WITH A PLAN
LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.
39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON
NEW YORK AND BOMBAY
1902
All rights reserved
CONTENTS
| PAGE | |
| [INTRODUCTION] | |
| Achaemenian Inscriptions, written in three styles of Cuneiform character, and in three different languages | [ix] |
| The Decipherment of the Persian Text afforded the clue to the others | [xi] |
| Discovery of Sumerian, the ancient language of Babylonia | [xiii] |
| The Historical Results | [xv] |
| [CHAPTER I] | |
| The Discovery of Achaemenian Ruins and Inscriptions: Barbaro to Le Bruyn: A.D. 1472-1718 | [1] |
| Barbaro visits Chehel Minar and the Tomb of the Mother of Solomon: A.D. 1472 | [9] |
| The Portuguese Missions—Gouvea first mentions the Inscriptions: A.D. 1602 | [11] |
| Don Garcia de Silva Figueroa identifies Chehel Minar with Persepolis: A.D. 1618 | [17] |
| The ‘Viaggi’ of Pietro della Valle: A.D. 1621 | [24] |
| Sir Thomas Herbert, ‘Relation of Some Years Travaile’: A.D. 1627—The first view of Persepolis | [33] |
| Mandelslo’s View of the Tomb of the Mother of Solomon: A.D. 1638 | [40] |
| The French Travellers Daulier Deslandes, Thévenot, and Tavernier: A.D. 1665 | [48] |
| Dr. Hyde’s opinion: A.D. 1700 | [59] |
| Chardin’s Travels—The Drawings of Grélot: A.D. 1711 | [61] |
| Kaempfer first describes the writing as ‘Cuneiform’: A.D. 1712 | [69] |
| He and Le Bruyn make the first copies of Inscriptions: A.D. 1718 | [71] |
| [CHAPTER II] | |
| Niebuhr to De Morgan: A.D. 1765-1897 | [76] |
| Niebuhr’s ‘Voyage en Arabie’: A.D. 1765 | [76] |
| Grotefend begins the Decipherment: A.D. 1802 | [82] |
| Morier identifies the Tomb of Cyrus: A.D. 1809 | [85] |
| Sir William Ouseley’s Travels: A.D. 1811 | [87] |
| Sir R. Ker Porter becomes the chief authority: A.D. 1818 | [90] |
| The Sphere of Discovery widens—The Elvend and Van Inscriptions: A.D. 1827 | [94] |
| Rich visits Persepolis: A.D. 1821—His book published: A.D. 1839 | [96] |
| Westergaard copies Inscription at Naksh-i-Rustam: A.D. 1843 | [102] |
| Major Rawlinson at Behistun: A.D. 1837-44 | [102] |
| The French Expeditions: A.D. 1840, Texier | [115] |
| ” ” ” Flandin and Coste | [118] |
| Stolze’s Photographic Views: A.D. 1878 | [128] |
| Dieulafoy: A.D. 1881 | [131] |
| Lord Curzon: A.D. 1890 | [131] |
| Susa visited by Kinneir, Rawlinson, and Layard | [133] |
| Loftus excavates the Apadana: A.D. 1852 | [135] |
| Dieulafoy discovers the Lion and Archers friezes: A.D. 1885 | [138] |
| De Morgan and the Old Susian Inscriptions: A.D. 1897-9 | [143] |
| Inscriptions found in Egypt | [146] |
| [CHAPTER III] | |
| Decipherment of the First or Persian Column: Tychsen to Lassen: A.D. 1798-1886 | [149] |
| Niebuhr gives the first Old Persian Alphabet | [149] |
| The predecessors of Grotefend: Tychsen and Münter: A.D. 1798 | [151] |
| Hager on Babylonian Inscriptions: A.D. 1801 | [163] |
| Lichtenstein thinks them Arabic | [166] |
| Grotefend deciphers ‘Hystaspes, Darius, and Xerxes’: A.D. 1802 | [168] |
| Discoveries on the site of Babylon: A.D. 1808-11 | [192] |
| Rich’s Two Memoirs | [193] |
| St. Martin introduces Grotefend to France: A.D. 1822 | [195] |
| Rask identifies two letters: A.D. 1826 | [202] |
| Burnouf’s ‘Mémoires sur deux Inscriptions’: A.D. 1836 | [204] |
| His Translations | [215] |
| Lassen’s ‘Altpersischen Keilinschriften’: A.D. 1836 | [220] |
| Holtzmann’s charge of plagiarism | [223] |
| [CHAPTER IV] | |
| Beer and Jacquet to Rawlinson: A.D. 1838-46 | [237] |
| Jacquet’s contributions to the ‘Journal Asiatique’: A.D. 1838 | [239] |
| Rawlinson translates two paragraphs of the Behistun Inscription for the Royal Asiatic Society: A.D. 1838 | [244] |
| He deciphers two new characters: A.D. 1839 | [248] |
| Grotefend’s later contributions: Identifies Artaxerxes: A.D. 1837 | [251] |
| Lassen and Westergaard’s edition of the Persian and Susian Inscriptions: A.D. 1845 | [253] |
| Holtzmann’s Criticism | [262] |
| Edward Hincks begins his contributions: June 1846 | [265] |
| Rawlinson’s Supplementary Note and Memoir: A.D. 1846 | [271] |
| Estimate of his claims as a decipherer | [275] |
| His revised Translation of the Inscriptions | [291] |
| Hitzig, Benfey, and Oppert: A.D. 1847 | [294] |
| [CHAPTER V] | |
| Decipherment of the Second or Susian Column: Westergaard to Oppert: A.D. 1844-52 | [298] |
| The early efforts of Grotefend | [299] |
| Westergaard’s Essay and Translations: A.D. 1844-5 | [300] |
| Hincks’s Contributions: A.D. 1846-7 | [307] |
| De Saulcy, Löwenstern, and Holtzmann: A.D. 1850 | [309] |
| Norris: Contributions to ‘J. R. A. S.’: 1855 | [314] |
| Oppert’s first success | [320] |
| Old Susian and Malamir Inscriptions | [322] |
| Various names proposed for the Second Column | [324] |
| Oppert on ‘Le Peuple des Mèdes’: A.D. 1879 | [326] |
| [CHAPTER VI] | |
| Decipherment of the Third or Babylonian Column: Hincks and Rawlinson: A.D. 1846-51 | [337] |
| The Babylonian Inscriptions: Michaux Stone and East India House | [337] |
| The Assyrian Inscriptions discovered by Botta and Layard: A.D. 1843-5 | [339] |
| Botta: ‘Essai de Déchiffrement’: A.D. 1845 | [343] |
| On the Varieties of Writing | [343] |
| The language of the Babylonian and Assyrian Inscriptions shown to be identical with that of the Third Column—It is Semitic | [348] |
| First attempt to decipher it—Grotefend: A.D. 1824-40 | [352] |
| Löwenstern on Asdod: A.D. 1845 | [355] |
| Hincks’s Essay of June 1846 | [357] |
| Rawlinson: A.D. 1847 | [362] |
| Criticised by Löwenstern in ‘Exposé des Eléments’: A.D. 1847 | [364] |
| Hincks: The Khorsabad Inscription: June 1849 | [369] |
| ” The Appendix: Jan. 1850 | [374] |
| ” Mode of Writing: August 1850 | [375] |
| Rawlinson: Second Memoir prepared: A.D. 1849 | [377] |
| ” The Two Lectures: Jan. and Feb. 1850 | [379] |
| ” Earliest Assyrian Translation from Black Obelisk | [382] |
| ” Publication of Third Column of Behistun Inscription: A.D. 1851 | [386] |
| The Services of Hincks and Rawlinson compared | [396] |
| The Claims of De Saulcy examined | [398] |
| Conclusion | [407] |
| [APPENDICES] | |
| A.—Table showing the different values assigned to each letter of the Old Persian Alphabet | [420] |
| B.—Table showing the true values of the Old Persian letters and the author and date of their decipherment | [426] |
| C.—Table showing the different values given to each sign of the Susian (Median) Syllabary | [430] |
| Index | [443] |
| Plan of Persepolis | [Frontispiece] |
[The Plan of Persepolis is inserted by kind permission of Lord Curzon of Kedleston from his work ‘Persia and the Persian Question.’]