Item PY8

Dimensions: 48 x 24 cm.   This vintage print has some slight wear around the edges of the border due to age; this does not affect the actual image and will not be visible once the print is properly matted and framed.

The caption on the bottom of the print reads as follows:

Relief of the Triumph of Darius I, Bisutum, Kermanshah

In this frieze, copiously annotated in three cuneiform scripts - Old Persian, Elamite and Neo-Babylonian - Darius is seen celebrating victory over his enemy Gaumata, pretender to the throne. Defeated in 520 BC on this site after nineteen battles, Gaumata lies prostrate beneath the feet of the king. Nine other rebels have also been captured. Behind Darius stand two attendants, one carrying the king's bow, symbol of military prowess, the other his mace, symbol of political supremacy. Adding spiritual legitimacy to the scene, Ahuramazda, in winged form, hovers above. The whole is set some fifty meters above ground level, requiring binoculars for detailed perusal.