Behistun (Bisotun) Inscription of Darius I
بیستون کتیبه داریوش · Bistun Inscription · Behistun Rock Relief · Bagastana Inscription
Achaemenid Empire (Darius I) to Sassanian·Achaemenid Persian; Parthian Arsacid; Sassanian·🇮🇷 Kermanshah Province, Harsin County, Mount Behistun (Bagastana) cliff, 30 km east of Kermanshah on Khorasan highway, Iran
About
About Behistun (Bisotun) Inscription of Darius I
43583), 15×25 m trilingual inscription with relief (522–519 BCE, Darius I after Gaumata revolt) carved 66 m high on Mount Behistun limestone where Rawlinson (1835–47) deciphered cuneiform (Old Persian, Elamite, Babylonian). 78-m life-size with bow facing profile, foot on Gaumata, 9 rebels roped, Faravahar divinity bestowing ring. Inscription 1200 lines (414×260 cm) narrates Bardiya murder to Empire restoration. Lower road: 2nd c. BCE Parthian Mithridates II and 1st c.
CE Gotarzes II plus Khosrow II Farhad Tarash unfinished 200-m Sassanian terrace (intended largest relief in Iran). UNESCO 1222 (2006) 187 ha. Road between Babylon and Ecbatana. Most important epigraphic monument in Iran and key to Assyriology.
Why it mattersRosetta for cuneiform: Rawlinson's trilingual unlocked 3000 years of Mesopotamian history. Only monumental Achaemenid historical narrative on Great Khorasan Road. UNESCO 1222.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Whether 9th rebel Skunkha was real Scythian or literary addition
- 02How artisans worked 66 m up sheer cliff
Theories
- 01Behistun as Achaemenid road shrine controlling Bagastana spring pass vs. Persepolis-style terrace
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.522–519 BCE Darius I; Parthian additions 120–50 BCE; Sassanian Farhad Tarash 600 CE
- Period
- Achaemenid Empire (Darius I) to Sassanian
- Culture
- Achaemenid Persian; Parthian Arsacid; Sassanian
- Builders
- Darius I with scribes Gadates? and sculptors of Persepolis; later Parthian–Sassanian courts
- Purpose
- Imperial propaganda legitimizing Darius after Gaumata/Bardiya usurper and listing 23 satrapies; later Parthian–Sassanian gate shrine on Zagros highway
- Abandoned
- 4th c. BCE Greek indifference; 7th c. CE Islamic respect intact
- Rediscovered
- 1470 Barbaro; 1835 Rawlinson copy via cliff face rope ladder; 1846 decipherment publication
- Excavation
- Excavated
522 BCE
Darius carves trilingual on Bagastana cliff 66 m up
1835
Rawlinson copies from rope ladder
2006
UNESCO 1222
On the ground
Structures & features
34.3906° N · 47.4358° E · 1550 m · 2 mapped features
Behistun — Darius Triumphant Relief and Trilingual Cuneiform
relief inscription3×5.5 m high relief 66 m up cliff: Darius facing 9 rebel kings with rope neck, Faravahar Ahura Mazda above, plus Old Persian/Elamite/Babylonian cuneiform 1200 lines (~414×260 cm inscription)
34.3907° N · 47.4359° EBehistun — Lower Roadside Parthian and Sassanian Friezes
parthian sassanian friezeParthian Mithridates II and Gotarzes II reliefs plus Sassanian unfinished Farhad Tarash 200×30 m rock face for Khosrow II 1 km south, linking Achaemenid to Sassanian Behistun–Taq-e Bostan corridor
34.3900° N · 47.4350° E