, and the birth of Assyriology.
Who wrote the Cyrus Cylinder?
Cyrus the Great
The Cyrus Cylinder is a document issued by Cyrus the Great, consisting of a cylinder of clay inscribed in Akkadian cuneiform script. The cylinder was created in 539 BCE, surely by order of Cyrus the Great, when he took Babylon from Nabonidus, ending the Neo-Babylonian empire.
Who is depicted lying underneath Darius’s feet on the Behistun Inscription?
What does the Cyrus Cylinder represent?
According to MacGregor, “What [the Cyrus Cylinder] represents is the first recognition that if you’re going to run a society with different languages [and] different beliefs, you cannot impose by force one system.” This system proved so successful that Cyrus the Great’s dynasty lasted for 200 years, until Alexander the …