contains a legend of Darius, and appears to have belonged to a larger monument, afterwards partly recovered, but which has since been entirely destroyed. It was engraved upon a stele and was also quadrilingual: having three cuneiform inscriptions on one side and the Egyptian hieroglyphics on the other. On the Persian side were two human figures with their hands resting upon three cartouches. To the right was the Persian, to the left the Susian, and below the Babylonian text, with the legend 'Darius the great king, king of kings, king of lands, the king of the wide earth, son of Hystaspes the Achaemenian.'[1] Below, occupying the whole face of the stele, was the longer inscription in twelve lines with the Persian on the top and the others under. Nearly the whole of the Susian was lost, and only a few letters of the Babylonian remained.[2]It begins with the long introductory form, and Darius goes on to say that he has conquered Egypt; and commanded a canal to be dug from the Nile to the 'sea which is in communication with Persia.'[3] It seems to say that the king ordered the half of the canal toward the sea to be destroyed.[4] It is supposed that this was done in accordance with the advice of the engineers who thought the Ped Sea was above the level of the Mediterranean (Inscr. Sᶻ). Two other inscriptions have also been found in Egypt: one on a crystal cylinder now in the British Museum and first described by Grotefend in his 'Neue Beitãrge' of 1840. It represents Darius in the act of killing a lion. The king is standing upright in a chariot with the tiara upon his head, and carrying a bent bow in his hand. Above him is the winged figure, and in the background a trilingual
Page:Discovery and Decipherment of the Trilingual Cuneiform Inscriptions.djvu/176
This page needs to be proofread.
MODERN DISCOVERY
147
