Existing comment:
Cyrus or Darius?
"I, Cyru, the king, the Achaemenid [built this]"
The translation of the so-called "foundation inscription" carved into various architectural features at Pasargadae confirmed Herzfeld's theory that the site was the original capital of Cyrus the Great. Modern scholars, however, have proposed that Darius I (reigned circa 550-486 BCE), who build Persepolis, added the inscriptions to commemorate Cyrus as the founder of Pasargadae and the first ruler of the Achaemenid Empire. Reflecting the empire's multiethnic makeup, the declaration is carved in three languages: Old Persian, Elamite, and Akkadian. |