Persian Cuneiform Inscription
by Weston Westmoreland
Title
Persian Cuneiform Inscription
Artist
Weston Westmoreland
Medium
Photograph - Photograph
Description
Persian Cuneiform inscription. Persepolis, Persian Empire. C. 350 BC.
Fragment of an old Persian cuneiform text engraved on the walls of a Palace at Persepolis, Iran, ca. 358-338 BCE. The bottom part shows the remains of the blue enamel partially restored at the top. The original remains mostly white.
Old Persian cuneiform is a semi-alphabetic cuneiform script, loosely inspired by the Sumero-Akkadian cuneiform, used by the Achaemenid Persians and found at Persepolis, Susa, Armenia, Romania, Turkey and along the Suez Canal. The iscriptions date mostly from the period of Darius I and his son Xerxes I. Later kings would use more recent forms of the language.
Persepolis was one of the capitals of the Achaemenid Empire. It was constructed at the same time as Susa in times of Darius I. The palace was captured and plundered by Alexander the Great around 330 BC.
The Achaemenid or First Persian Empire was founded by Cyrus the Great. At the apex of its power it reached from the Balkans to the Indus Valley, and was larger than any previous empire in history.
The Achaemenid Empire incorporated peoples of different origins and faiths. They centralized administration, established an official language, developed civil services and a large professional army and created an imperial road and postal system. The empire's successes inspired similar structures in later empires.
By the 7th century BC, the Persians had settled in Persis, which came to be their heartland. From this region, Cyrus the Great defeated and annexed the Medes, Lydia, and the Neo-Babylonian Empire, establishing the Achaemenid Empire.
Alexander the Great, admirer of Cyrus, conquered most of the empire by 330 BC. Upon Alexander's death, most of the empire's former territory fell under the rule of the Ptolemaic Kingdom and Seleucid Empire, in addition to other minor territories which gained independence at that time. The Iranian elites of the central plateau reclaimed power by the second century BC under the Parthian Empire.
The Achaemenid Empire is known in Western history as the arch-enemy of the Greek city-states during the Greco-Persian Wars, and for the emancipation of the Jewish exiles in Babylon. The historical mark of the empire, however, went far beyond its territorial and military influences and included cultural, social, technological and religious influences as well. Despite the lasting conflict between the two states, many Athenians adopted Achaemenid customs in their daily lives, which were later incorporated by the Romans ant the rest of Europe.
Original images by Sasha India,(https://www.flickr.com/photos/sasha-india/28730037391/in/album-72157671213198442/) ensembled, edited and enhanced by Weston Westmoreland.
More amazing statues, sculptures and carvings at https://weston-westmoreland.pixels.com/collections/statues+sculptures+carvings
Weston Westmoreland
Uploaded
June 24th, 2020
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