Work / monument · text
Behistun Inscription
The Behistun Inscription is a monumental rock relief and text carved on a cliff in western Iran on the orders of the Achaemenid king Darius I, recording his accession and victories. It is written in three languages: Old Persian, Elamite and Babylonian. Its Elamite version shows how the administrative language of the Elamite Confederation was absorbed into the Persian state, and the trilingual text was key to deciphering cuneiform.
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Cite this entry
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Behistun Inscription. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/behistun-inscription
- MLA
- “Behistun Inscription.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/behistun-inscription. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Behistun Inscription.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/behistun-inscription.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Behistun Inscription’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/behistun-inscription (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻