|
PERSEPOLIS
ELAMITE
TABLETS,
administrative
records
in
Elamite
inscribed
on
clay
tablets.
Parts
of
two
archives
of
such
tablets
were
discovered
in
Persepolis
in
1933-34
and
1936-38
by
the
archaeological
expedition
of
the
Oriental
Institute
of
the
University
of
Chicago.
They
belonged
to
administrative
records
kept
by
agencies
of
the
Achaemenid
government
during
the
reigns
of
Darius
the
Great,
Xerxes
and
Artaxerxes
I.
The
first
group
of
the
texts
was
found
in
the
Fortification
area
at
the
northeastern
corner
of
the
terrace
platform,
hence
their
designation
as
"Persepolis
Fortification
Tablets."
The
find
consisted
of
over
30,000
tablets,
whole
or
fragmentary,
of
which
2,120
texts
(44
with
Aramaic
glosses,
see
below)
have
already
been
edited
and
translated
by
Richard
T.
Hallock
(1969;
idem,
1978),
while
the
rest
remain
unpublished
(including
many
he
edited
and
translated,
although
his
manuscript
archive
has
been
used
by
several
scholars,
most
notably
Walther
Hinz
and
Heidemarie
Koch,
1987).
The
documents
were
drafted
between
the
13th
and
the
28th
regnal
years
of
Darius
I,
that
is,
from
509
to
494
B.C.E.
Although
all
were
found
in
Persepolis,
they
originated
from
a
large
area
of
Persis
and
Elam,
and
some
were
actually
written
in
Susa.
The
second
group
of
the
tablets
was
discovered
in
a
northeastern
room
of
the
Treasury
of
Xerxes;
hence
they
are
conventionally
called
"Persepolis
Treasury
Tablets."
They
date
from
the
30th
year
of
the
reign
of
Darius
I
to
the
7th
year
of
the
reign
of
Artaxerxes
1
(i.e.,
492-458
B.C.E.).
In
all
753
tablets
and
fragments
were
discovered,
and
of
these,
128
have
so
far
been
published
(Cameron,
1948;
idem,
1958;
idem,
1965).
A
large
number
of
the
fragments
are
too
worn
out
or
broken
to
afford
connected
texts
and
meaningful
readings.
The
Fortification
Tablets
include
many
records
of
transactions
(chiefly
concerned
with
distribution
of
foodstuffs,
management
of
flocks,
and
provisioning
of
workers
and
travelers)
at
locations
throughout
most
of
Persis
and
eastern
Elam,
and
probably
at
some
locations
to
the
northwest
and
southeast
of
those
areas.
The
records
drawn
up
at
those
sites
were
sent
to
a
central
office
at
Persepolis.
The
Fortification
texts
also
include
many
records
compiling
and
tabulating
information
from
similar
registrations
into
accounts
covering
many
months,
or
relatively
large
areas,
or
both.
These
compilations
were
made
in
the
offices
of
Persepolis
itself.
The
tables
vary
in
size,
shape
and
format.
Many
of
them
are
small
in
format,
and
record
single
transactions
or
single
groups
of
transactions
in
outlying
areas.
The
Fortification
Tablets
contain
two
sub-groups.
One
represents
records
of
large
operations
for
the
transport
of
various
commodities
from
one
place
to
another
in
accordance
with
economic
requirements
and
for
the
creation
of
state
reserves
or
a
seed
fund.
The
other
category
gives
registers
regarding
the
distribution
of
products
to
workmen
(kurtaæ)
of
the
royal
economy
and
to
state
officials,
as
well
as
fodder
for
livestock
and
poultry.
Among
these
registers
there
are
journals
with
eighty
or
more
lines,
which
record
the
expenditure
of
barley,
flour,
dates,
fruit,
beer,
etc.
at
a
particular
place
by
a
particular
department
in
the
course
of
one
or
more
years,
repeating
the
contents
of
separate
receipts
for
the
issue
of
products
for
specific
purposes.
Official
correspondence
of
highly
placed
royal
officials
has
also
been
preserved
as
well
as
texts
recording
the
receipt
of
livestock
and
grain
that
had
been
turned
over
as
royal
taxes
in
Persis
and
Elam.
According
to
one
text,
3,000
bar
(1
bar
=
ca.
10
liters)
of
barley
were
brought
into
Persepolis
by
a
single
storekeeper
(Hallock,
1969,
No.6).
Another
document
indicates
that
nearly
700
shepherds
drove
"the
sheep
of
the
king"
from
Persis
to
Susa
(Hallock,
1969,
No.
1442).
The
Treasury
Tablets
record
the
issue
of
silver
and
foodstuffs
primarily
to
workmen
of
the
royal
economy
in
Persepolis
(Pa@rsa)
and
its
suburbs.
The
most
frequently
mentioned
are
Cappadocians,
Lydians,
Carians,
Thracians,
Ionians,
Sogdians,
Bactrians,
Babylonians
and
Egyptians.
All
documents
were
apparently
drawn
up
in
the
immediate
vicinity
of
Persepolis.
All
intact
tablets
have
rounded
right
edges
and
squared-off
left
edges
stamped
with
seal
impressions.
The
Treasury
Tablets
are
divided
by
their
formularies
into
"letters"
and
"memoranda."
The
letters
from
various
officials,
addressed
to
the
head
of
the
treasury
in
Persepolis,
order
that
a
certain
sum
be
paid
to
individuals
who
carry
out
specified
work,
while
the
memoranda
record
the
nature
and
duration
of
the
work
performed,
the
official
responsible,
and
the
amount
of
silver
or
foodstuffs
paid
to
workmen
in
various
categories
according
to
their
qualifications.
Some
of
the
Fortification
and
Treasury
texts
contain
the
personal
decrees
of
Darius
I.
For
instance,
he
ordered
the
issue
of
200
marriæ
(1
marriæ
=
ca.
10
liters)
of
wine
from
the
palace
stores
and
100
sheep
to
the
queen
Irtaæduna
(see
ARTYSTONE),
who
was
one
of
his
wives
(Cameron,
1942,
pp.
214ff,
corrected
by
Hallock,
1969,
No.
1795).
According
to
a
Treasury
text,
530
karæa
(44
kg)
of
silver
were
distributed
by
personal
order
of
Darius
to
thirteen
individuals,
mostly
with
Iranian
names,
who
had
rendered
some
important
service
to
the
king
(Cameron,
1948,
No.
4).
A
number
of
Fortification
Tablets
contain
records
of
the
activity
on
estates
belonging
to
members
of
the
royal
family.
Evidently
such
records
also
constituted
a
part
of
the
palace
archive.
The
distribution
of
pay
is
quite
interesting.
In
509-494,
workmen
and
officials
were
paid
only
in
kind
(grain,
flour,
rams,
wine,
beer,
fruit).
In
492-458,
they
received
un-minted
silver
in
addition
to
foodstuffs.
But
not
even
the
highest
state
official
was
ever
paid
with
money,
although
the
invention
of
Persian
coinage
by
Darius
the
Great
dates
from
the
last
decade
of
the
sixth
century,
if
not
earlier
(see
DARIC).
For
instance,
the
manager
of
the
royal
household
received
daily
two
sheep,
18
bars
of
flour
and
9
marriæ
of
beer
and
wine,
i.e.
90
to
180
times
more
than
the
workmen
and
couriers
(Hallock,
1969,
Nos.
666-669,
etc.).
The
texts
also
contain
rich
data
on
the
delivery
of
state
mail
to
various
regions
of
the
empire.
Couriers
were
sent
to
nearly
all
the
satrapies
from
Susa,
the
administrative
capital
of
the
Achaemenid
Empire,
bearing
the
king's
decrees.
Reports
from
the
satraps
and
other
officials
addressed
to
the
king
were
usually
forwarded
to
Susa;
most
of
them
were
probably
destined
for
the
royal
chancellery
there.
Many
civil
servants
arrived
in
Susa
on
state
business
from
various
lands
of
the
empire,
stretching
from
Egypt
to
India.
In
particular,
the
documents
speak
of
travel
to
Susa
and
Persepolis
by
state
officials
and
messengers
from
Media,
India,
Arachosia,
Sagartia,
Areia,
Gandara
and
Bactria.
Provisions
for
them
were
issued
en
route
from
storerooms.
Stations
with
reserves
of
foodstuffs
were
situated
on
the
main
roads
at
intervals
of
one
day's
journey.
Vouchers
regarding
the
receipt
of
foodstuffs
along
the
road
were
drawn
up
at
road
stations
and
were
later
delivered
to
Persepolis
for
accounting
purposes.
A
Babylonian,
Be@l-etÂir
by
name,
was
engaged
in
the
delivery
of
documents
from
Persepolis
to
Susa
and
back
(Hallock,
1969,
Nos.
1381,
1382).
Another
Babylonian
was
the
manager
of
the
royal
storehouse
for
flour
and
wine
at
one
of
the
road
stations
(Hallock,
1969,
Nos.
81,
489,
etc.).
The
Persepolis
texts
also
constitute
a
valuable
source
for
the
study
of
the
Old
Iranian
lexicon,
since
they
contain
many
Iranian
words
and
names
in
Elamite
garb.
Of
the
approximately
1,
900
names
in
the
texts,
one-tenth
are
Elamite
and
a
small
number
Babylonian,
while
the
rest
(nearly
1,700)
are
Iranian
(see
Benveniste,
pp.
75ff.;
Gershevitch,
1969,
pp.
167ff.;
idem,
1969
a,
pp.
165ff;
Mayrhofer;
Hinz,
1975).
In
addition
to
Persians
and
Medes,
representatives
of
many
other
Iranian
tribes
(Chorasmians,
Bactrians,
Sakai,
Areioi,
etc.)
are
also
mentioned.
Since
various
Iranian
groups
used
dialect
forms
of
one
and
the
same
name,
the
names
recorded
in
the
tablets
naturally
show
graphic
variants.
As
expected,
many
Elamites
were
also
employed
in
the
administration
apparatus
in
southwestern
Iran.
But
a
large
number
of
them
apparently
bore
Iranian
names
as
a
result
of
long-term
contacts
with
the
Persians.
The
texts
also
shed
fresh
light
on
religion
in
ancient
Persis,
and
on
the
religious
policies
of
the
Achaemenids
(see
Boyce,
Zoroastrianism
II,
pp.
132-49).
Thus,
in
500
B.C.E.,
a
priest
received
80
bar
of
grain,
of
which
40
were
destined
for
the
cult
of
Ahuramazda@,
the
supreme
Persian
god,
and
40
for
Miæduæi,
another
Iranian
deity
(Hallock,
1969,
No.
337).
Another
priest
was
issued
7
qa
(1
qa
=
ca.
1
liter)
for
Ahurmazda@,
2
marriæ
for
Humban,
the
supreme
Elamite
god,
and
3
marriæ
for
libations
to
three
rivers,
1
mariæ
for
each
(Hallock,
1969,
No.
339).
Grain
and
wine
were
issued
also
for
the
Iranian
god
Nariæanka
(Nairyo@sanha),
the
Elamite
deity
ˆimut
and
the
Akkadian
Adad
as
well
as
for
other
divine
beings
of
uncertain
origins,
Nabbazabba,
Anturza,
and
Turma.
(Hallock,
1969,
Nos.
338,
770,
1956,
1960,
2073,
etc.;
idem,
1978,
No.
2).
Thus,
produce
was
supplied
from
the
royal
storehouses
for
the
performance
of
the
cult
not
only
of
Iranian
gods,
but
also
of
Elamite
and
Babylonian
deities.
Moreover,
the
gods
of
the
Iranian
pantheon
appear
less
frequently
in
the
texts
than
the
Elamite
deities,
and
the
royal
administration
treated
all
these
gods
equally.
Some
of
the
Fortification
Tablets
are
accompanied
by
short
glosses
or
dockets
in
Aramaic,
written
on
the
labels
in
ink.
About
700
or
more
of
the
tablets
have
monolingual
Aramaic
inscriptions
(unpublished).
A
large
but
as
yet
unascertained
number
of
the
tablets
bear
no
inscription
but
carry
seal-impressions
of
various
types.
The
holes
and
remnants
of
the
cords
at
the
corner
of
the
Treasury
Tablets
indicate
that
they
were
originally
attached
to
leather
scrolls
bearing
Aramaic
duplicate
of
each
Elamite
text.
In
addition,
199
clay
tablets
with
impressions
of
seals
containing
an
Aramaic
inscriptions
have
been
discovered.
It
appears
that
the
Persian
civil
servants
gave
their
orders
orally
and
their
scribes
translated
them
simultaneously
into
Elamite
and
Aramaic
(see
Altheim
-
Stiehl,
pp.
78-82:
Gershevitch,
1979).
Although
during
the
period
when
the
Fortification
and
Treasury
tablets
were
written
the
Elamite
language
was
extensively
used
in
clerical
work
alongside
Aramaic,
in
the
second
half
of
the
fifth
century
B.C.E.,
Aramaic
finally
supplanted
it.
The
Fortification
and
Treasury
tablets
have
considerably
advanced
our
knowledge
of
Achaemenid
glyptic
art.
They
bear
the
impressions
of
official
seals
used
by
royal
bureaucrats.
Most
of
them
are
cylinder
seals
(q.v.),
although
there
are
also
a
few
stamp
seals.
More
than
100
impressions
are
labeled
in
cuneiform
script,
many
of
them
trilingual
(in
Old
Persian,
Elamite,
and
Akkadian)
but
some
in
Old
Persian
only.
A
small
number
are
inscribed
in
Aramaic.
The
royal
seal
with
the
trilingual
cuneiform
text
"I,
Darius
.
.
.,"
which
continued
to
be
used
even
during
the
reign
of
Xerxes,
was
at
the
disposal
of
the
chief
of
the
treasury
(see
Hinz,
1971,
p.
262).
Some
seals
belonged
to
senior
officials.
Many
labels
with
impressions
of
seals
have
also
been
preserved.
These
labels
were
attached
as
accounting
documents
to
objects,
which
were
stored
in
the
treasury.
A
fair
number
of
the
impressions
on
the
Treasury
tablets
have
been
published
(cf.
Cameron,
1948,
pp.
55-8;
Root,
pp.
118-22;
Schmidt,
pp.
10ff.;
Schmitt,
pp,
20-6.
The
impressions
on
the
Fortification
tablets
are
being
published
by
M.
B.
Garrison
and
M.
C.
Root
(2001-).
Some
have
already
been
well
publicized.
Of
these,
one
depicts
a
mounted
warrior
who
is
striking
down
an
enemy
with
his
spear
while
two
other
foes
are
lying
prostrate
beneath
his
horse.
This
seal
bears
the
inscription
in
Elamite:
"Cyrus
the
Anshanite,
son
of
Teispes"
(see
Garrison
1991,
pp.
4-7;
Idem
and
Root,
1996,
pp.
6-7
and
fig.2a-c).
It
had
originally
belonged
to
Cyrus
I
(q.v.;
r.
ca.
640-600
B.C.E.),
the
grandfather
of
Cyrus
the
Great
(Hallock,
1977,
p.
127).
It
is
worth
mentioning
in
passing
that
a
Babylonian
private
legal
document
drafted
at
Persepolis
in
the
time
of
Darius
I
has
been
preserved
among
the
Fortification
tablets
(Stolper,
pp.
299ff.).
One
Babylonian
document
has
also
been
found
among
the
Treasury
tablets
(Cameron,
1948,
No.
85).
It
records
the
payment
of
state
taxes
by
several
Medes
in
502.
Finally,
a
short
inscription
scrawled
in
Ionic
letters
has
been
found
among
the
Fortification
tablets
(Hallock,
1969,
p.
2).
Bibliography:
F.
Altheim
and
R.
Stiehl,
Die
aramische
Sprache
unter
den
Achäimeniden,
parts
1-3,
Frankfurt
am
Main,
1961-1962.
A.
Arfa¿i,
"La
grande
route
Perse‚polis-Susa.
Une
lecture
des
tablettes
provenant
des
Fortifications
de
Perse‚polis,"
Topoi,
Orient–Occident,
9/2
1999,
pp.
33-45.
E.
Benveniste,
Titres
et
noms
propres
en
iranien
ancien
(Travaux
de
l'Institut
d'etudes
iraniennes
de
l'Universite‚
de
Paris
1),
Paris,
1966,
pp.
75-99.
G.
G.
Cameron,
"Darius'
Daughter
and
the
Persepolis
Inscriptions,"
JNES
1,
1942,
pp.
214-18.
Idem,
Persepolis
Treasury
Tablets
(The
University
of
Chicago.
Oriental
Institute
Publications
65),
Chicago,
1948.
Idem,
"Persepolis
Treasury
Tablets
old
and
new,"
JNES
17,
1958,
pp.
161-76.
Idem,
"New
Tablets
from
the
Persepolis
Treasury",
JNES
24,
1965,
pp.
167-92.
M.
B.
Garrison,
"Seals
and
the
Elite
at
Persepolis:
Some
Observations
on
Early
Achaemenid
Persian
Art,"
Ars
Orientalis
21,
1991,
pp.
1-29.
Idem
and
M.
C.
Root,
Persepolis
Seal
Studies
(Achaemenid
History
IX),
Leiden,
1996.
Idem
and
M.
C.
Root,
Seals
on
the
Persepolis
Fortification
Tablets.
I:
Images
of
Heroic
Encounter
(in
two
parts:
1.
Text,
2.
Plates),
The
University
of
Chicago
Oriental
Institute
Publications
117,
Chicago,
2001
(Vol.
II:
Images
of
Human
Activity
and
Vol.
III:
Animals,
Creatures,
Plants,
and
Geometric
Devices
are
in
preparation).
I.
Gershevitch,
"Amber
at
Persepolis,"
Studia
Classica
et
Orientalia
Antonio
Pagliano
Oblata
29,
Rome,
1969,
pp.
167-251.
Idem,
"Iranian
Nouns
and
Names
in
Elamite
Garb,"
TPS,
1969,
pp.
165-200.
Idem,
"The
Alloglottography
of
Old
Persian,"
TPS,
1979,
pp.
114-89.
R.
T.
Hallock,
"A
New
Look
at
the
Persepolis
Treasury
Tablets,"
JNES
19,
1960,
pp.
90-100.
Idem,
Persepolis
Fortification
Tablets,
The
University
of
Chicago
Oriental
Institute
Publications
92,
Chicago,
1969.
Idem,
"The
Persepolis
Fortification
Archive,"
Orientalia
42,
1973,
pp.
320-23.
Idem,
"The
Use
of
Seals
on
the
Persepolis
Fortification
Tablets,"
Bibliotheca
Mesopotamica
6,
1977,
pp.
127-33.
Idem,
"Selected
Fortification
Texts,"
CDAF
18,
1978,
pp.
109-36.
Idem,
"The
Evidence
of
the
Persepolis
Tablets,"
Camb.
Hist.
Iran
II,
1985,
pp.
588-609.
W.
Hinz,
"Zu
den
Persepolis-Täfelchen,"
ZMDG
110,
1961,
pp.
236-51.
Idem,
"Die
elamischen
Buchungstäfelchen
der
Darius-Zeit,"
Orientalia
39,
1970,
pp.
421-40.
Idem,
"Achämenidische
Hofverwaltung,"
ZA
61,
1971,
pp.
260-311.
Idem,
Altiranisches
Sprachgut
der
Nebenüberlieferungen,
Wiesbaden,
1975.
Idem
and
H.
Koch,
Elamisches
Wörterbuch,
2
vols,
Berlin,
1987.
H.
Koch,
Die
religiösen
Verhältnisse
der
Dareioszeit.
Untersuchungen
an
Hand
der
elamischen
Persepolis-Täfelchen,
Wiesbaden,
1977.
M.
Mayrhofer,
Onomastica
Persepolotana.
Das
altiranische
Namengut
der
Persepolis-Täfelchen,
Vienna,
1973.
M.
C.
Root,
The
King
and
Kingship
in
Achaemenid
Art
(Acta
Iranica.
Encyclopedie
permanente
des
etudes
iraniennes,
troisieàme
se‚rie
9),
Leiden,
1979.
E.
F.
Schmidt,
Persepolis
2:
Contents
of
the
Treasury
and
Other
Discoveries,
Chicago,
1957.
`R.
Schmitt,
Altpersiche
Siegel-Inschriften
(Österreichische
Akademie
der
Wissenschaften,
phil.-hist.
K1.
381),
Wien,
1981.
M.
W.
Stolper,
"The
Neo-Babylonian
Text
from
the
Persepolis
Fortification,"
JNES
43,
1984,
pp.
299-310.
(Muhammad
Dandamayev)
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