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The Behistun Inscription (also Bisotun, Bistun or Bisutun; Persian: بیستون, Old Persian: Bagastana, meaning “the place of god”) is a multilingual inscription and large rock relief on a cliff at Mount Behistun in the Kermanshah Province of Iran, near the city of Kermanshah in western Iran, established by Darius the Great (r. 522–486 BC). It was crucial to the decipherment of cuneiform script as the inscription includes three versions of the same text, written in three different cuneiform script languages: Old Persian, Elamite, and Babylonian (a variety of Akkadian). The inscription is to cuneiform what the Rosetta Stone is to Egyptian hieroglyphs: the document most crucial in the decipherment of a previously lost script.
Authored by Darius the Great sometime between his coronation as king of the Persian Empire in the summer of 522 BC and his death in autumn of 486 BC, the inscription begins with a brief autobiography of Darius, including his ancestry and lineage. Later in the inscription, Darius provides a lengthy sequence of events following the deaths of Cyrus the Great and Cambyses II in which he fought nineteen battles in a period of one year (ending in December 521 BC) to put down multiple rebellions throughout the Persian Empire. The inscription states in detail that the rebellions, which had resulted from the deaths of Cyrus the Great and his son Cambyses II, were orchestrated by several impostors and their co-conspirators in various cities throughout the empire, each of whom falsely proclaimed kinghood during the upheaval following Cyrus’s death.
Conflicts and revolts
Later in the inscription, Darius provides an eye-witness account of battles he successfully fought over a one year period to put down rebellions which had resulted from the deaths of Cyrus the Great, and his son Cambyses II:
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Relief of ššina c. 519 BC: “This is ššina. He lied, saying “I am king of Elam.”“ -
Relief of Nidintu-Bêl: “This is Nidintu-Bêl. He lied, saying “I am Nebuchadnezzar, the son of Nabonidus. I am king of Babylon.”“ -
Relief of Tritantaechmes: “This is Tritantaechmes. He lied, saying “I am king of Sagartia, from the family of Cyaxares.”“
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Relief of Arakha: “This is Arakha. He lied, saying: “I am Nebuchadnezzar, the son of Nabonidus. I am king in Babylon.”“
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Relief of Frâda: “This is Frâda. He lied, saying “I am king of Margiana.”“
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Behistun relief of Skunkha. Label: “This is Skunkha the Sacan.”
Darius the Great proclaimed himself victorious in all battles during the period of upheaval, attributing his success to the “grace of Ahura Mazda”.
The inscription is approximately 15 m (49 ft) high by 25 m (82 ft) wide and 100 m (330 ft) up a limestone cliff from an ancient road connecting the capitals of Babylonia and Media (Babylon and Ecbatana, respectively). 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 I, the Great, holding a bow as a sign of kingship, with his left foot on the chest of a figure lying on his back before him. The supine figure is reputed to be the pretender Gaumata. Darius is attended to the left by two servants, and nine one-meter figures stand to the right, with hands tied and rope around their necks, representing conquered peoples. A Faravahar floats above, giving its blessing to the king. One figure appears to have been added after the others were completed, as was Darius’s beard, which is a separate block of stone attached with iron pins and lead.
 Darius with his foot on Gaumata |
 Darius with his foot on Gaumata |
 The bow carrier Intaphernes (Old Persian Vindafrana) |
 The bow carrier Intaphernes (Old Persian Vindafrana) |
 The view from the Behistun Bas Relief |
 The pretenders to the throne |
 The scaffolding up to the Bas Relief at Behistun |
 The scaffolding that is obscuring the Bas Relief at Behistun |
 Darius with his foot on Gaumata – original image |
 Darius’s attendant, Behistun Bas Relief – Original Image |
Content of the inscription
Territories
Darius also lists the territories under his rule:
King Darius says: These are the countries which are subject unto me, and by the grace of Ahuramazda I became king of them: Persia [Pârsa], Elam [Ûvja], Babylonia [Bâbiruš], Assyria [Athurâ], Arabia [Arabâya], Egypt [Mudrâya], the countries by the Sea [Tyaiy Drayahyâ], Lydia [Sparda], the Greeks [Yauna (Ionia)], Media [Mâda], Armenia [Armina], Cappadocia [Katpatuka], Parthia [Parthava], Drangiana [Zraka], Aria [Haraiva], Chorasmia [Uvârazmîy], Bactria [Bâxtriš], Sogdia [Suguda], Gandhara [Gadâra], Scythia [Saka], Sattagydia [Thataguš], Arachosia [Harauvatiš] and Maka [Maka]; twenty-three lands in all.
Lineage
In the first section of the inscription, Darius the Great declares his ancestry and lineage:
King Darius says: My father is Hystaspes [Vištâspa]; the father of Hystaspes was Arsames [Aršâma]; the father of Arsames was Ariaramnes [Ariyâramna]; the father of Ariaramnes was Teispes [Cišpiš]; the father of Teispes was Achaemenes [Haxâmaniš]. King Darius says: That is why we are called Achaemenids; from antiquity we have been noble; from antiquity has our dynasty been royal. King Darius says: Eight of my dynasty were kings before me; I am the ninth. Nine in succession we have been kings.
King Darius says: By the grace of Ahuramazda am I king; Ahuramazda has granted me the kingdom.
