Mount Bisotoun (or Behistun and Bisotun) is a mountain of the

Zagros Mountains The Zagros Mountains ( ar, جبال زاغروس, translit=Jibal Zaghrus; fa, کوه‌های زاگرس, Kuh hā-ye Zāgros; ku, چیاکانی زاگرۆس, translit=Çiyakani Zagros; Turkish: ''Zagros Dağları''; Luri: ''Kuh hā-ye Zāgro ...

range, located in Kermanshah Province of western

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkm ...

. It is located west of

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the Capital city, capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is th ...

Cultural history

It is well known for the famous Behistun Inscription and

rock relief A rock relief or rock-cut relief is a relief sculpture carved on solid or "living rock" such as a cliff, rather than a detached piece of stone. They are a category of rock art, and sometimes found as part of, or in conjunction with, ro ...

in which the great

Achaemenian The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest emp ...

King,

Darius the Great Darius I ( peo, 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 ; grc-gre, Δαρεῖος ; – 486 BCE), commonly known as Darius the Great, was a Persian ruler who served as the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 522 BCE until his ...

, had the narrative of his exploits carved around 500 BC.

Legends

A legend began around Mount Bisotoun, as written about by the Persian poet Nezami about a man named Farhad, who was a lover of

Shirin Shirin ( fa, شیرین; died 628) was a Christian wife of the Sasanian King of Kings (''shahanshah'') Khosrow II (). In the revolution after the death of Khosrow's father Hormizd IV, the General Bahram Chobin took power over the Persian empire. ...

. The legend states that, exiled for his transgression, Farhad was given the task of cutting away the mountain; if he succeeded, he would be given permission to marry Shirin. After many years and the removal of half the mountain, he did find water, but was informed by

Khosrow Khosrow ( fa, خسرو; also spelled Khusrow, Khusraw, Khusrau, Khusro, Chosro or Osro) may refer to: * Khosrow (word), a given name also used as a title Iranian rulers * Khosrow I, Sasanian ruler 531–579 * Khosrow II, Sasanian ruler 590–62 ...

that Shirin had died. He went mad, threw his axe down the hill, kissed the ground and died. It is told in the book of

Khosrow and Shirin Khosrow and Shirin ( fa, خسرو و شیرین) is the title of a famous tragic romance by the Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi (1141–1209), who also wrote Layla and Majnun. It tells a highly elaborated fictional version of the story of the lov ...

that his axe was made out of a pomegranate tree, and, where he threw the axe, a pomegranate tree grew with fruit that would cure the ill. Shirin was not dead, according to the story, and mourned upon hearing the news.

Gallery

Image:Farhad Tarash 2010.jpg, Farhad Tarash at the base of Mount Behistun Image:Farhad tarash.jpg, Farhad Tarash at the base of Mount Behistun Image:Godarz.jpg, Goudarz Image:Bistoon_Kermanshah.jpg, Hercules Statue Image:Darius_I_the_Great's_inscription.jpg, Darius I the Great's inscription Zagros Mountains Behistun Archaeological sites in Iran Inscribed rocks Mountains of Iran {{Kermanshah-geo-stub