Behistun Inscription
The Behistun Inscription is a multi-lingual inscription and large rock relief on a cliff at Mount Behistun in the Kermanshah Province of Iran , near the city of Kermanshah in western Iran . It was crucial to the decipherment of cuneiform script .
Authored by Darius the Great sometime between his coronation as king of the Persian Empire in the summer of 522 BC and his death in autumn of 486 BC , the inscription begins with a brief autobiography of Darius , including his ancestry and lineage . Later in the inscription , Darius provides a lengthy sequence of events following the deaths of Cyrus the Great and Cambyses II in which he fought nineteen battles in a period of one year (ending in December 521 BC) to put down multiple rebellions throughout the Persian Empire . The inscription states in detail that the rebellions , which had resulted from the deaths of Cyrus the Great and his son Cambyses II , were orchestrated by several impostors and their co-conspirators in various cities throughout the empire , each of whom falsely proclaimed kinghood during the upheaval following Cyrus's death .
Darius the Great proclaimed himself victorious in all battles during the period of upheaval , attributing his success to the "grace of Ahura Mazda" .
The inscription includes three versions of the same text , written in three different cuneiform script languages : Old Persian , Elamite , and Babylonian (a later form of Akkadian) . In effect , then, the inscription is to cuneiform what the Rosetta Stone is to Egyptian hieroglyphs : the document most crucial in the decipherment of a previously lost script .
The inscription is approximately 15 metres high by 25 metres wide and 100 metres up a limestone cliff from an ancient road connecting the capitals of Babylonia and Media (Babylon and Ecbatana , respectively) . The Old Persian text contains 414 lines in five columns ; the Elamite text includes 593 lines in eight columns , and the Babylonian text is in 112 lines . The inscription was illustrated by a life-sized bas-relief of Darius I , the Great , holding a bow as a sign of kingship , with his left foot on the chest of a figure lying on his back before him . The supine figure is reputed to be the pretender Gaumata . Darius is attended to the left by two servants , and nine one-meter figures stand to the right , with hands tied and rope around their necks , representing conquered peoples . Faravahar floats above , giving his blessing to the king . One figure appears to have been added after the others were completed , as was Darius's beard , which is a separate block of stone attached with iron pins and lead .
Taq Bostan
Taq wa San or Taq-e Bostan is a site with a series of large rock reliefs from the era of Sassanid Empire of Persia , the Iranian dynasty which ruled western Asia from 226 to 650 AD . This example of Sassanid art is located 5 km from the city center of Kermanshah in western Iran . It is located in the heart of the Zagros mountains , where it has endured almost 1,700 years of wind and rain . Originally , several sources were visible next to and below the reliefs and arches , some of which are now covered . Sources next to the reliefs still feed a large basin in front of the rock . The site has been turned into an archaeological park and a series of late Sasanian and Islamic column capitals have been brought together (some found at Taq-i Bustan , others at Bisitun and Kermanshah) .
The carvings , some of the finest and best-preserved examples of Persian sculpture under the Sassanids , include representations of the investitures of Ardashir II (379-383) and Shapur III (383-388) . Like other Sassanid symbols , Taq-e Bostan and its relief patterns accentuate power , religious tendencies , glory , honor , the vastness of the court , game and fighting spirit , festivity , joy , and rejoicing .
Sassanid kings chose a beautiful setting for their rock reliefs along an historic Silk Road caravan route waypoint and campground . The reliefs are adjacent a sacred springs that empty into a large reflecting pool at the base of a mountain cliff .
Taq-e Bostan and its rock relief are one of the 30 surviving Sassanid relics of the Zagros mountains . According to Arthur Pope , the founder of Iranian art and archeology Institute in the USA , "art was characteristic of the Iranian people and the gift which they endowed the world with ."
Do-Ashkaft Cave
The Do-Ashkaft Cave , being the Middle Paleolithic cave site , is located at north of Kermanshah , near Taq-e Bostan . It is located about 1600 metres above the sea level and its entrance faces south , overlooking the national park of Kuhestan . The site was discovered by two Iranian researchers , F. Biglari and S. Heydari in 1999 and during next four years was sampled each month which resulted in a rich Middle Paleolithic lithic collection . The Mousterian occupants of the cave made their tools on local raw material outcrops around the cave .
Statue of Hercules
Statue of Hercules is located in Mount Behistun and was discovered around 1957 . It was built in 153 BC during the time of Seleucid Empire or Parthian Empire . Hercules is lying on a 2 m long platform and holds a bowl in his left hand . He has put his right hand on his foot . The statue is 1.47 m long and is attached to the mountain . The head of the statue was stolen twice , but discovered again . However , the current head is a double and the actual head is in Cultural Heritage , Handcrafts and Tourism Organization . At the time it was discovered , he had a penis , but after the Islamic revolution it was broken down by locals .