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Gandj Nameh

Unless otherwise indicated, pictures on this page © Marco Prins and Jona Lendering. Photos can be downloaded and used for non-commercial purposes, but you have to acknowledge Livius.
The waterfall near Gandj Nameh. Photo Marco Prins. The waterfall near Gandj Nameh, at the end of a small valley near the ancient road between Ecbatana and Behistun, twelve kilometers southwest of modern Hamadan. To the left of the waterfall are two Achaemenid inscriptions, written in what Darius I the Great called the "Aryan script". The valley is lovely, with trees of common ash (locally known as "sparrow's tongue") and must have been an ancient picknicking place along the road.
The two inscriptions near Gandj Nameh. Photo Marco Prins. The two inscriptions near Gandj Nameh. Both are in three columns of 20 lines, and in three languages: Persian, Elamite, and Babylonian.
Copy of Darius' inscription in the Hamadan Museum. Photo Marco Prins. Copy of Darius' inscription in the Hamadan Museum. Both texts are almost identical. They both begin with praise for the supreme god Ahuramazda, continue with the genealogy of the maker, and end with the royal titles. The text can be found here.
Xerxes' inscription at Gandj Nameh. Photo Marco Prins. Xerxes' inscription.
Copy of Xerxes' inscription in the Hamadan Museum. Photo Marco Prins. Copy of Xerxes' inscription in the Hamadan Museum.

The text can be found here.
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