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  1. Discover
  2. Paper: The Achaemenid Empire, 550-330 BC
  3. Unit: Week 2 - Darius at Behistun

Statue of Darius from Susa

Commentary

Statue of Darius from Susa

Statue of Darius from Susa (Tehran Museum)

Basalt statue, discovered near monumental gate at Susa; now in the Tehran Museum. Stone of Egyptian origin. Trilingual inscription on the left side of Darius' robe (Babylonian, Elamite, Old Persian); Egyptian hieroglyphic inscription (with different text) on the base. Many further photographs here and here. 

Preserved height 2.46m; original height c.3m. 

Originally erected in Egypt; probably brought back to Susa by Xerxes (see discussion here).

Translation of inscriptions: ​M. Brosius, The Persian Empire from Cyrus II to Artaxerxes I (2000), nos. 49 and 50; A. Kuhrt, The Persian Empire: A Corpus of Sources from the Achaemenid Period (2007), pp. 477-482.

Discussion of the monument as a whole: J. Yoyotte, 'The Egyptian statue of Darius', in J. Perrot (ed), The Palace of Darius at Susa (2013), 240-279 (with superb photos); M. Cool Root, The King and Kingship in Achaemenid Art (1979) 68-72, 144-147.