The Paikuli inscription ( ku, پەیکوڵی, Peykulî, fa, پایکولی, in ar, بيكولي) is a bilingual
Parthian Parthian may be:
Historical
* A demonym "of Parthia", a region of north-eastern of Greater Iran
* Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD)
* Parthian language, a now-extinct Middle Iranian language
* Parthian shot, an archery skill famously employed by ...
and
Middle Persian
Middle Persian or Pahlavi, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg () in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasanian Empire. For some time after the Sasanian collapse, Middle Per ...
text corpus which was inscribed on the stone blocks of the walls of Paikuli tower; the latter is located in what is now southern part of
Iraqi Kurdistan
Iraqi Kurdistan or Southern Kurdistan ( ku, باشووری کوردستان, Başûrê Kurdistanê) refers to the Kurdish-populated part of northern Iraq. It is considered one of the four parts of "Kurdistan" in Western Asia, which also incl ...
near modern-day Barkal village, Sulaymaniyah Governorate, Iraq (). These inscribed stone blocks are now in the
Sulaymaniyah Museum
The Sulaymaniyah Museum (Kurdish: مۆزهخانهی سلێمانی; Arabic: متحف السليمانية), or Slemani Museum, is an archeological museum located within heart of Sulaymaniyah in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. It is the second ...
; the field only contains the stones that were used in the construction of the tower. It was set up as a monument to victory, and tells how and why the Sasanian emperor
Narseh
Narseh (also spelled Narses or Narseus; pal, 𐭭𐭥𐭮𐭧𐭩, New Persian: , ''Narsē'') was the seventh Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from 293 to 303.
The youngest son of Shapur I (), Narseh served as the governor of Sakastan, Hind and T ...
(also written Narses) ousted his grandnephew from power.
In 293
Narses
, image=Narses.jpg
, image_size=250
, caption=Man traditionally identified as Narses, from the mosaic depicting Justinian and his entourage in the Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna
, birth_date=478 or 480
, death_date=566 or 573 (aged 86/95)
, allegi ...
marched from
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
in open revolt against his nephew with a host of supporters and allies, whose names are recorded on the Paikuli inscription.
Background
The Paikuli inscription of Narses shows that
Asuristan
Asoristan ( pal, 𐭠𐭮𐭥𐭥𐭮𐭲𐭭 ''Asōristān'', ''Āsūristān'') was the name of the Sasanian province of Assyria and Babylonia from 226 to 637.
Name
The Parthian name ''Asōristān'' (; also spelled ''Asoristan'', ''Asuristan' ...
(
Babylonia
Babylonia (; Akkadian: , ''māt Akkadī'') was an ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Syria). It emerged as an Amorite-ruled state c. ...
) at least was in
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
hands, but says nothing of
Nisibis
Nusaybin (; '; ar, نُصَيْبِيْن, translit=Nuṣaybīn; syr, ܢܨܝܒܝܢ, translit=Nṣībīn), historically known as Nisibis () or Nesbin, is a city in Mardin Province, Turkey. The population of the city is 83,832 as of 2009 and is ...
and
Singara
Singara (, ''tà Síngara'') was a strongly fortified post at the northern extremity of Mesopotamia, which for a while, as it appears from coins minted there, was occupied by the Romans as an advanced colony against the Persians. It was the camp o ...
.
The fact of
Amr ibn Adi
Amr ibn Adi ibn Nasr ibn Rabi'a ( ar, عمرو بن عدي بن نصر بن ربيعة, ʿAmr ibn ʿAdī ibn Naṣr ibn Rabīʿa) was the semi-legendary first Lakhmid king of al-Hira.
Biography
Most of the details of his life are legendary and la ...
's vassalage to Narses was preserved by the latter in the Paikuli inscription.
In the 19th century, when it was visited by several travelers, it consisted of the ruins of a large, square tower that had originally been covered on all sides by stone blocks, some contained inscriptions, but, at the time, lay scattered all around the monument.
Sassanians
In
Tabari
( ar, أبو جعفر محمد بن جرير بن يزيد الطبري), more commonly known as al-Ṭabarī (), was a Muslim historian and scholar from Amol, Tabaristan. Among the most prominent figures of the Islamic Golden Age, al-Tabari i ...
and sources that follow his work, and also in the Paikuli inscription of Narses, a son of Papak called Shapur is mentioned as his successor, although the text of the inscription of Paikuli in which king Shapur appears is unclear because of long lacunae. Some suggest that Narses in the inscription sought to compare his succession to the throne with that of his grandfather Ardashir, just as
Ardashir Ardeshir or Ardashir ( Persian: اردشیر; also spelled as Ardasher) is a Persian name popular in Iran and other Persian-speaking countries. Ardashir is the New Persian form of the Middle Persian name , which is ultimately from Old Iranian ''*Ar ...
had succeeded Shapur.
Gallery
The Sulaymaniyah Museum in Iraqi Kurdistan opened a new Gallery on June 10, 2019, dedicated to the Paikuli Tower, its inscription, and King Narseh. The Sulaymaniyah Museum is the only Museum which displays relics of the Paikuli Tower.
File:Recently discovered C2 inscribed stone block, Middle Persian script, from the Sassanian Paikuli Tower, Iraq.jpg, Recently discovered C2 inscribed stone block, Middle Persian script, from the Sassanian Paikuli Tower, Sulaymaniyah Museum
File:Recently discovered c12 inscribed stone block, Parthian script, from the Sassanian Paikuli Tower, Iraq.jpg, Recently discovered c12 inscribed stone block, Parthian script, from the Sassanian Paikuli Tower, Sulaymaniyah Museum
File:A2 inscribed stone block, Middle Persian script, from the Sassanian Paikuli Tower, Iraq.jpg, A2 inscribed stone block, Middle Persian script, from the Sassanian Paikuli Tower, Sulaymaniyah Museum
File:D3 inscribed stone block, Parthian script, from the Sassanian Paikuli Tower, Iraq.jpg, d3 inscribed stone block, Parthian script, from the Sassanian Paikuli Tower, Sulaymaniyah Museum
File:One of the inscribed stone blocks from the Paikuli Tower of Narseh. Late 3rd century AD. Sulaymaniyah Museum.jpg, One of the inscribed stone blocks from the Paikuli Tower of Narseh. Late 3rd century AD. Sulaymaniyah Museum
File:A block from the Paikuli Tower inscribed with Parthian language. Sassanian, reign of Narseh, late 3rd century AD. From Sulaymaniyah, Iraq. Sulaymaniyah Museum.jpg, f7 block from the Paikuli Tower inscribed with Parthian language. Sassanian, reign of Narseh, late 3rd century AD. From Sulaymaniyah, Iraq. Sulaymaniyah Museum
File:Recently discovered f1 Parthian script, inscribed rounded stone block from the Paikuli Tower of Narseh, Sulaymaniyah Museum.jpg, Newly discovered f1, Parthian inscription, block from the Paikuli Tower of Narseh, Sulaymaniayh Museum
File:One of the non-inscribed stone blocks from the Paikuli Tower of Narseh. Sulaymaniayh Museum, Iraq.jpg, One of the non-inscribed rounded stone blocks from the Paikuli Tower of Narseh. Sulaymaniyah Museum
File:Newly discovered fragment of stone block G6, Middle Persian script, Sassanian Paikuli Tower, Iraq.jpg, Newly discovered fragment of stone block G6, Middle Persian script, Sassanian Paikuli Tower, Sulaymaniyah Museum
File:One of the busts of the Sassanian king Narseh. Late 3rd century AD. From the Paikuli Tower, Sulaymaniyah, Iraq. Sulaymaniyah Museum.jpg, One of the busts of the Sassanian king Narseh. Late 3rd century AD. From the Paikuli Tower, Sulaymaniyah, Iraq. Sulaymaniyah Museum
File:Recently discovered fragment of a braid of hair of Narseh's bust, from the Sassanian Paikuli Tower, Iraq.jpg, Recently discovered fragment of a braid of hair of Narseh's bust, from the Sassanian Paikuli Tower, Sulaymaniyah Museum
File:Part of Narseh headdress from the Sassanian Paikuli Tower, Iraq.jpg, Part of Narseh headdress from the Sassanian Paikuli Tower, Iraq
File:Non-inscribed stone blocks scattered around the Paikuli Tower of Narseh. Sulaymaniyah Governorate, Iraq.jpg, Non-inscribed stone blocks scattered around the Paikuli Tower of Narseh. Sulaymaniyah Governorate, Sulaymaniyah Museum
File:One of the non-inscribed rounded stone blocks from the Paikuli Tower of the Sassanian king Narseh. Sulaymaniyah Museum.jpg, One of the non-inscribed rounded stone blocks from the Paikuli Tower of the Sassanian king Narseh. Sulaymaniyah Museum
File:Non-inscribed building stone of the Sassanian Paikuli Tower of Narseh, Iraq.jpg, Non-inscribed building stone of the Sassanian Paikuli Tower of Narseh, Sulaymaniyah Museum
File:Bust of the Sassanian king Narseh.JPG, Bust of the Sassanian king Narseh, Sulaymaniyah Directorate of Antiquities
References
{{Reflist
Bibliography
*P.O. Skjærvø and H. Humbach, ''The Sassanian Inscription of Paikuli'', Wiesbaden, 1983.
External links
The Sassanian Inscription of PaikuliThe Sassanian Inscription of Paikuli by Prods SkjærvøHerzfeld and the Paikuli Inscriptionat ''
Encyclopaedia Iranica
An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...
''
The complete set of the inscribed Parthian and Middle Persian stone blocks of the Paikuli Tower at the Sulaymaniyah Museum, Iraq
Sasanian inscriptions
3rd-century inscriptions
Ancient Armenia
History of Assyria
Middle Persian
Parthian language