The Orders of Darius I and Xerxes in the Corpus of the Achaemenid Royal Inscriptions
Rung Eduard V.
The article examines the role of the orders of Darius I and Xerxes in the functioning of the legal system in the Achaemenid Persian Empire. It is concluded that along with local political and legal traditions, royal decrees, commands and instructions that came from the king himself and his office served as tools of socio-political and economic regulation in the Achaemenid empire. The Achaemenid trilingual royal inscriptions are analysed as the main source of information on this subject. These texts contain references to king’s orders, and the terminological analysis, covering the corresponding vocabulary of inscriptions in the main three languages (Old Persian, Elamite and Akkadian), allows us to come to some conclusions regarding the functioning of the Achaemenid legal system as a whole. It can be asserted that royal orders mentioned there can be divided into three groups (royal decrees, royal commands and proclamations). In the Achaemenid royal inscriptions orders given by the king to his military commanders or his army can be considered as commands, while decrees do not have any specific addressee and are of more general nature. If one speaks about a special type of royal commands, such as proclamations, these are addressed to the entire population of the Achaemenid Empire.
References:
Aubert, J.-J. 2004: Aux origines du canal de Suez? Le canal du Nil à la mer Rouge revisité. In: M. Clavel-Lévêque, E. Hermon (éd.), Espaces intégrés et ressources naturelles dans l’Empire romain. Actes du colloque de l’Université de Laval – Québec (5–8 mars 2003). Besançon, 219–252.
Bahenheimer, A. 2018: Old Persian: Dictionary, Glossary, Concordance. Malden–Oxford–Chichester.
Bartholomae, C. 1904: Altiranisches Wörterbuch. Strassburg.
Bickerman, E.J. 1946: The Edict of Cyrus in Ezra 1. Journal of Biblical Literature 75, 249–275.
Bogolyubov, M.N. 1966: [Aramaic Building Inscription from Aswan]. Palestinskiy sbornik [Palestinian Collection] 15 (78), 41–46.
Боголюбов, М. Н. Арамейская строительная надпись из Асуана. Палестинский сборник 15 (78), 41–46.
Briant, P. 1999: The Achaemenid Empire. In: K. Raaflaub, N. Rosenstein (eds.), War and Society in the Ancient and Medieval Worlds. Asia, the Mediterranean, Europe and Mesoamerica. Washington, 105–128.
Briant, P., Henkelman, W., Stolper, M. (eds.) 2008: L’archive des Fortifications de Persépolis. État des questions et perspectives de recherches. Paris.
Chaumont, M.-L. 2000: Framadār (Framātār). In: E. Yarshater (ed.), Encyclopaedia Iranica. Vol. X/2. New York, 125–126.
Cowley, A. 1923: Aramaic Papyri of the Fifth Century B. C. Oxford.
Dandamaev, M.A., Lukonin, V. 1980: Kul’tura i ekonomika Drevnego Irana [The Culture and Economics of Ancient Iran]. Moscow.
Дандамаев, М.А., Луконин, В. Культура и экономика Древнего Ирана. М.
Démare-Lafont, S. 2006: dātu ša šarri. La «loi du roi» dans la Babylonie achéménide et séleucide. Droit et Cultures 52, 13–26.
Dusinberre, E.R.M. 2013: Empire, Authority, and Autonomy in Achaemenid Anatolia. Cambridge.
Edakov, A.V. 1979: [Recently Discovered Achaemenid Inscriptions]. Vestnik drevney istorii [Journal of Ancient History] 3, 104–114.
Эдаков, А. В. Новые находки надписей Ахеменидов. ВДИ 3, 104–114.
Edakov, A.V. 1980: [The Egyptian Canal of Darius I and Its Building Date: A Comparative Study of the Sources]. Vestnik drevney istorii [Journal of Ancient History] 2, 105–120.
Эдаков, А. В. Сравнительный анализ источников о египетском канале Дария I и время его сооружения. ВДИ 2, 105–120.
Filippone, E. 2019: The Orders of the King: Reported Directive Quotations in the Achaemenid Royal Inscriptions. In: S. Badalkhan, G. P. Basello, M. de Chiara (eds.), Iranian Studies in Honour of Adriano V. Rossi. Pt. 1. Napoli, 291–323.
Fragner, B.G. 2016: Farmān. Encyclopaedia Iranica. URL: http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/farman; accessed on: 08.02.2024.
Grabbe, L.L. 2006: The “Persian Documents” in the Book of Ezra: Are They Authentic? In: O. Lipschits, M. Oeming (eds.), Judah and the Judeans in the Persian Period. Winona Lake (IN).
Grilliot-Susini, F. 1990: Les textes de fondation du palais de Suse. Journal Asiatique 278, 213–222.
Grilliot-Susini, F., Harrennschmidt, K., Labat, F. 1993: La Version Elamite de la Trilingue de Behistun: un Nouvelle Lecture. Journal Asiatique 281, 19–59.
Hallock, R. 1969: Persepolis Fortification Tablets. Chicago.
Henkelman, W.F.M. 2008: The Other Gods Who Are. Studies in Elamite-Iranian Acculturation based on the Persepolis Fortification Texts. (Achaemenid History, XIV). Leiden.
Henkelman, W.F.M. 2010: “Consumed before the King”: The Table of Darius, That of Irdabama and Irtaštuna, and That of His Satrap, Karkiš. In: B. Jacobs, R. Rollinger (eds.), Der Achämenidenhof – The Achaemenid Court. Akten des 2. Internationalen Kolloquiums zum Thema “Vorderasien im Spannungsfeld klassischer und altorientalischer Überlieferungen”, Landgut Castelen bei Basel, 23–25. Mai 2007. Wiesbaden, 667–775.
Herzfeld, E. 1936: Xerxes’ Verbot des Daivā-Cultes. Archäologische Mitteilungen aus Iran 8, 56–77.
Herzfeld, E. 1938: Altpersische Inschriften. Berlin.
Hinz, W. 1942: Altpersischer Wortschatz. Leipzig.
Hinz, W. 1973: Neue Wege im altpersischen. Wiesbaden.
Hinz, W. 1975: Altiranisches Sprachgut der Nebenüberlieferungen. Wiesbaden.
Hinz, W., Koch, H. 1987: Elamisches Wörterbuch. Bd. I–II. Berlin.
Huyana, Á.C. 2020: Some Thoughts on Xerxes’s “Daiva” Inscription and Its Interpretation. Antiguo Oriente 18, 119–185.
Isakova, A.S., Rung, E.V. 2023: [“I Established the Kingdom on Its Place”: An Idea of Law and Order in the Achaemenid Empire]. Vostok (Oriens) 3, 45–59.
Исакова, А.С., Рунг, Э.В. «Я поставил царство на свое место». Идея законопорядка в Ахеменидской империи. Восток (Oriens) 3, 45–59.
Kent, R.G. 1937: The Daiva-Inscription of Xerxes. Language 13, 292–305.
Kent, R.G. 1950: Old Persian: Grammar, Texts, Lexicon. New Haven.
Khatchadourian, L. 2016: Imperial Matter: Ancient Persia and the Archaeology of Empires. Oakland (CA).
Kleber K., 2010: dātu ša šarri: Gesetzgebung in Babylonien unter den Achämeniden. Zeitschrift für Altorientalische und Biblische Rechtsgeschichte – Journal for Ancient Near Eastern and Biblical Law 16, 49–75.
Klotz, D. 2015: Darius I and the Sabaeans: Ancient Partners in Red Sea Navigation. Journal of Near Eastern Studies 74, 267–280.
Kuhrt, A. 2007: The Persian Empire. A Corpus of Sources from the Achaemenid Period. Oxford.
Ladynin, I.A. 2011: [The Statue of Darius I from Susa: An Essay of Interpretation in the Light of Egyptian and Near Eastern Religious and Ideological Notions]. Vestnik drevney istorii [Journal of Ancient History] 1, 3–27.
Ладынин, И. А. Статуя Дария I из Суз: к интерпретации памятника в свете религиозно-идеологических представлений Египта и Переднего Востока. ВДИ 1, 3–27.
Lecoq, P. 1997: Les inscriptions de la Perse achéménide. Paris. Lloyd, A.B. 2007: Darius in Egypt: Suez and Hibis. In: C. J. Tuplin (ed.), Persian Responses: Political and Cultural Interaction with(in) the Achaemenid Empire. Swansee, 99–115.
MacGinnis, J. 2008: A Judgment of Darius the King. Journal of Cuneiform Studies 60, 87–99.
Malbran-Labat, F. 1994: La version akkadienne de l’inscription trilingue de Darius à Behistun. Roma.
Mayrhofer, M. 1996: Etymologisches Wörterbuch des altindoarischen. Bd. II. Heidelberg.
Naveh, J., Shaked, S. 2012: Aramaic Documents from Ancient Bactria (Fourth Century BCE). London.
Olmstead, A.T. 1935: Darius as Lawgiver. American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures 51, 247–249.
Oppert, J. 1875: Inscriptions of the Persian Monarchs (Corpus inscriptionum Persicarum). In: Records of the Past: Being English Translations of the Assyrian and Egyptian Monuments. Vol. IX. Assyrian Texts. London, 65–88.
Pirngruber, P. 2021: Jurisdiction. In: B. Jacobs, R. Rollinger (eds.), A Companion to the Achaemenid Persian Empire. Hoboken, 1087–1096.
Posener, G. 1936: La première domination perse en Egypte. Recueil d’inscriptions hiéroglyphiques. Le Caire.
Redford, D.B. 2001: The So-Called “Codification” of Egyptian Law under Darius I. In: J. W. Watts (ed.), Persia and Torah: The Theory of Imperial Authorization of the Pentateuch. Atlanta, 135–160.
Rendtorff, R. 1984: Esra und das Gesetz. Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 96, 165–184.
Rung, E. 2015a: Some Notes on Karanos in the Achaemenid Empire. Iranica antiqua 50, 333–356.
Rung, E.V. 2015b: [Imperial Idea in the Achaemenid Empire]. Problemy istorii, filologii, kul’tury [Journal of Historical, Philological and Cultural Studies] 4, 130–140.
Рунг, Э.В. 2015: Имперская идея в государстве Ахеменидов. Проблемы истории, филологии, культуры 4, 130–140.
Rung, E.V., Chiglintsev, E.A. 2017: [Darius versus Xerxem: The Images of Darius I and Xerxes in Old Persian Texts and in the Works of Aeschylus and Herodotus]. Vestnik drevney istorii [Journal of Ancient History] 77/3, 696–719.
Рунг, Э.В., Чиглинцев, Е. А. Darius versus Xerxem: Образы Дария I и Ксеркса в древнеперсидских текстах и в произведениях Эсхила и Геродота. ВДИ 77/3, 696–719.
Schmitt, R. 1991: The Bisitun Inscriptions of Darius the Great. Old Persian Text. London.
Schmitt, R. 1994: Dāta. In: E. Yarshater (ed.), Encyclopaedia Iranica. Vol. VII/1. New York, 114–115.
Schmitt, R. 2000: The Old Persian Inscriptions of Naqshi-Rustam and Persepolis. London.
Schmitt, R. 2009: Die altpersischen Inschriften der Achaimeniden. Editio minor mit deutscher Ubersetzung. Wiesbaden.
Schmitt, R. 2014: Wörterbuch der altpersischen Königsinschriften. Wiesbaden.
Seidl, U. 1999: Ein Monument Darius’ I. aus Babylon. Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und Vorderasiatische Archäologie 98, 101–114.
Steve, M.-J. 1987: Ville Royale de Suse. Vol. 7. Nouveaux mélanges épigraphiques: inscriptions royales de Suse et de la Susiane. Nice.
Stoneman, R. 2015: Xerxes. A Persian Life. New Haven–London.
Tavernier, J. 2007: Iranica in the Achaemenid Period (ca. 550–330 B.C.). Lexicon of Old Iranian Proper Names and Loanwords, Attested in Non-Iranian Texts. Leuven–Paris–Dudley (MA).
Tuplin, C.J. 1991: Darius’ Suez Canal and Persian Imperialism. In: H. Sancisi-Weerdenburg, A. Kuhrt (eds.), Achaemenid History. Vol. VI: Asia Minor and Egypt: Old Cultures in a New Empire. Leiden, 237–283.
Tuplin, C.J. 2015: The Justice of Darius: Some Reflections on the Achaemenid Empire as a Rule-bound Environment. In: A. Fitzpatrick-McKinley (ed.), Assessing Biblical and Classical Sources for the Reconstruction of Persian Influence, History and Culture. Wiesbaden, 73–126.
Ushakov, D.N. 2014: Tolkovyy slovar’ sovremennogo russkogo yazyka [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Modern Russian Language]. Moscow.
Ушаков, Д. Н. Толковый словарь современного русского языка. М.
Vallat, F. 1974: La triple inscription cunéiforme de la statue de Darius Ier (DSab). Revue d’Assyriologie et d’archéologie orientale 68, 157–166.
Vallat, F. 1977: Corpus des inscriptions royales en elamite achéménide. Thèse de doctorat. Paris.
Vaux, R. de. 1971: The Decrees of Cyrus and Darius in the Rebuilding of the Temple. In: C. H. Gordon, G. A. Rendsburg (eds.), The Bible and the Ancient Near East. New York–London–Garden City, 63–96.
Voigtlander, E. 1978: The Bisitun Inscription of Darius the Great. Babylonian Version. London.
Walton, J.H. 1988: The Decree of Darius the Mede in Daniel 6. Journal of Near Eastern Studies 31, 279–286.
Wiesehöfer, J. 2008: Gerechtigkeit und Recht im achaimenidischen Iran. In: H. Barta, R. Rollinger, M. Lang (eds.), Recht und Religion. Menschliche und göttliche Gerechtigkeitsvorstellungen in den antiken Welten. Wiesbaden, 191–203.
Wiesehöfer, J. 2013: Law and Religion in Achaemenid Iran. In: A. C. Hagedorn, R. G. Kratz (eds.), Law and Religion in the Eastern Mediterranean: From Antiquity to Early Islam. Oxford, 40–57.
Yakubovich, I. 2023: “Daiva inscription” of Xerxes: Historical Account, Ideological Statement, or Propaganda? Vestnik drevney istorii [Journal of Ancient History] 83/1, 5–26.