Page:History of Art in Persia.djvu/53

 38 History of Art in ANTiQuiTy. cliff of Bisutun (Behistun), whose south side is turned towards the road, with green meadows in front, upon the surface of which remains of the ancient town of Baghistana, the " place of gardens," lie scattered about.' The interest which attaches to the site is centred in the figured sculptures and historical texts the AchaemenidiE and SassaniJce caused to be executed on the face of the lofty rocks (Fig. 5). Such of these inscriptions and images as were near the ground (they arc the most recent) have greatly suffered ; fortunately this does not apply to the famous monument known as the " BehistQn inscription." It is a huge block about fifty metres above the bottom of the valley, in length forty-five metres, and thirty in height. Over its polished face Darius, son of Hystaspes, in the thirteenth year of his reign, caused to be incised the long recital of the troublous times that followed his advent to the throne, the successful wars that put an end to them, the chastisement inflicted on the rebels, and the measures taken to secure the benefits of a wise administration for the empire ; whilst above appears the figure of the king, the victor of so many brilliant adiieventents. The inscription was in the three languages commonly used by the royal scribes ; the Persian text alone consists of no less than four hundred and sixteen lines. At the base of this venerable page of lapidary history are remains of a terrace by which visitors reached the monument. In order to protect the characters against the weather, a thin coat of silicate, by way of varnish, would seem to have been laid over the prepared surface.* By following, in a southern direction, the eastern sides of Zagros and the Turkish frontier, ancient Susiana (now Shuster) is reached. A few miles to the westward of that town, the present capital of the province, are found artificial mounds or tells, around which appear the confused remains of what must once have been a populous centre. The place goes by the name of Shush, the Susa of the Greeks (Fig. 6). The mound is many centuries older than Cyrus, and travels back to the Elamite kings, who first raised it so as to plant on its summit a citadel repeatedly attacked and blockaded by Chaldaean and Assyrian conquerors, as well as ^ Diodorashas recorded the antiquities of Baghistana (II. xiii i, 2), and an account of them is given in the Five Great Monarchies, torn. ii. pp. 274, 275, by G. Rawlinson. will be read in M£nant, Zas A^tmbiiiesetlesIiutr^ioiuPnrtet torn. iL pp. 2 7 4, 2 75. Digitized by Copgle
 * A translation, accompanied by an exhaustive account of this important document,