Darius I's Behistun Inscription
The Behistun Inscription is the Rosetta Stone of cuneiform studies. Carved some 100 meters above the ancient road connecting Babylonia and Media, it was meant to be seen by travelers on the road below. Darius I presents his version of events: a pretender named Gaumata had falsely claimed the throne; Darius killed Gaumata and legitimately assumed power. Rawlinson's decipherment, accomplished at considerable personal risk (he dangled from ropes on the cliff face to copy the inscription), began with the Old Persian version and then used it to unlock the Elamite and Akkadian versions. Once Akkadian could be read, the entire millennia-long archive of Mesopotamian cuneiform literature, law, and administration became accessible. Few individual inscriptions in history have had a greater scholarly impact.
- Year: 521 BCE
- Category: Political
