BEHISTUN  , or BISrTuN, now pronounced Bisutun, a little See also:

• VILLAGE

village at the See also:

• FOOT

foot of a precipitous See also:

• ROCK
• ROCK (O.Fr. rake, Sp. rota, Ital. rocca; possibly from a Lat. form rupica, from rupes, rock)
• ROCK, DANIEL (1799–187t)

rock, 1700 ft. high, in the centre of the Zagros range in See also:

• PERSIA

Persia on the right See also:

• BANK

bank of the Samas-Ab, the See also:

• PRINCIPAL

principal tributary of the Kerkha (Choaspes) . The See also:

• ORIGINAL

original See also:

• FORM (Lat. forma)

form of the name, Bagistana, " See also:

• PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place of the gods " or " of See also:

• GOD

God " has been preserved by the See also:

• GREEK
• GREEK, ETRUSCAN AND

Greek authors Stephanus of See also:

• BYZANTIUM

Byzantium, and Diodorus (ii . 13), the latter of whom says that the place was sacred to See also:

• ZEUS

Zeus, i.e . Ahuramazda (Ormuzd) . At its foot passes the See also:

• GREAT

great road which leads from Babylonia (See also:

• BAGDAD, or BAGHDAD

Bagdad) to the See also:

• HIGHLANDS, THE

highlands of See also:

• MEDIA

Media (See also:

• ECBATANA (Agbatana in Aeschylus, Hangmatana in Old Persian, written Agamtanu by Nabonidos, and Agamatanu at Behistun, mod. Hamadan)

Ecbatana, See also:

• HAMADAN

Hamadan) . On the steep See also:

• FACE (from Lat. fades, derived either from facere, to make, or from a root fa-, meaning " appear "; cf. Gr. cbatvstv)

face of the rock, some 500 ft. above the See also:

• PLAIN (O. Fr. plain, from Lat. plenum)

plain, See also:

• DARIUS (Pers. Darayavaush; Old Test. Daryavesh)

Darius I., See also:

• KING
• KING (O. Eng. cyning, abbreviated into cyng, cing; cf. O. H. G. chun- kuning, chun- kunig, M.H.G. kiinic, kiinec, kiinc, Mod. Ger. Konig, O. Norse konungr, kongr, Swed. konung, kung)
• KING [OF OCKHAM], PETER KING, 1ST BARON (1669-1734)
• KING, CHARLES WILLIAM (1818-1888)
• KING, CLARENCE (1842–1901)
• KING, EDWARD (1612–1637)
• KING, EDWARD (1829–1910)
• KING, HENRY (1591-1669)
• KING, RUFUS (1755–1827)
• KING, THOMAS (1730–1805)
• KING, WILLIAM (1650-1729)
• KING, WILLIAM (1663–1712)

king of Persia, had engraved a great See also:

• CUNEIFORM (from Lat. cuneus, a wedge)

cuneiform inscription (11 or 12 ft. high), which recounts the way in which, after the See also:

• DEATH

death of See also:

• CAMBYSES (528-521)
• CAMBYSES (Pers. Kambujiya)

Cambyses, he killed the usurper Gaumata (in See also:

• JUSTIN (JUNIANUS JUSTINUS)

Justin Gometes, the pseudo-See also:

• SMERDIS (52I)
• SMERDIS (Pers. Bardiya; by Ctesias, Pers. 8, called Tanyoxarces; by Xenophon, Cyrop. viii. 7. 11, who takes the name from Ctesias, Tanaoxares; by Justin i. 9, Mergis; in Aeschylus, Pers. 774, Mardos)

Smerdis), defeated the numerous rebels, and restored the See also:

• KINGDOM

kingdom of the Achaemenidae . Above the inscription the picture of the king himself is graven, with a See also:

• BOW (pronounced " bo ")

bow in his See also:

• HAND
• HAND (a word common to Teutonic languages; cf. Ger. Hand, Goth. handus)
• HAND, FERDINAND GOTTHELF (1786-185r)

hand, putting his See also:

• LEFT

left foot on the See also:

• BODY

body of Gaumata . Nine See also:

• REBEL, JOHANN PETER (176o-1826)

rebel chiefs are led before him, their hands See also:

• BOUND, or BOUNDARY (from O. Fr. bonde, Med. Lat. bodena or butina, a frontier line)

bound behind them, and a rope See also:

• ROUND (O. Fr. rond, Lat. rotundus, the Fr. is the source also of Du. rond; Ger., Swed., Dan. and Nor. rond)

round their necks: the ninth is Skunka, the See also:

• CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

chief of the Scythians (Sacae) whom he defeated . Behind the king stand his bow-See also:

• BEARER

bearer and his See also:

• LANCE

lance-bearer; in the See also:

• AIR (from an Indo-European root meaning " breathe," " blow ")
• AIR, or ASBEN

air appears the figure of the great god Ahuramazda, whose See also:

• PROTECTION

protection led him to victory.' The See also:

• INSCRIPTIONS (from Lat. inscribere, to write upon)

inscriptions are composed in the three See also:

• LANGUAGES

languages which are written with cuneiform signs, and were used in all See also:

• OFFICIAL (Late Lat. QJicialis, for class. Lat. apparitor, from officium, office, duty)

official inscriptions of the Achaemenian See also:

• KINGS, FIRST AND SECOND BOOKS OF

kings: the chief place ' A passage in the inscription runs:—" Thus saith Darius the king: That which I have done I have done altogether by the See also:

• GRACE (Fr. grace, Lat. gratia, from grates, beloved, pleasing; formed from the root cra-, Gr. xav-, cf. xaipw, x6p,ua, Xapts)
• GRACE, WILLIAM GILBERT (1848– )

grace of Ahuramazda . Ahuramazda, and the other gods that be, brought aid to me . For this See also:

• REASON (Lat. ratio, through French raison)

reason did Ahuramazda, and the other gods that be, bring aid to me, because I was not hostile, nor a liar, nor a wrongdoer, neither I nor my See also:

• FAMILY

family, but according to Rectitude (arstam) have I ruled." (A . V .

\Villiams See also:

• JACKSON
• JACKSON, ANDREW (1767-1845)
• JACKSON, CYRIL (1746-1819)
• JACKSON, FREDERICK GEORGE (186o– )
• JACKSON, HELEN MARIA (1831–1885)
• JACKSON, MASON (c. 1820-1903)
• JACKSON, THOMAS (1579-1640)
• JACKSON, THOMAS JONATHAN (1824-1863)
• JACKSON, WILLIAM (1730-1803)

Jackson, Persia, Past and See also:

• PRESENT

Present.) is of course given to the See also:

• PERSIAN
• PERSIAN, SYRIAN, EGYPTIAN AND TURKISH

Persian See also:

• LANGUAGE (adapted from the Fr. langage, from langue, tongue, Lat. lingua)

language (in four columns); the three Susian (Elamitic) columns See also:

• LIE, JONAS LAURITZ EDEMIL (1833—1908)
• LIE, MARIUS SOPHUS (1842–1899)

lie to the left, and the Babylonian See also:

• TEXT (Lat. textum, woven fabric, from texere, to weave)

text is on a slanting See also:

• BOULDER
• BOULDER (short for " boulder-stone," of uncertain origin; cf. Swed. bullersten, a large stone which causes a noise of rippling water in a stream, from bullra, to make a loud noise)

boulder above them; a See also:

• PART

part of the Babylonian has been destroyed by a torrent, which has made its way over it . In former times the second language has often been called Scythian, Turanian or Median; but we now know from numerous inscriptions of See also:

• SUSA (anc. Segusio, q.v.)
• SUSA (Biblical, Shushan)
• SUSA (Fr. Sousse)

Susa that it is the language of See also:

• ELAM

Elam which was spoken in Susa, the See also:

• CAPITAL (i.e. capital stock or fund)
• CAPITAL (Lat. caput, head)

capital of the Persian See also:

• EMPIRE

empire . In 1835 the difficult and almost inaccessible cliff was first climbed by See also:

• SIR

Sir See also:

• HENRY
• HENRY (1129-1195)
• HENRY (c. 1108-1139)
• HENRY (c. 1174–1216)
• HENRY (Fr. Henri; Span. Enrique; Ger. Heinrich; Mid. H. Ger. Heinrich and Heimrich; O.H.G. Haimi- or Heimirih, i.e. " prince, or chief of the house," from O.H.G. heim, the Eng. home, and rih, Goth. reiks; compare Lat. rex " king "—" rich," therefore " mig
• HENRY, EDWARD LAMSON (1841– )
• HENRY, JAMES (1798-1876)
• HENRY, JOSEPH (1797-1878)
• HENRY, MATTHEW (1662-1714)
• HENRY, PATRICK (1736–1799)
• HENRY, PRINCE OF BATTENBERG (1858-1896)
• HENRY, ROBERT (1718-1790)
• HENRY, VICTOR (1850– )
• HENRY, WILLIAM (1795-1836)

Henry See also:

• RAWLINSON, GEORGE (1812-1902)
• RAWLINSON, RICHARD (169o-1755)
• RAWLINSON, SIR HENRY CRESWICKE (1810—1895)
• RAWLINSON, SIR ROBERT (1810—1898)

Rawlinson, who copied and deciphered the inscriptions (183 184J), and thus completed the See also:

• READING

reading of the old cuneiform text and laid the See also:

• FOUNDATION (Lat. fundatio, from fundare, to found)

foundation of the See also:

• SCIENCE (Lat. scientia, from scire; to learn, know)

science of Assyriology . Diodorus ii . 13 (cf. xvii . 11o) , probably following a later author who wrote the See also:

• HISTORY

history of See also:

• ALEXANDER
• ALEXANDER (1461-1506)
• ALEXANDER (ALEXANDER OF BATTENBERG) (1857-1893)
• ALEXANDER (ALEXANDER OsxENOVici) (1876-1903)
• ALEXANDER, ARCHIBALD (1772—1851)
• ALEXANDER, FRANCIS (1800—1881)
• ALEXANDER, GEORGE (1858— )
• ALEXANDER, JOHN WHITE (1856- )
• ALEXANDER, JOSEPH ADDISON (18o9—186o)
• ALEXANDER, SIR JAMES EDWARD (1803—1885)
• ALEXANDER, WILLIAM (1824— )
• ALEXANDER, WILLIAM LINDSAY (1808—1884)

Alexander's See also:

• CAMPAIGNS

campaigns, mentions the sculptures and inscriptions, but attributes them to See also:

• SEMIRAMIS (c. 800 B.C.)

Semiramis . At the foot of the rock are the remainders of some other sculptures (quite destroyed), the fragments of a Greek inscription of the See also:

• PARTHIAN

Parthian See also:

• PRINCE
• PRINCE (Lat. princeps, from primus capio, " I am the first to take "; Ital. principe, Fr. prince)

prince See also:

• GOTARZES

Gotarzes (A.D . 4o; text in Dittenberger, Orientis graeci inscr. selectee, no . 431), and of an Arabic inscription . See Sir Henry Rawlinson in the Journ . R . Geog .

See also:

• SOC

Soc. ix., 1839; J . R . See also:

• ASIATIC

Asiatic Soc. x . 1866, xiv., 1853, xv., 1855; Archaeologia, xxxiv., 1852; Sir R . See also:

• KER, JOHN (1673-1726)

Ker See also:

• PORTER
• PORTER, BENJAMIN CURTIS (1843– )
• PORTER, DAVID (1780-1843)
• PORTER, DAVID DIXON (1813-1891)
• PORTER, ENDYMION (1587–1649)
• PORTER, HENRY (ft. 1596-1599)
• PORTER, HORACE (1837– )
• PORTER, JANE (1776–1850)
• PORTER, MARY (d. 1765)
• PORTER, NOAH (1811–1892)

Porter, Travels, ii . 149 ff . ; Flandin and Coste, Voyage en Perse, i. pl . 16; and the See also:

• MODERN

modern See also:

• EDITIONS

editions of the inscriptions, the best of which, up to the end of the 19th See also:

• CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century, were: Weissbach and See also:

• BANG, HERMANN JOACHIM (1858– )

Bang, See also:

• DIE
• DIE (Fr. de, from Lat. datum, given)

Die altpersischen Keilinschriften (1893) Weissbach, Die Achaemenideninschriften zweiter See also:

• ART

Art (1890); Bezold, Die (babylonischen) Achaemenideninschriften (1882) . A description of the locality, with comments on the present See also:

• STATE
• STATE, GREAT OFFICERS OF

state of the inscriptions and doubtful passages of the Persian text, was given by Dr A . V . See also:

• WILLIAMS
• WILLIAMS, JOHN (1582-1650)
• WILLIAMS, JOHN (1796-1839)
• WILLIAMS, ROGER (c. 1604–1684)
• WILLIAMS, ROWLAND (1817-1870)
• WILLIAMS, SIR WILLIAM FENWICK

Williams Jackson in the See also:

• JOURNAL
• JOURNAL (through Fr. from late Lat. diurnalis, daily)

Journal of the See also:

• AMERICAN

American See also:

• ORIENTAL

Oriental Society, See also:

• XXIV

xxiv., 1903, and in his Persia, Past and Present (1906) . Dr Jackson in 1903 climbed to the ledge of the rock and was able to collate the See also:

• LOWER

lower part of the four large Persian columns; he thus convinced himself that See also:

• FOY, MAXIMILIEN SEBASTIEN (1775-1825)

Foy's conjecture of arstam (" righteousness ") for Rawlinson's abistam or abastam was correct .

A later investigation was carried out in 1904 on the instructions of the See also:

• BRITISH

British Museum Trustees by Messrs . L . W . King and R . C . See also:

• THOMPSON
• THOMPSON, FRANCIS (1860-1907)
• THOMPSON, LAUNT (1833-1894)
• THOMPSON, SIR HENRY, BART
• THOMPSON, SIR JOHN SPARROW (1844-1894)
• THOMPSON, THOMAS PERONNET (1783-1869)
• THOMPSON, WILLIAM HEPWORTH (18ro–1886)

Thompson, who published their results in 1907 under the See also:

• TITLE (0. Fr. title, mod. titre, from Lat. titulus)

title, The Inscription of Darius the Great at Behistiin, including a full illustrated See also:

• ACCOUNT
• ACCOUNT (through O. Fr. acont, Late Lat. comptum, cornputare, to calculate)

account of the sculptures and the inscription, and a See also:

• COMPLETE

complete See also:

• COLLATION (Lat. collatio, from conferre, to bring together or compare)

collation of the text . (En .