Behistun Inscription

E136845

The Behistun Inscription is a monumental multilingual rock relief commissioned by Darius the Great in present-day Iran, whose cuneiform texts were crucial in deciphering Old Persian and other ancient Near Eastern scripts.

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All labels observed (2)

Label Occurrences
Behistun Inscription canonical 15
Bisotun inscription 3

Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf World Heritage Site
multilingual rock relief
royal inscription
commissionedBy Darius I of Persia
surface form: Darius the Great
constructionStart circa 522 BCE
country Iran
creator Darius I of Persia
culture Persian
dateOfCreation circa 520 BCE
decipheredBy Henry Creswicke Rawlinson
deciphermentDate mid-19th century
dedicatedTo Ahura Mazda
depicts Darius I standing on a prostrate figure
bound rebel leaders in a row
winged symbol associated with Ahura Mazda
describes accession of Darius I
defeat of multiple pretenders to the Persian throne
elevationAboveGround about 100 meters
height approximately 15 meters
heritageDesignation UNESCO World Heritage Site
influenced decipherment of Akkadian
decipherment of Elamite
decipherment of Old Persian
development of Assyriology
inscriptionType trilingual inscription
language Babylonian
Elamite
Old Persian
locatedIn Bisotun
Iran
Kermanshah Province
locatedOn cliff face of Mount Behistun
materialUsed limestone rock face
near ancient road between Babylon and Ecbatana
modern town of Bisotun
partOf Achaemenid Empire
period Achaemenid period
region ancient Media
scriptType Akkadian cuneiform
Elamite cuneiform
Old Persian cuneiform
significance key to decipherment of cuneiform scripts
primary source for early reign of Darius I
subjectMatter legitimization of Darius I’s rule
royal propaganda
UNESCOWorldHeritageSiteId 1222
UNESCOWorldHeritageSiteInscriptionDate 2006
width approximately 25 meters
writingSystem cuneiform

Referenced by (18)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Old Persian notableInscription Behistun Inscription
Darius I of Persia notableWork Behistun Inscription
Bardiya mentionedIn Behistun Inscription
Cambyses II mentionedIn Behistun Inscription
Achaemenes mentionedInSource Behistun Inscription
Old Persian cuneiform notablyUsedIn Behistun Inscription
Bactria mentionedIn Behistun Inscription
Parsa mentionedIn Behistun Inscription
Kermanshah hasNearbyArchaeologicalSite Behistun Inscription
this entity surface form: Bisotun inscription
Dārayavauš attestedIn Behistun Inscription
Kermanshah Province contains Behistun Inscription
this entity surface form: Bisotun inscription
Kermanshah Province hasArchaeologicalSite Behistun Inscription
this entity surface form: Bisotun inscription
Gaumata mentionedIn Behistun Inscription
Rawlinson studied Behistun Inscription
subject surface form: Henry Rawlinson
Arachosia mentionedIn Behistun Inscription
Achaemenid royal inscriptions majorExample Behistun Inscription
Ahura Mazda inscribedIn Behistun Inscription