Behistun Inscription
Darius's trilingual proclamation
The Behistun Inscription is a monumental text carved into a cliff face in western Iran around 500 BCE by the Persian king Darius I.
Written in three languages—Old Persian, Babylonian, and Elamite—it records Darius's rise to power and military victories.
The inscription proved crucial to deciphering cuneiform scripts, much as the Rosetta Stone unlocked Egyptian hieroglyphics.
- DariusPersian royal name
- cuneiformStylus-impressed ancient script
- PersiaIran's former name
- rockSolid earthen material
- cliffVertical rock wall
trilingual · ancient · decipherment · Babylonian · carving · relief · mountainside · empire · king · conquest · Rosetta · archaeology · Iran · monument · royal · proclamation · rebels
- ancient inscriptionscuneiform tablets, stone tablets, stele, cuneiform, hieroglyphics
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