Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1936-04-24
TABLETS DISCLOSE
DEEDS OF XERXES
New Finds Tell How Persian
Crushed a Revolt.

NHiSdSo' SEVEN SIOu6 IdUleCS, on
which the great Persian Emperor
Nerxes records for posterity the state
of his empire some 2,420 years ago,
have been discovered in Iran (Persia)
by excavatOrs for the Oriental Institute
of the University of Chicago.
The tablets were found stored in a
room of Xerxes' army garrison east
of the Great Palace Terrace at Per
sepolis, the Versailles" of ancient
Persia, now being unearthed and re-
stored by the Oriental institute.
Three of the tablets bear inscriptions
new to historians, listing for the first
time the provinces Xerxes ruled, and
more important, relating Xerxes' sue
cess in putting down enemies of the
religion of Zoroaster after an uprising,
hitherto unknown, which occurred in
the early days of Xerxes' reign.
Announcement of the find is made by
DR.. John A. Wilson, newly-appointed
acting director of the Oriental insti-
tute and successor of the late DIR.
James FL. Breasted. DR.. Erich F.
Schmidt, field director of the Iranian
expedition, reported the discovery.
Written in cuneiform characters in
the Elamite, Babylonian and Old Per-
sian languages, the tablets apparently
were made for use as cornerstone"
foundation deposits. AS translated by
Prof. Ernst Herzfeld the three new"
tablets read as follows:
Translation of Tablets.
l. A great god is Ahuramazda who
created the earth here, who created
the heaven yonder, who created man.
kind, who created peace for men, who
made Xerxes king, one king of null
titude, one law-giver of multitude.
2. l, Xerxes, the great king, the
king of kings, the king of the lands
of many tribes, the king on this wide,
far-stretching earth, the son Of Darius
the king. the Achaemenid, a Persian
son Of Persian, an Aryan of Aryan
| lineage.
3. Sayeth Xerxes the king: By the
will of Ahuramazda, these are the
lands beside Pars over which / was
king; l ruled Them they brought me
| tribute; what was ordered them by
me they did; my law held them; ;
Media, Elan, Arachosia, Zranga, Par
thia, Areia, Bactria, Sogdia, Choir
asmia, BabylOnia, Assyria, the Sat
tagydes. Sardls, Egypt, the Ionians that
dwell in the Sea and those that dwell
beyond the Sea. Gedrosia, Syria, Gan.
dara. the Indus-land, Cappadocia, the
Dahae, the Amyrgian Sacae, the Ortiz
OkOrybanthian Sacae, the Macedonians
the Akaufaciya. the Punt, the Carians.
the Kush.
4. Sayeth Xerxes the king: When
became king, there were among those
lands, which are written above, some
who rebelled; then, Ahuramazda helped
me; by Ahuramazda's will, such land
defeated, and to their place l re-
stored them; and among those lands
were such where, before, the Daivas
were worshiNed; then. by Ahuramaz
da's will, of such temples of the Dali
vas l Slapped the foundations, and
| ordained "the Daivas shall not be wor-
shipped!"
Worshipped Ahuramazda.
Where the Daivas had been wor-
shipped, there wOrshipped Ahuramaz
| da together with 'Rtam the exalted.
And there were other things which
were done wrongfully, such l righted
This what 1 did, did it all by the
will of Ahuramazda. Ahuramazda
helped me, until I had performed the
work. Thou who art of an after age
if thou thinkest, II wish to be happy
in life, and in death | wish to belong
to 'Rtam," abide in those laws which
AhuramaZda has established and wor-
ship AhuramaZda together with 'Rtam
the exalted! The man that abides in
the laws which Ahuramazda has estab-
lished and wOrships Ahuramazda to-
gether with 'Rtam the exalted, that
one will be happy in life and will, in
death, belong to 'Rtam.
8. Sayeth Xerxes the king: Ahura-
mazda shall guard me from the evil
of my house and this landl 1t is for
this that l implore Ahuramazda, 1t is
this that Ahuramazda shall grant me
Xerxes' empire, the greatest the
world had seen up to that time, ex-
tended northeast to the region north
east Of modern Afghanistan. southwest
through ancient Kush to the borders
of modern Ethiopia, southeast to the
Indus river in northwestern India, and
northwest through most of Asia Minor.
In the new inscriptions Xerxes claims.
on the west, "the Ionans that dwell
In the sea and those that dwell beyond
the sea-" This indicates that the tab.
let's were inscribed during the five
years between Xerxes' accession In
4S5 B. c. and the battle of Salamls.
4S0 B. c., when the Persian attack
ON Grpann nndnd In dicrnnl fnilnrn