On the rocks of Bisotun Mountain, there stand some of the most important historical evidence, dating from Achaemenid period. The principal monument of this archaeological site is the bas-relief and cuneiform inscription ordered by Darius the Great, when he rose to the throne of the Persian Empire in 521 BC.

Here a well preserved bas-relief about 50 meters above the ground, illustrates Darius receiving supplicants while a Farohar (winged Zoroastrian angel) hovers overhead. The scene is surrounded by the 1,200 lines of inscriptions, expounding upon Darius’ greatness in three lost languages (Akkadian, Elamite, and Old Persian).

This is the only known monumental text of the Achaemenids to document the re-establishment of the Empire by Darius I and its significance to cuneiform script is the same as what the Rosetta Stone is to Egyptologists.

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