The Tomb Inscriptions Of Darius The Great

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The Tomb Inscriptions of Darius I at Naqš-i Rustam

- Inscription A

§1. Ahura Mazda is a great God, who created this earth, who created the sky, who created man, who created happiness for man, who made Darius king, one king of many, one lord of many.

§2. I am Darius, the Great King, king of kings, king of lands, containing many men, king of this great earth far and wide, son of Hystapes, an Achaemenid, a Persian, son of a Persian, an Aryan, having Aryan lineage.

§3. Darius the king says: ‘By the favour of Ahura Mazda these are the countries which I seized outside Persia: I ruled over them, they brought me tribute. They did what I told them. My law held them firm. Media, Elam, Parthia, Aria, Bactria, Sogdiana, Chorasmia, Drangiana, Arachosia, Sattagydia, Gandara, Sind, Amyrgian Scythians, Scythians with pointed caps, Babylonia, Assyria, Arabia, Egypt, Armenia, Cappadocia, Sardis, Ionia, Scythians from across the sea, Skudra, Petasos - wearing Ionians, Libyans, Ethiopians, men from Maka, Carians.’

§4. Darius the king says: ‘When Ahura Mazda saw this earth in commotion, he thereafter bestowed it upon me, he made me king. By the favour of Ahura Mazda I subdued it; they did what I said, as was my desire. If now you should think “How many are the countries which Darius the king held?”, look at the sculptures of those who bear the throne, then you will know. Then it will become known to you: the spear of the Persian man has gone far. Then shall it become known to you: a Persian man has given battle far indeed from Persia.’

§5. Darius the King says: ‘That which has been done, all that I did by the will of Ahura Mazda. Ahura Mazda brought me aid, until I had done the work. May Ahura Mazda protect me from harm, and my royal house, and this land. This I pray of Ahura Mazda, this may Ahura Mazda give me.’

§6. O man, that which is the command of Ahura Mazda, let it not seem repugnant to you. Do not leave the right path, do not rise in rebellion!










Themes from Inscription A

-This inscription is a short list of achievements Darius wishes to celebrate and is very similar to the one found at Susa.

- Darius announces his extensive royal titles and lineage to enforce the image of steeped tradition and legitimacy. This legitimacy stems firstly from the divine wishes of Ahura Mazda which is a notion that Darius seeks to reinforce as much as he can. By linking his Kingship to that of a righteous deity his position and decisions are given a lofty moral credence.

- Darius’ familial titles announce his royal pedigree through his family, tribe and ethnic group with an emphasis on the lineage being long and established. As in his other inscriptions Darius places significance on the Achaemenid family as the one and only royal family with the power and divine remit to rule.

- He also emphasises the importance of being a Persian to reinforce the notion of the Persians as the dominant ethnic group for the empire. This is amplified by the relief on Darius tomb which does not depict the Persians as part of the troupe of subjects bearing the King. Instead they stand to the side depicted either as the soldiers who conquered the empire or the courtiers that run it.

- The list of subjects is larger than that of both the Bisitun inscription and Herodotus’ list of satrapies because it was created after the Bisitun inscription so the results of several successful campaigns will have added new subjects.

- It is also possible that this is not a list of the proper administrative satrapies, rather a list of the various different people which the King ruled over since even the ‘Scythians from across the sea’ are mentioned. The fact that these Scythians are not mentioned in the inscriptions of Xerxes suggests that this was a reference to the campaign conducted there by Darius. Moreover their position in the list of nations is placed amongst the western lands.

- The presence of Achaemenid inscriptions in Europe as reported by Herodotus and the find of a clay fragmentary inscription of Darius in Romania, which Frye believes was most likely was taken from Thrace, attest to the Persians attempting to establish the limits of the empire there. Even so the perceived retreat from Scythia was damaging to Persian prestige.

- Briant also suggests that at this point, Thrace and Macedonia were not satrapies until Mardonius, and his evidently appropriate military action in the area, subjugated the province entirely.

- Darius qualifies the martial prowess of the Persian people, which he is obviously very keen to stress, with the idea that the world was in chaos before the conquests of the Persian army restored order. Darius was evidently a military man who was proud of his conquests but he was also attempting to create the image of a peaceful monarchy that did not rule through tyrannical force but were in fact the beneficiaries of their subjects. Thus his praise of the Persian military is always coupled with the good which these soldiers did for the land.

- Darius again stresses the divine connection he has with Ahuramazda in order to further legitimise his position and put him on the moral high ground. This is made abundantly clear in the last line which states that the ‘right path’ is the path which remains loyal to him and that conversely a rebel would then be spiritually evil in his actions.







- Inscription B

§1. Ahura Mazda is a great God, who created this excellent work which is seen, who created happiness for man, who bestowed wisdom and courage upon Darius the king.

§2. Darius the king says: ‘By the favour of Ahura Mazda I am of such a kind that I am a friend of the Right, and not a friend of the Wrong; it is not my desire that the weak man should suffer injustice at the hands of the strong, it is not my desire that the strong man should suffer injustice from the weak.

§3. I desire what is right. I am not a friend of the man who follows the Lie. I am not hot-tempered; the things that develop in me during a dispute I hold firmly under control through my mind, I am firmly in control of myself.

§4. I reward the man who seeks to contribute according to his efforts; I punish him who does harm, according to the harm done; I do not wish that a man should do harm; nor do I wish that, if he should do harm, he should not be punished.

§5. What a man says against a man, does not convince me, until I hear the testimony of both.

§6. I am content with what a man does or brings (as tribute) (for me) according to his abilities, my pleasure is great, and I am well disposed towards him.

§7. Of such a kind is my understanding and my judgment: When you shall see or hear of what I have done in the palace and on the battle-field, this is my courage which I possess over my mind and my understanding.

§8. This indeed is my courage as far as my body possesses the strength; as a commander I am a good commander; immediately, the right decision is taken according to my understanding when I meet a rebel, and when I meet (someone who is) not a rebel, at this moment, due to my understanding and judgement, I know that I am above panic when I see a rebel as well as when I see (someone who is) not a rebel.

§9. I am trained in my hands and in my feet; as a horseman, I am a good horseman; as a bowman, I am a good bowman, both on foot and on horseback; as a spearman, I am a good spearman, both on foot and on horseback.

§10. These are the skills which Ahura Mazda has bestowed upon me, and which I have been strong enough to exercise. By the favour of Ahura Mazda, what I have done, I have achieved with the skills which Ahura Mazda has bestowed upon me.

§11. O, man, proclaim loud and clear of what kind you are, and of what sort your abilities are, and of what kind your loyalty is. Let that which has been heard by your ears not seem false to you; hear that which has been said to you!

§12. O, man, let that which I have done not seem to you to be false; observe what the weak man has done. O, man, see what I have done […] not to overstep […] and do not be ill disposed towards happiness […]








Themes from Inscription B

- This inscription is often described as ‘The Mirror of Princes’ since it sets forth the qualities which Darius imagines that a King should have and believes that he most certainly possess. There is also the possibility that the person, to whom Darius speaks directly to, in the last two verses can be identified with his successor. So that this inscription is not only a proof of Darius’ quality but also an exhortation to Xerxes to become a good king. Xerxes’ omission, on his tomb, of these last two verses may indicate that they might have been a personal message for him.

- It is obvious that Darius wishes to begin a more personal discourse since he does not use his long list of Royal titles at the start of the inscription. He, instead, refers to the personal qualities which Ahura Mazda has given him.

- The tone of the inscription is characterised by the emphasis Darius places on his rule as one of justice which could only benefit those who lived under him. It is, as always, a heavily religious inscription not only because of the repeated gratitude expressed to Ahura Mazda but also because of the emphasis on taking the side of ‘The Right.’ This is a theme of the dualistic nature of Zoroastrianism which Darius constantly invokes to make sure that he is always seen as the deliverer of truth and justice (Old Persian: Arta) and those who would rebel against him would always be seen as the evil agents of chaos and falsehood (Old Persian: Draug).

- When viewed alongside inscriptions of earlier Assyrian Kings like Sargon II it is clear that Darius was attempting a new style of propaganda which would endear the Persian rulers to their subjects rather than terrify them into submission.

- A point of particular poignancy is the mention of Darius being happy with gifts being given according to the means of the giver. This characteristic of idealised Persian Kings is in fact perfectly demonstrated in Plutarch’s life of Artaxerxes where the King greatly rewards a Persian peasant for his meagre but heartfelt offering of water.

- Along with his sense of justice, Darius wishes to proclaim his great moderation and control over his emotions. The idea of the Persians considering moderation and restrain as a kingly and excellent quality is an interesting notion since it is not only very similar to the ideals espoused by the Greeks but there is also the case of the Persians being often accused of a complete lack of moderation in their decadent lifestyles. Xenophon is particularly damning of the Persian’s excess the final chapter of his “Education of Cyrus.”

- Darius is also keen to stress his personal skills as a warrior and as a general. It is here that we can see Darius wants to be known as the first man of the empire as he boasts the qualities which the Persians held in the highest esteem. It is perhaps interesting to note that Darius emphasises his abilities as an infantryman as well as a cavalryman. Since the nobility would have fought from horseback in battle it is possible that Darius is seeking to identify himself with the common Persian soldier as well as the dashing cavaliers.

- The tomb inscriptions deliver an unparalleled insight into what Darius believed characterised his own rule and the idealised rule of any Persian King.