
Darius_I_of_Persia'_conquests.__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' conquests. 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 Persian language) is to Cuneiform (script) what the Rosetta Stone is to Egyptian hieroglyphs: the document most crucial in the decipherment of a previously lost writing system. It is located in the Kermanshah Province of Iran. The inscription includes three versions of the same text, written in three different scripts and languages: Old Persian language, Elamite language, and Babylonian language. 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: both are Semitic languages. ==The inscription== [[Image:Behistun DB1 1-15.jpg|thumb|330px|Column 1 (DB I 1-15), sketch by Fr. Spiegel (1881).]] 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 and Elamite language, and Babylonian language above them. Darius ruled the Persian Empire from 521 BC to 486 BC. Some time around 515 BC, 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 metres high by 25 metres wide, and 100 metres up a cliff from an ancient road connecting the capitals of Babylonia and Medes (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, two servants, and ten one-metre figures representing conquered peoples; the god Ahura Mazda 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. ==In ancient history== The first historical mention of the inscription is by the Greek Ctesias, who noted its existence some time around 400 BC. Also Gaius Cornelius Tacitus mentions it and includes a description of some of the long-lost ancillary monuments at the base of the cliff, where a spring is located. What has been recovered of them is consistent with his description. Diodorus Siculus also writes of "Bagistanon" and claims it was inscribed by Queen Semiramis of Babylon. 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 — one of the last. 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, and throws himself from the cliff. Shirin is not dead, naturally, and hangs herself upon hearing the news. ==Discovery== It was not until 1598, when the England Robert Sherley saw the inscription during a diplomatic mission to Iran 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. Biblical misinterpretations by Europeans were rife for the next two centuries, including such notions as it being Christ and his Apostles, and the tribes of Israel and Shalmaneser I. 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 metres 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 from the cuneiform expert Georg Friedrich 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. 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. 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. This has caused considerable destruction to some figures. The monument also suffered some damage from soldiers using it for target practice during World War II. ==References== *[http://www.payvand.com/news/04/aug/1149.html Payvand] == External links == *[http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/txt/ah/Persia/Behistun_txt.html English translation of the inscription text] *[http://www.cwru.edu/UL/preserve/stack/Sculptures.html Case Western Reserve University Digital Library] — the complete text of the Behistun inscription, in transcribed cuneiform and English translation, available in Portable Document Format format *[https://www.sharemation.com/zoroaster7/BISOTUN.PDF?uniq=ksz8bm Bisotun]— the complete text of the bisotun inscription, in transcribed cuneiform and persian translation, available in pdf format. *[http://www.livius.org/be-bm/behistun/behistun01.html The Livius historical website] — a comprehensive discussion of the Behistun inscription, with pictures, and a translation to English. Inscriptions Persian history Multilingual texts
==Western scolars== :"In :1598 the inscription came to the attention of Western Europe when it was seen by :Robert Sherley, an Englishman on a diplomatic mission to Persia in the service of :Austria." I'd like to change the above (showing my disregard for passive voice), but I don't know what to change it to. "In :1598 the inscription came to the attention of Western Europe when :Robert Sherley, an Englishman on a diplomatic mission to Persia in the service of :Austria, saw it" sounds odd--incomplete somehow--did he write back about it? return with news of it? Sorry to quibble; it's just that the rest of it is so well-written & interesting that this sentence sticks out like a sore thumb (to me, anyway). --user:Koyaanis Qatsi How about: "Western European scholars did not become aware of the inscription until :1598, when it was observed by:Robert Sherley, an Englishman on an :Austria}Austrian diplomatic mission to Persia." Just a go - it's a tough sentence. - User:MMGB :Well, I had to go with the passive voice because I'm really not sure myself. I could only find one source about Sherley ("It's an cuneiform inscription...and don't call me Sherley"), and it was distressingly vague. It wasn't Sherley himself who brought it to European attention, just someone with him, and I don't know how he (or she) got the word back to Europe. That makes the form you have (ending in "saw it") -- what I had at first too -- put the verb so far away from the action that it needs to watch it on TV. Devil and the deep blue sea....-- User:Paul Drye Lol. Ok then. --user:Koyaanis Qatsi How about: "It was not until 1958, when the Englishman Robert Sherley saw it during a diplomatic mission to Persia, that the inscription came to the attention of western scholars." M. Northstar Excellent - I have changed accordingly. -- User:ALoan User_talk:ALoan 02:22, 19 Dec 2004 (UTC) ==Image== Very nice, Paul, et al. This calls in the best kinda way for a picture - surely there's one in public domain! --MichaelTinkler :At least a couple of which I'm aware. Do we have a way to upload them? --User:Paul Drye I've never tried to put up an image, but I think JHK emailed a family tree to Larry? I looked and didn't see any nice ones online, so I hope you've found a better one! --MichaelTinkler :Images for Wikipedia should be e-mailed to User:JasonR. --User:Zundark, 2001 Dec 11 == Misspelling or sound drift? == The way the name of the legendary hero and Shirin's lover is spelled and pronounced in modern Persian is Farhad, with the "r" *before* the "h". Does your source spell the name differently, or is this a misspelling? (I know it must be hard to keep track of the spelling of a word in a foreign language.) Great article otherwise, although your link to the CWR university doesn't seem to be going anywhere useful. ==Mentioned by Tacitus?== The article claims that the inscription is mentioned by Tacitus, but no non-wiki source I can find mentions this. Can anyone cite me a reference? Thanks, --User:68.78.70.215 04:05, 6 Sep 2004 (UTC) (la:Usor:Iustinus) :User:Muke pointed me to [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0064&query=label%3D%232857 this entry] on perseus, which mentions a theory equating Tacitus' Sambulus with Behistun. I'm not sure I buy that, but that is certainly what the article is refering to. -la:Usor:Iustinus == Spelling variations == I did some online checking (yes, I know, inherently culturally biased) and the most common spellings are Behistun (1880 hits), Bisitun (119), Bisutun (70), Bisotun (16), and Bistun (13). There were zero hits for "Bisistun inscription." I've adjusted the article to include the two most common spelling variations other than Behistun. User:SWAdair | User talk:SWAdair 08:01, 27 Oct 2004 (UTC) ==Akkadian/Babylonian== Babylonian is the name given to the descendant of Akkadian which was used in this inscription; whether you consider it a separate language or a dialect of Akkadian is POV, but "Babylonian" is in any event correct. - User:Mustafaa 15:52, 3 Nov 2004 (UTC) ==Request for references== Hi, I am working to encourage implementation of the goals of the Wikipedia:Verifiability policy. Part of that is to make sure articles Wikipedia:Cite sources. This is particularly important for featured articles, since they are a prominent part of Wikipedia. The Wikipedia:WikiProject Fact and Reference Check has more information. Thank you, and please [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=User_talk:Taxman&action=edit§ion=new leave me a message] when you have added a few references to the article. - User:Taxman 20:00, Apr 21, 2005 (UTC)
#REDIRECT Behistun_Inscription
See other meanings of words starting from letter:
Words begining with Behistun_Inscription:
Behistun_Inscription
Behistun_Inscription
Behistun_inscription
Behistun_inscriptions
Behistun Inscription
Darius_I_of_Persia'_conquests.__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' conquests. 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 Persian language) is to Cuneiform (script) what the Rosetta Stone is to Egyptian hieroglyphs: the document most crucial in the decipherment of a previously lost writing system. It is located in the Kermanshah Province of Iran. The inscription includes three versions of the same text, written in three different scripts and languages: Old Persian language, Elamite language, and Babylonian language. 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: both are Semitic languages. ==The inscription== [[Image:Behistun DB1 1-15.jpg|thumb|330px|Column 1 (DB I 1-15), sketch by Fr. Spiegel (1881).]] 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 and Elamite language, and Babylonian language above them. Darius ruled the Persian Empire from 521 BC to 486 BC. Some time around 515 BC, 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 metres high by 25 metres wide, and 100 metres up a cliff from an ancient road connecting the capitals of Babylonia and Medes (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, two servants, and ten one-metre figures representing conquered peoples; the god Ahura Mazda 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. ==In ancient history== The first historical mention of the inscription is by the Greek Ctesias, who noted its existence some time around 400 BC. Also Gaius Cornelius Tacitus mentions it and includes a description of some of the long-lost ancillary monuments at the base of the cliff, where a spring is located. What has been recovered of them is consistent with his description. Diodorus Siculus also writes of "Bagistanon" and claims it was inscribed by Queen Semiramis of Babylon. 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 — one of the last. 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, and throws himself from the cliff. Shirin is not dead, naturally, and hangs herself upon hearing the news. ==Discovery== It was not until 1598, when the England Robert Sherley saw the inscription during a diplomatic mission to Iran 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. Biblical misinterpretations by Europeans were rife for the next two centuries, including such notions as it being Christ and his Apostles, and the tribes of Israel and Shalmaneser I. 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 metres 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 from the cuneiform expert Georg Friedrich 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. 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. 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. This has caused considerable destruction to some figures. The monument also suffered some damage from soldiers using it for target practice during World War II. ==References== *[http://www.payvand.com/news/04/aug/1149.html Payvand] == External links == *[http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/txt/ah/Persia/Behistun_txt.html English translation of the inscription text] *[http://www.cwru.edu/UL/preserve/stack/Sculptures.html Case Western Reserve University Digital Library] — the complete text of the Behistun inscription, in transcribed cuneiform and English translation, available in Portable Document Format format *[https://www.sharemation.com/zoroaster7/BISOTUN.PDF?uniq=ksz8bm Bisotun]— the complete text of the bisotun inscription, in transcribed cuneiform and persian translation, available in pdf format. *[http://www.livius.org/be-bm/behistun/behistun01.html The Livius historical website] — a comprehensive discussion of the Behistun inscription, with pictures, and a translation to English. Inscriptions Persian history Multilingual texts
Behistun Inscription
==Western scolars== :"In :1598 the inscription came to the attention of Western Europe when it was seen by :Robert Sherley, an Englishman on a diplomatic mission to Persia in the service of :Austria." I'd like to change the above (showing my disregard for passive voice), but I don't know what to change it to. "In :1598 the inscription came to the attention of Western Europe when :Robert Sherley, an Englishman on a diplomatic mission to Persia in the service of :Austria, saw it" sounds odd--incomplete somehow--did he write back about it? return with news of it? Sorry to quibble; it's just that the rest of it is so well-written & interesting that this sentence sticks out like a sore thumb (to me, anyway). --user:Koyaanis Qatsi How about: "Western European scholars did not become aware of the inscription until :1598, when it was observed by:Robert Sherley, an Englishman on an :Austria}Austrian diplomatic mission to Persia." Just a go - it's a tough sentence. - User:MMGB :Well, I had to go with the passive voice because I'm really not sure myself. I could only find one source about Sherley ("It's an cuneiform inscription...and don't call me Sherley"), and it was distressingly vague. It wasn't Sherley himself who brought it to European attention, just someone with him, and I don't know how he (or she) got the word back to Europe. That makes the form you have (ending in "saw it") -- what I had at first too -- put the verb so far away from the action that it needs to watch it on TV. Devil and the deep blue sea....-- User:Paul Drye Lol. Ok then. --user:Koyaanis Qatsi How about: "It was not until 1958, when the Englishman Robert Sherley saw it during a diplomatic mission to Persia, that the inscription came to the attention of western scholars." M. Northstar Excellent - I have changed accordingly. -- User:ALoan User_talk:ALoan 02:22, 19 Dec 2004 (UTC) ==Image== Very nice, Paul, et al. This calls in the best kinda way for a picture - surely there's one in public domain! --MichaelTinkler :At least a couple of which I'm aware. Do we have a way to upload them? --User:Paul Drye I've never tried to put up an image, but I think JHK emailed a family tree to Larry? I looked and didn't see any nice ones online, so I hope you've found a better one! --MichaelTinkler :Images for Wikipedia should be e-mailed to User:JasonR. --User:Zundark, 2001 Dec 11 == Misspelling or sound drift? == The way the name of the legendary hero and Shirin's lover is spelled and pronounced in modern Persian is Farhad, with the "r" *before* the "h". Does your source spell the name differently, or is this a misspelling? (I know it must be hard to keep track of the spelling of a word in a foreign language.) Great article otherwise, although your link to the CWR university doesn't seem to be going anywhere useful. ==Mentioned by Tacitus?== The article claims that the inscription is mentioned by Tacitus, but no non-wiki source I can find mentions this. Can anyone cite me a reference? Thanks, --User:68.78.70.215 04:05, 6 Sep 2004 (UTC) (la:Usor:Iustinus) :User:Muke pointed me to [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0064&query=label%3D%232857 this entry] on perseus, which mentions a theory equating Tacitus' Sambulus with Behistun. I'm not sure I buy that, but that is certainly what the article is refering to. -la:Usor:Iustinus == Spelling variations == I did some online checking (yes, I know, inherently culturally biased) and the most common spellings are Behistun (1880 hits), Bisitun (119), Bisutun (70), Bisotun (16), and Bistun (13). There were zero hits for "Bisistun inscription." I've adjusted the article to include the two most common spelling variations other than Behistun. User:SWAdair | User talk:SWAdair 08:01, 27 Oct 2004 (UTC) ==Akkadian/Babylonian== Babylonian is the name given to the descendant of Akkadian which was used in this inscription; whether you consider it a separate language or a dialect of Akkadian is POV, but "Babylonian" is in any event correct. - User:Mustafaa 15:52, 3 Nov 2004 (UTC) ==Request for references== Hi, I am working to encourage implementation of the goals of the Wikipedia:Verifiability policy. Part of that is to make sure articles Wikipedia:Cite sources. This is particularly important for featured articles, since they are a prominent part of Wikipedia. The Wikipedia:WikiProject Fact and Reference Check has more information. Thank you, and please [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=User_talk:Taxman&action=edit§ion=new leave me a message] when you have added a few references to the article. - User:Taxman 20:00, Apr 21, 2005 (UTC)
Behistun inscription
#REDIRECT Behistun_Inscription
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Behistun_Inscription
Behistun_inscription
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