Iranian and Imperial Sources

Pages

• Darius -- The Behistun Inscription — The Old Persian Behistun inscription of Darius in the public-domain King and Thompson English translation, including the list of imperial provinces, the rhetoric of the Lie, the royal publication command, and the Saka/Skunkha campaign.
• Darius — Skunkha the Saka — The Behistun inscription records Darius' campaign against the pointed-cap Saka and the capture of Skunkha.
• Darius — The Saka in the Royal Inscriptions — Darius names the Saka among the lands held by the Achaemenid empire, including the haoma-drinking Saka, the pointed-cap Saka, and the Saka beyond the sea.
• The Gathas — Truth, Lie, and the One God — Selected Gathic passages on Ahura Mazda, Truth, the Lie, creation, and good dominion for the Iranian background of the Scythian shelf.
• The Haoma-Drinking Saka — Old Persian royal inscriptions preserve the name of the haoma-drinking Saka, joined here with an Avestan ritual witness to haoma offerings.
• The Mithra Yasht — Oath and Sovereignty — Selected passages from the Mithra Yasht on covenant, oath-breaking, royal battle, and the scale of obligation between persons and nations.
• The Zamyad Yasht — Royal Glory — Selected passages from the Zamyad Yasht on the Kingly Glory, Yima's loss of glory, and the glory that cannot be seized by force.
• Xerxes — The Daiva Inscription — Xerxes' Daiva Inscription names the Dahae and Saka in the imperial list and gives the royal Achaemenid denunciation of daiva worship.