The Xerxes I inscription at Van, also known as the XV inscription, is a trilingual cuneiform inscription of the Achaemenid King Xerxes I (486–465 BC). It is located on the southern slope of a mountain adjacent to the

Van Fortress The Fortress of Van (Armenian: Վանի Բերդ, also known as Van Citadel; ku, Kela Wanê; tr, Van Kalesi) is a massive stone fortification built by the ancient kingdom of Urartu during the 9th to 7th centuries BC, and is the largest example ...

, near

Lake Van Lake Van ( tr, Van Gölü; hy, Վանա լիճ, translit=Vana lič̣; ku, Gola Wanê) is the largest lake in Turkey. It lies in the far east of Turkey, in the provinces of Van and Bitlis in the Armenian highlands. It is a saline soda lake ...

in present-day Turkey. When inscribed it was located in the Achaemenid province of Armenia. The inscription is inscribed on a smoothed section of the rock face near the fortress, approximately above the ground. The niche was originally carved out by Xerxes' father, King Darius (522–486 BC), but he left the surface blank.

Text

The inscription consists of 27 lines of writing in

Old Persian Old Persian is one of the two directly attested Old Iranian languages (the other being Avestan language, Avestan) and is the ancestor of Middle Persian (the language of Sasanian Empire). Like other Old Iranian languages, it was known to its native ...

, Elamite and

Babylonian Babylonian may refer to: * Babylon, a Semitic Akkadian city/state of ancient Mesopotamia founded in 1894 BC * Babylonia, an ancient Akkadian-speaking Semitic nation-state and cultural region based in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq) ...

. The inscription reads the same in each language. A translation into English reads:

Position

Placed high off the ground, in a region where there was very little literacy, the text had an additional meaning for those who were able to read, or to whom it was read aloud. In the opening sentence, Xerxes I mentions Ahuramazda, thus connecting himself to the religion of his father Darius, making use of language similar to that his father used for his imperial inscriptions in Iran proper. In this inscription, Xerxes I makes it clear that he reigns through the legitimation of his god Ahuramazda, the greatest god, the creator god. By mentioning his descent from Darius, Xerxes I asserts that he is the lawful ruler of the

Achaemenid Empire 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 em ...

. Xerxes I also shows that he is a good son and a good king, as he finished the work initiated by his father. According to

Elspeth R. M. Dusinberre Elspeth Rogers McIntosh Dusinberre (born 1967/1968) is Professor of Distinction and President's Teaching Scholar in Classics at the University of Colorado Boulder. She focuses on cultural interactions in Anatolia, with an emphasis on the history ...

(2013): "The inscription practically reiterates the campaign against Greece that was responsible for Xerxes' personal presence in Anatolia". She thus concludes that the inscription at Van is far from "a mildly risible description of filling an empty space; rather, it serves as a highly visible and exceptionally powerful royal statement of empire and authority, situated in a spot charged with historical meaning and kingly significance".

Amélie Kuhrt Amélie Kuhrt FBA (23 September 1944 - 2 January 2023) was a British historian and specialist in the history of the ancient Near East. She was educated at King's College London, University College London and SOAS. Professor Emerita at University ...

(2007) wonders why Darius chose this particular spot for an inscription: "The siting of the niche is in a prominent position, but the reason for Darius' wish to leave an inscription here in particular is unknown. Could it have been connected with the many battles he fought in this region following the seizure of the throne?" Lori Khatchadourian (2016) states that the spot was specifically chosen to show that the area was now part of another power. By placing the inscription at the fortress of

Tushpa Tushpa ( hy, Տոսպ ''Tosp'', Akkadian: ''Turuspa'', tr, Tuşpa; from Urartianbr>tur-, ''to destroy''i.e. victorious) was the 9th-century BC capital of Urartu, later becoming known as Van which is derived from ''Biainili'', the native name ...

(i.e. the

), in the center of the former entity of Urartu, Darius and Xerxes "were making a claim on the former foundations of authority that had long prevailed in the region", now remade as a province of the Achaemenid Empire.

Assessment

The inscription at Van carries numerous messages. Being one of only few attested

inscriptions outside Iran, it "overtly extends kingly reach into the "mountains and valleys of Anatolia" according to Dusinberre. According to Dusinberre, by making use of only "Mesopotamian and Persian languages", the Achaemenid kings made a firm statement about that kingly reach: "This is a conquering overlord, a foreigner of power, who now exerts authority over the ancient lands of Urartu". The fact that the inscription was not translated into the local language supports this, according to Dusinberre. There had been a long history of military conflict between Urartu and Assyria; the choice of these specific languages was an outright affirmation of Achaemenid control over Armenia, and of Achaemenid military superiority over Assyria. Dusinberre adds that the Old Persian text takes up twice as much room as the Babylonian and Elamite versions. Furthermore, the Old Persian text is "carved slightly larger" and with more "generous spacing between the characters". According to Dusinberre: "This may be intended similarly to convey a comment about the superiority of the Achaemenid Persians over the ancient Mesopotamian peoples". As the inscription is located high off the ground, and so is difficult to read from ground level, Dusinberre deems these small visual details important.

Languages

File:Xerxes Van inscription, copy by Schulz in 1827.jpg, Xerxes I inscription at Van, copy by Friedrich Eduard Schulz in 1827 File:Inscription in Old Persian, in the Xerxes I inscription at Van, 5th century BCE.jpg, Inscription in

File:Inscription in Elamite, in the Xerxes I inscription at Van, 5th century BCE.jpg, Inscription in Elamite File:Inscription in Babylonian, in the Xerxes I inscription at Van, 5th century BCE.jpg, Inscription in

References

Sources