Behistun Inscription, Column V
Skunkha is the named Saka body inside Achaemenid victory art. At Behistun he is not an ethnographic type but a captured ruler, bound into the royal narrative of rebellion, defeat, replacement, and the worship of Ahuramazda.
The passage matters for Scythian history because it joins text and image. The Saka with pointed caps are named in Old Persian; their chief is named; the king says what he did with him; and the theological judgment follows immediately.
The translation below is from the Old Persian transliteration of Behistun, column V, lines 18-36.
Translation
Darius the King says: Whoever worships Ahuramazda, blessing will be his, both while living and when dead.
Darius the King says: Afterward I went with the army against the Saka, after the Saka who wear the pointed cap. These Saka went away from me. When I came to the river, I crossed it with the whole army. Afterward I struck the Saka greatly. Another man I captured; he was led bound before me, and I killed him.
Another chief of theirs, named Skunkha, they seized and led before me. Then I made another man their chief, as was my desire. Afterward the land became mine.
Darius the King says: Those Saka were faithless, and Ahuramazda was not worshipped by them. I worshipped Ahuramazda. By the favor of Ahuramazda, as was my desire, so I did to them.
Darius the King says: Whoever shall worship Ahuramazda, may blessing be his, both while living and when dead.
Colophon
This Good Works Translation was prepared for the Scythian shelf by the New Tianmu Anglican Church from the source text printed below. The English is an independent rendering from the source-language transliteration or Greek text, with existing public translations used only as controls for damaged or conventional passages.
Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.
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Source Text: Behistun Old Persian, Column V
Old Persian source text in romanized transliteration from the Behistun inscription. Presented here for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above.
Column V, lines 18-20: thatiy Darayavaush xshayathiya hya Auramazdam yadataiy yanam avaha ahatiy uta jivahya uta martahya
Column V, lines 20-26: thatiy Darayavaush xshayathiya pasava hada kara adam ashiyavam abiy Sakam pasa Saka tyaiy xaudam tigram baratiy imaiy Saka hacama aisha yadiy abiy draya avarasam parashim avada hada kara visa viyatarayam pasava adam Saka vasiy ajanam aniyam agarb ayam hauv basta anayat abiy mam
Column V, lines 27-30: ashim avajanam mathishtasham Skuxa nama avam agarbaya uta anaya abiy mam avada aniyam mathishtam akunavam yatha mam kama aha pasava dahyaush mana abava
Column V, lines 30-36: thatiy Darayavaush xshayathiya avaiy Saka arika aha uta naiy Auramazdasham ayadiya Auramazdam ayadaiy vashna Auramazdaha yatha mam kama avathadish akunavam thatiy Darayavaush xshayathiya hya Auramazdam yadataiy avahya yanam ahatiy uta jivahya uta martahya
Source Colophon
Old Persian transliteration inspected from Livius, Behistun Persian Text pages T 45 and T 46, column V lines 18-36. Livius states that the pages give drawings, transliteration, and an adapted King/Thompson translation. The English rendering above is newly prepared from the transliteration.
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