Naqsh-e Rustam

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Naqsh-e Rostam redirects here. For the administrative subdivision of Iran, see
Naqsh-e Rostam Rural District.
Naqsh-e Rustam
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Naqsh-e Rustam is located in Iran Naqsh-e Rustam
Shown within Iran
Location Fars Province, Iran
Coordinates 2959'20?N 5252'29?ECoordinates 2959'20?N 5252'29?E
Type Necropolis
History
Periods Ahaemenid, Sassanid
Cultures Persian
Naqsh-e Rustam (Persian ??? ?????? [?n??e?os't?m]) is an ancient necropolis
located about 12 km northwest of Persepolis, in Fars Province, Iran. In Naghsh-e
Rostam we can see four tombs and one building from Achaemenid dynasty with a group
of ancient Iranian rock reliefs cut into the cliff, from Sassanid density; the last
important relief is from Elam dynasty and it dates back to 1000 BC.

Naqsh-e Rustam is the necropolis of the Achaemenid dynasty (500330 BC), with four
large tombs cut high into the cliff face. These have mainly architectural
decoration, but the facades include large panels over the doorways, each very
similar in content, with figures of the king being invested by a god, above a zone
with rows of smaller figures bearing tribute, with soldiers and officials. The
three classes of figures are sharply differentiated in size. The entrance to each
tomb is at the center of each cross, which opens onto a small chamber, where the
king lay in a sarcophagus.[1]

Well below the Achaemenid tombs, near ground level, are rock reliefs with large
figures of Sassanian kings, some meeting gods, others in combat. The most famous
shows the Sassanian king Shapur I on horseback, with the Roman Emperor Valerian
bowing to him in submission, and Philip the Arab (an earlier emperor who paid
Shapur tribute) holding Shapur's horse, while the dead Emperor Gordian III, killed
in battle, lies beneath it (other identifications have been suggested). This
commemorates the Battle of Edessa in 260 AD, when Valerian became the only Roman
Emperor who was captured as a prisoner of war, a lasting humiliation for the
Romans. The placing of these reliefs clearly suggests the Sassanid intention to
link themselves with the glories of the earlier Achaemenid Empire.[2]

Panorama of Naqsh-e Rustam

Map of the archaeological site of Naqsh-e Rustam

Contents [hide]
1 Monuments
1.1 Achaemenid tombs
1.2 Ka'ba-ye Zartosht
1.3 Sassanid reliefs
1.3.1 Investiture relief of Ardashir I, c. 226-242
1.3.2 Triumph of Shapur I, c. 241-272)
1.3.3 Grandee relief of Bahram II, c. 276-293
1.3.4 Two equestrian reliefs of Bahram II, c. 276-293
1.4 Investiture of Narseh, c. 293-303=
1.4.1 Equestrian relief of Hormizd II, c 303-309
2 Archaeology
3 See also
4 Notes
5 References
6 External links
Monuments[edit]

Upper register of the Achaemenid Tomb of Xerxes I

The oldest relief at Naqsh-e Rustam dates back to c. 1000 BC. Though it is severely
damaged, it depicts a faint image of a man with unusual head-gear, and is thought
to be Elamite in origin. The depiction is part of a larger mural, most of which was
removed at the command of Bahram II. The man with the unusual cap gives the site
its name, Naqsh-e Rustam (Rustam Relief or Relief of Rustam), because the relief
was locally believed to be a depiction of the mythical hero Rustam.

Achaemenid tombs[edit]
Four tombs belonging to Achaemenid kings are carved out of the rock face at a
considerable height above the ground. The tombs are sometimes known as the Persian
crosses, after the shape of the facades of the tombs. The entrance to each tomb is
at the center of each cross, which opens onto to a small chamber, where the king
lay in a sarcophagus. The horizontal beam of each of the tomb's facades is believed
to be a replica of a Persepolitan entrance.

One of the tombs is explicitly identified, by an accompanying inscription, as the

tomb of Darius I (c. 522-486 BC). The other three tombs are believed to be those of
Xerxes I (c. 486-465 BC), Artaxerxes I (c. 465-424 BC), and Darius II (c. 423-404
BC) respectively. The order of the tombs in Naqsh-e Rustam follows (left to right)
Darius II, Artaxerxes I, Darius I, Xerxes I. The matching of the other kings to
tombs is somewhat speculative; the relief figures are not intended as
individualized portraits.[1]

A fifth unfinished one might be that of Artaxerxes III, who reigned at the longest
two years, but is more likely that of Darius III (c. 336-330 BC), the last king of
the Achaemenid Dynasts. The tombs were looted following the conquest of the
Achaemenid Empire by Alexander the Great.

Ka'ba-ye Zartosht[edit]
Main article Ka'ba-ye Zartosht

Cube of Zoroaster, a cube-shaped construction in the foreground, against the

backdrop of Naqsh-e Rustam
Ka'ba-ye Zartosht (meaning the Cube of Zoroaster) is a 5th century B.C Achaemenid
square tower. The structure is a copy of a sister building at Pasargadae, the
Prison of Solomon (Zendan-e Solayman). It was built either by Darius I (r. 521486
BCE) when he moved to Persepolis, by Artaxerxes II (r. 404358 BCE) or Artaxerxes
III (r. 358338 BCE). The building at Pasargadae is a few decades older. There in
inscription in three languages from Sassanian time on the walls of this place, its
considered as one of the most important inscription from Sassanid time

Several theories exist regarding the purpose of the Ka'ba-ye Zartosht structure.[3]

Sassanid reliefs[edit]

The investiture of Ardashir I

Seven over-life sized rock reliefs at Naqsh-e Rustam depict monarchs of the
Sassanid period. Their approximate dates range from 225 to 310 AD, and they show
subjects including investiture scenes and battles.

Investiture relief of Ardashir I, c. 226-242[edit]

Main article Ahura Mazda and Ardashir I
The founder of the Sassanid Empire is seen being handed the ring of kingship by
Ohrmazd. In the inscription, which also bears the oldest attested use of the term
Iran, Ardashir admits to betraying his pledge to Artabanus IV (the Persians having
been a vassal state of the Arsacid Parthians), but legitimizes his action on the
grounds that Ohrmazd had wanted him to do so.

The word eran is first attested in the inscriptions that accompany the investiture
relief of Ardashir I (r. 224242) at Naqsh-e Rustam. In this bilingual inscription,
the king calls himself Ardashir, king of kings of theIranians (Middle Persian
ardair ahan ah i eran; Parthian ardair ahan ah i aryan).

Triumph of Shapur I, c. 241-272)[edit]

The triumph of Shapur I over the Roman emperors Valerian and Philip the Arab
This is the most famous of the Sassanid rock reliefs, and depicts the victory of
Shapur I over two Roman emperors, Valerian and Philip the Arab. Behind the king
stands Kirtir, the mubadan mubad ('high priest'), the most powerful of the
Zoroastrian Magi during the history of Iran.[4] A more elaborate version of this
rock relief is at Bishapur.

Grandee relief of Bahram II, c. 276-293[edit]

The grandee relief of Bahram II

On each side of the king, who is depicted with an oversized sword, figures face the
king. On the left, stand five figures, perhaps members of the king's family (three
having diadems, suggesting they were royalty). On the right, stand three courtiers,
one of which may be Kartir. This relief is to the immediate right of the
investiture inscription of Ardashir, and partially replaces the much older relief
that gives the name of Naqsh-e Rustam.

Two equestrian reliefs of Bahram II, c. 276-293[edit]

The first equestrian relief, located immediately below the fourth tomb (perhaps
that of Darius II), depicts the king battling a mounted Roman enemy. The second
equestrian relief, located immediately below the tomb of Darius I, is divided into
two registers, an upper and a lower one. In the upper register, the king appears to
be forcing a Roman enemy, probably Roman emperor Carus from his horse. In the lower
register, the king is again battling a mounted enemy wearing a headgear shaped as
an animals head, thought to be the vanquished Indo-Sassanian ruler Hormizd I
Kushanshah.[5] Both reliefs depict a dead enemy under the hooves of the king's
horse.

First equestrian relief.

The two-panel equestrian relief.

Hormizd I Kushanshah on the lower panel.[5]

Investiture of Narseh, c. 293-303=[edit]

The investiture of Narseh

In this relief, the king is depicted as receiving the ring of kingship from a
female figure that is frequently assumed to be the divinity Aredvi Sura Anahita.
However, the king is not depicted in a pose that would be expected in the presence
of a divinity, and it is hence likely that the woman is a relative, perhaps Queen
Shapurdokhtak.

Equestrian relief of Hormizd II, c 303-309[edit]

The equestrian relief of Hormizd II

This relief is below tomb 3 (perhaps that of Artaxerxes I) and depicts Hormizd
forcing an enemy (perhaps Papak of Armenia) from his horse. Immediately above the
relief and below the tomb is a badly damaged relief of what appears to be Shapur II
(c. 309-379) accompanied by courtiers.

Archaeology[edit]

Ka'ba-ye Zartosht in foreground, with behind the Tomb of Darius II above Sassanid
equestrian relief of Bahram II.
In 1923, the German archaeologist Ernst Herzfeld made casts of the inscriptions on
the tomb of Darius I. Since 1946, these casts have been held in the archives of the
Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, in
Washington, DC.

Naqsh-e Rustam was excavated for several seasons between 1936 and 1939 by a team
from the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, led by Erich Schmidt.[6]