Behistun Inscription
From Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository
The Behistun Inscription (also Bisitun or Bisutun, بیستون in modern Persian) is to cuneiform what the Rosetta Stone is to Egyptian hieroglyphs: the document most crucial in the decipherment of a previously lost script. It is located in the Kermanshah Province of Iran.
-
The Behistun Inscription, carved into a cliffside, gives the same text in three languages, telling the story of King Darius' conquests. It is illustrated by life-sized carved images of King Darius with other figures in attendance.
-
Transcription of a part of the Behistun inscription
-
The text in three languages
-
Skunkha, king of 'wearing pointed caps' sakae (group of scithian tribes). Detail of Behistun Inscription.
