Page:The sculptures and inscription of Darius the Great on the Rock of Behistûn in Persia.djvu/20

 xii Karmanshah on the east. In riding from Karmanshah to the village of Bîsutûn, this range lies at some distance to the left of the traveller; it rises abruptly from the plain, and its summit is broken into a series of peaks and ridges. Its sides are precipitous, and in many places afford suitable surfaces whereon sculptures and inscriptions might be cut, but it is not until we come to the end of the range that we find any reliefs or inscriptions. The reason for this is not far to seek. At the foot of the last peak, which rises to a height of over 3,800 feet, bubble up a number of springs into a pool of water clear as crystal, supplying the small stream which flows by the village and away into the plain (see Plate II). Here from time immemorial caravans have halted and watered their beasts, and every army which has marched from Persia into Northern Babylonia has drunk at these famous springs. Moreover, probably by reason of the springs, the Rock was regarded as a sacred place, even as Diodorus says. It is clear that the sacred character of the mountain, and the existence of springs at its foot, and its bold and prominent position on the great highway between Persia and Babylonia, induced Darius the Great to choose the precipitous face of the mountain as a suitable place whereon to carve sculptures and texts which should commemorate his conquests for all generations.

The caravan road passes between the springs and the Rock of Behistûn, and immediately before it rounds the last spur of the mountain, a narrow cleft or gully opens in the face of the rock. High up, on the left-hand side of the cleft, some five hundred feet above the level of the plain, are cut the series of sculptures and inscriptions of Darius, which may be thus described (see Plate II).

The sculptures represent Darius, accompanied by two of his officers, receiving the submission of the leaders of rebellions against his authority in various parts of his empire during the early years of his reign. The king stands with his left foot