home   :    index    :    ancient Persia    :    Achaemenid Royal inscriptions

Achaemenid Royal Inscriptions: XPg

In ca.521, the Persian king Darius I the Great ordered that a new alphabet, the Aryan script, was to be developed. This was used for a small corpus of inscriptions, known as the Achaemenid Royal Inscriptions. An overview of all inscriptions can be found here.
XPg. National Archaeological Museum, Tehran (Iran). Photo Marco Prins.
XPg (National Archaeological Museum, Tehran)

XPg, inscription from the Apadana of Persepolis

Inscription XPg was written on an ornamental plaque and on many glazed bricks, which are now in the National Archaeological Museum of Iran in Tehran.

  1. thâtiy \ Xšayâršâ \
  2. xšâyathiya \ vazraka \ vaš
  3. nâ \ Auramazdâha \ vasi
  4. y \ tya \ naibam \ akunau
  5. š \ utâ \ frâmâyatâ \
  6. Dârayavauš \ xšâyathiya
  7. \ hya \ manâ \ pitâ \ vaš
  8. nâpiy \ Auramazdâha
  9. \ adam \ abiyajâvayam
  10. \ abiy \ ava \ kartam \
  11. utâ \ frataram \ akuna
  12. vam \ mâm \ Auramazdâ
  13. \ pâtuv \ hadâ \ bagai
  14. biš \ utamaiy \ xšaçam
The great king Xerxes says: By the grace of Ahuramazda, much that had been ordered by king Darius, my father, was well. It was also by the grace of Ahuramazda that I completed these works and made it excellent. May Ahuramazda and the gods protect me and my kingdom!
 home   :    index    :    ancient Persia    :    Achaemenid Royal inscriptions