Bisotun (Behistun)
Behistun · Bagastana · Bisotoun · Bhumestan
Achaemenid to Sassanian (main inscription 520 BCE; later reliefs 148 BCE–6th c CE)·Achaemenid Persian / Seleucid / Parthian / Sassanian·🇮🇷 Kermanshah Province, Iran
About
About Bisotun (Behistun)
Immense trilingual Rock of Behistun (Darius I, 520 BCE): Old Persian, Elamite, Babylonian cuneiform narrating Darius' accession and defeat of 10 rebel kings – the Rosetta Stone for cuneiform decipherment by Rawlinson 1835. Relief shows Darius, Ahuramazda winged figure, and bound rebels. Also later Heracles, Parthian and Sassanian reliefs on same mountain sacred for 2,600 years along Silk Road.
Why it mattersRosetta Stone of cuneiform; foundational text for decipherment
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Rawlinson's climbing technique with ladders to copy 414 lines
- 02Unfinished Sassanian palace at Taq-e Bostan foothill link
Theories
- 01Triple inscription deliberately enabled multilingual empire administration (Old Persian new script created for monument)
- 02Rebel scenes consciously reserved for Babylonian-Elamite-Persian literate elites
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.522–520 BCE under Darius I
- Period
- Achaemenid to Sassanian (main inscription 520 BCE; later reliefs 148 BCE–6th c CE)
- Culture
- Achaemenid Persian / Seleucid / Parthian / Sassanian
- Purpose
- Imperial propaganda and successor legitimacy monument on royal road; later cult mountain
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
c.522–520 BCE under Darius I
Initial construction
c. 1497 CE
Major expansion
On the ground
Structures & features
34.3906° N · 47.4367° E · 1290 m · 3 mapped features
Behistun Inscription
inscriptionTrilingual cuneiform panel 7.8×22 m, 15 columns Old Persian + 8 Elamite + Akkadian
34.3915° N · 47.4370° EDarius Relief
rock relief3 m high relief of Darius facing 10 bound rebel kings and Ahuramazda
34.3913° N · 47.4368° EHeracles of Behistun
rock reliefSeleucid 148 BCE relief of Heracles reclining with club and cup
34.3865° N · 47.4330° E
Gallery