Any observant traveller who visits Persepolis and its surroundings will remark with some surprise that the inscriptions of the oldest period are the best preserved, while the most modern are the least legible. The Achæmenian cuneiform is so clear and sharp that we can hardly believe that nearly two thousand four hundred years have elapsed since the chisel which cut it rested from its labour. The Sásánian (Pahlawí) inscriptions, though younger by some seven hundred and fifty years, are blurred and faint in comparison; while the quite recent inscriptions in Modern Persian are almost obliterated. This seems to me a type of the three epochs represented by them, and to be reflected in the literary style of their contents. The great Darius is content to call himself “the Great King, the King of kings, King in Persia, King of the provinces, the son of Víshtásp, the grandson of Arsháma, the Achæmenian.” Shápúr the Sásánian calls himself in the Pahlawí inscription at Hájí-ábád, “the Mazda-worshipping divine being Shahpúhar, King of kings of Írán and non-Írán, of spiritual descent from God, son of the Mazda-worshipping divine being Artakhshatr, King of kings of Írán, of spiritual descent from God, grandson of the divine being Pápak the King.” As for the mass of empty, high-sounding titles with which the most petty Persian rulers of later Muhammadan times thought it necessary to bedeck their names, they are but too familiar to every Persian student, and I will not weary others by such vain repetitions.
I have said that we should rather speak of the Achæmenian inscriptions as historical than as literary monuments of the Old Persian language, yet there is in them a directness, a dignity, a simplicity and straightforwardness of diction, which entitle us to regard them as having a real literary style. The portion of Darius's great inscription from Behistun translated at pp. 31-32 supra, will serve as one specimen, and here is another, emanating from the same king, from Persepolis:—
“A great god is Ahuramazda, who hath created this earth, who hath created that heaven, who hath created man, who created the gladness of man, who made Darius king, sole king of many, sole lawgiver of many.
“I am Darius, the great King, the King of kings, King of lands peopled by all races, for long King of this great earth, the son of Víshtásp, the Achæmenian, a Persian, son of a Persian, an Aryan of Aryan descent.
“Saith Darius the King: By the grace of Ahuramazda, these are
the lands of which I held possession beyond Persis, over which I
held sway, which brought me tribute, which did that which was
commanded them by me, and wherein my Law was maintained:
Media, Susiana, Parthia, Haraiva [Herát], Bactria [Balkh], Sughd,
Khwárazm [Khiva], Drangiana, Arachosia, Thatagush [the Sata-
“Saith Darius the King: When Ahuramazda saw this earth …, then did He entrust it to me, He made me King, I am King, by the grace of Ahuramazda have I set it in right order, what I commanded them [i.e., men] that was carried out, as was my Will. If thou thinkest, ‘How many were the lands which King Darius ruled?’ then behold this picture: they bear my Throne, thereby thou may'st know them. Then shalt thou know that the spears of the men of Persia reach afar; then shalt thou know that the Persian waged war far from Persia.
“Saith Darius the King: What I have done, that did I all by the
grace of Ahuramazda: Ahuramazda vouchsafed me help till I completed
the work. May Ahuramazda protect me from …, and
[likewise] my House and these lands! For this do I pray Ahura-
“O man! This is Ahuramazda's command to thee: Think no evil; abandon not the right path; sin not!”
One curious phenomenon presented by one of the latest Achæmenian inscriptions (that of Artaxerxes Ochus, B.C. 361-336) deserves a passing notice. Does some subtle connection exist between the decay of a language and the decay, or at least temporary subordination, of a race? I have heard it said by English scholars that already before the Battle of Hastings the Anglo-Saxon, or Old English, language had, Degeneration of language and creed in latest inscriptions. to a great extent, ceased to be written grammatically, and that it was in full decadence before the Norman invasion. As regards the Old Persian language, at least, this appears to be beyond doubt; and in the inscription to which reference is made above we find such errors in declensions and cases as bumám (“earth,” acc. case) for bumim; asmánám (“heaven,” acc. sing.) for asmánam; sháyatám (“joy,” acc. sing.) for shiyátim; martihyá (“of men,” gen. pl.) for martiyahya; khsháyathiya (“king,” nom. for acc. sing.), and the like. And concurrently with this decay of language appear signs of a degeneration in creed; Ahuramazda no longer stands alone, but is associated with other gods, Mithra (the Sun) and Anahita (Venus).