Editing Behistun Inscription (section)

==History==
{{multiple image
| align    = right
| total_width=350
| header   = Darius at Behistun
| image1   = Behistun_relief_Darius_and_Gaumata.jpg
| caption1 = Full figure of Darius trampling rival [[Gaumata]].
| image2   = Behistun Darius the Great.jpg
| caption2 = Head of Darius with crenellated crown
}}

After the fall of the Persian Empire's [[Achaemenid Dynasty]] and its successors, and the lapse of Old Persian cuneiform writing into disuse, the nature of the inscription was forgotten, and fanciful explanations became the norm.

[[File:BehistunRoute.jpg|thumb|Route to inscription at upper right.]]
[[File:Behistun 2.JPG|thumb|upright=1.5|Context of the inscription (centre) in 2010. A person is visible in the lower left; reaching the inscription requires climbing the steep cliff face in front of them, then traversing a narrow ledge.]]

In 1598, Englishman [[Robert Sherley]] saw the inscription during a diplomatic mission to [[Safavid Iran|Safavid Persia]] on behalf of [[Archduchy of Austria|Austria]], and brought it to the attention of Western European scholars. His party incorrectly came to the conclusion that it was Christian in origin.<ref>E. Denison Ross, The Broadway Travellers: Sir Anthony Sherley and his Persian Adventure, Routledge, 2004, {{ISBN|0-415-34486-7}}</ref> French General [[Claude Matthieu, Count Gardane|Gardanne]] thought it showed "Christ and his [[twelve apostles]]", and [[Robert Ker Porter|Sir Robert Ker Porter]] thought it represented the [[Lost Tribes of Israel]] and [[Shalmaneser V|Shalmaneser of Assyria]].<ref>[https://archive.org/download/travelsingeorgia02port/travelsingeorgia02port.pdf] Robert Ker Porter, Travels in Georgia, Persia, Armenia, ancient Babylonia, &c. &c. : during the years 1817, 1818, 1819, and 1820, volume 2, Longman, 1821</ref> In 1604, Italian explorer [[Pietro della Valle]] visited the inscription and made preliminary drawings of the monument.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kipfer|first=Barbara Ann|title=Encyclopedic Dictionary of Archaeology|publisher=Springer US|year=2013|isbn=9781475751338|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BDKqBgAAQBAJ}}</ref>