Behistun T 44

Behistun or Bisotun: town in Iran, site of several ancient monuments, including a famous inscription by the Persian king Darius I the Great (r.522-486 BCE), the great organizer of the Achaemenid Empire.

On these pages, you can find drawings, a transliteration and an adapted version of the King/Thompson translation of the inscription.

Column v, lines 11-17

  1. âva \ Gaubaruva \ Ûvjiyâ \ avâja \ viyamarda \
  2. utâ \ tyamšâm \ mathištam \ agarbâya \ anaya \ abi
  3. y \ mâm \ utâšim \ adam \ avâjanam \ pasâva \ dahyâ
  4. uš \ manâ \ abava \ thâtiy Dârayavauš \ xšâyathi
  5. ya \ avaiy \ Ûvjiyâ \ arikâ \ âha \ utâšâm \ Aurama
  6. zdâ \ naiy \ ayadiya \ Auramazdâm \ ayadaiy \ vašnâ \ A
  7. uramazdâha \ yathâ \ mâm \ kâma \ avathâdiš \ akunavam

(71a) Then Gobryas destroyed many of the host and that Atamaita, their leader, he captured, and he brought him unto me, and I killed him. Then the province became mine.

(72) King Darius says: Those Elamites were faithless and Ahuramazda was not worshipped by them. I worshipped Ahuramazda; by the grace of Ahuramazda I did unto them according to my will.