Behistun Inscription

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.

Related Topics:
Modern Persian - Cuneiform - Rosetta Stone - Egyptian hieroglyph - Decipherment - Script - Kermanshah Province - Iran

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The inscription includes three versions of the same text, written in three different scripts and languages: Old Persian, Elamite, and Babylonian. A British army officer, Sir Henry Rawlinson, had the inscription transcribed in two parts, in 1835 and 1843. Rawlinson was able to translate the Old Persian cuneiform text in 1838, and the Elamite and Babylonian texts were translated by Rawlinson and others after 1843. Babylonian was a later form of Akkadian: both are Semitic languages.

Related Topics:
Old Persian - Elamite - Babylonian - Sir Henry Rawlinson - 1835 - 1843 - 1838 - Akkadian - Semitic languages

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