Low confidenceOld Persian cuneiform, Achaemenid period — this appears to be a hand-drawn copy or facsimile of Old Persian royal inscription columns, likely from the Behistun (Bisitun) Inscription or a related Achaemenid monument· 522–486 BCE (reign of Darius I), Achaemenid Persian Empire; facsimile copy likely 19th–early 20th century CE
Transliteration
COLUMN LEFT (partial, lines 1–10+):
1. [x-š-a-y-a-θ-i-y-a]
2. [v-z-r-k]
3. [x-š-a-y-a-θ-i-y-a]
4. [x-š-a-y-a-θ-i-y-a-n-a-m]
5. [d-a-r-y-v-u-š]
(line 5 marked) -o
IX. [d-a-r-y-v-u-š]
[x-š-a-y-a-θ-i-y-a]
[h-y-a]
[i-m-a-m]
[d-i-p-i-m]
[a-k-u-n-u-š]
COLUMN MIDDLE (lines VII–VIII+):
VII. [a-d-a-m]
[d-a-r-y-v-u-š]
[x-š-a-y-a-θ-i-y-a]
5. [v-š-n-a]
[a-u-r-a-m-z-d-a-h-a]
[i-m-a-m]
[d-a-h-y-a-u-m]
[a-d-a-m]
VIII.[a-g-r-b-a-y-a-m]
[k-a-r-a]
[m-a-m]
COLUMN RIGHT (lines VI–5+):
VI. [d-a-r-y-v-u-š]
[x-š-a-y-a-θ-i-y-a]
[v-a-h-y-a-u-d-a-m]
5. [x-š-a-θ-r-a-m]
[d-a-r-a-y-a-m-i-y]
VI. [a-u-r-a-m-z-d-a]
[u-p-a-s-t-a-m]
[m-a-m]
[a-b-a-r]
5. [h-a-m-a-t-a-x-š-a-t-a-m]
English Translation
COLUMN LEFT:
'[Darius], the great king, king of kings, [king of countries/nations]...
(Line 5) Darius the king...
(Section IX) Darius the king who made/inscribed this inscription...'
COLUMN MIDDLE:
'(Section VII) I, Darius, the great king...
(Line 5) By the will/favor of Ahuramazda, this land/country, I seized/took... the army of mine...
(Section VIII) I mustered the troops/army...'
COLUMN RIGHT:
'(Section VI) Darius the king declares/proclaims...
(Line 5) I hold/maintain this kingdom/power...
(Section VI continued) Ahuramazda bore/gave support to me...
They exerted themselves/strove diligently...
(Line 5) ...who strove eagerly [on my behalf]...'
Historical Context
This appears to be a scholarly hand-drawn facsimile copy of columns from the Old Persian version of the Behistun Inscription (ca. 522–486 BCE), commissioned by Darius I (the Great) of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. The Behistun Inscription, carved on a cliff face in western Iran (modern Kermanshah province), records Darius's victories over rebels and pretenders to the throne in multiple languages: Old Persian, Elamite, and Babylonian Akkadian. Old Persian cuneiform is a semi-alphabetic script of approximately 36 signs invented specifically for Achaemenid royal inscriptions, and the Behistun text was pivotal in the 19th-century decipherment of cuneiform by Henry Rawlinson and others.
Note: This image appears to be a hand-drawn scholarly facsimile or copy (possibly 19th or early 20th century), not a direct photograph of a tablet. The resolution is low and the drawings are schematic, making precise sign-by-sign identification very difficult. The section/paragraph numbers visible (V, VI, VII, VIII, IX) and line numbers (5.) are consistent with scholarly editions of the Behistun Inscription columns, but I cannot verify the exact column numbers or paragraph divisions with certainty from this image alone. The transliteration provided is therefore reconstructed from likely context and visible sign clusters rather than a confirmed read of every individual wedge. A definitive transliteration would require a high-resolution image or comparison with a published critical edition such as that of Schmitt (2009).
