This is a list of
Sasanian
The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...
inscription, which include remaining official inscriptions on rocks, as well as minor ones written on bricks, metal, wood, hide,
papyri
Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, ''Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'') can also refer to a d ...
, and gems. Their significance is in the areas of
linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...
,
history
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
, and study of
religion in Persia Religion in Iran has been shaped by multiple religions and sects over the course of the country's history. Zoroastrianism was the main followed religion during the Achaemenid Empire (550–330 BC), the Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD), and the ...
. Some of the inscriptions are lost and are known only through tradition.
List of Sasanian inscriptions
Early royal Sasanian inscriptions were trilingual:
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 ...
(in
Inscriptional Pahlavi
Inscriptional Pahlavi is the earliest attested form of Pahlavi scripts, and is evident in clay fragments that have been dated to the reign of Mithridates I (''r.'' 171–138 BC). Other early evidence includes the Pahlavi inscriptions of Arsacid ...
),
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 ...
(in
Inscriptional Parthian
Inscriptional Parthian is a script used to write Parthian language on coins of Parthia from the time of Arsaces I of Parthia (250 BC). It was also used for inscriptions of Parthian (mostly on clay fragments) and later Sassanian periods (mostly on ...
) and
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
. Since the rule of
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 ...
, Greek was omitted.
Book Pahlavi
Pahlavi is a particular, exclusively written form of various Iranian languages, Middle Iranian languages. The essential characteristics of Pahlavi are:
*the use of a specific Aramaic script, Aramaic-derived script;
*the incidence of Aramaic lang ...
script replaced Inscriptional Pahlavi in late Middle Persian inscriptions.
File:Shapur Kabe Zartosht.png, Parthian version of Shapur I's inscription at the Ka'ba-ye Zartosht
Shapur I's Ka'ba-ye Zartosht inscription (shortened as Shapur-KZ, ŠKZ, SKZ), also referred to as The Great Inscription of Shapur I, and ''Res Gestae Divi Saporis'' (RGDS), is a trilingual inscription made during the reign of the Sasanian king Sh ...
File:Naqsh-e Rajab - Shapur parade - detail of inscription.jpg, Parthian (above), along with Greek (below) versions of Shapur inscription in Naqsh-e Rajab
File:Taq-e Bostan - Pahlavi writing.jpg, Shapur III's inscription in Taq-e Bostan
File:Sassanid text.JPG, Inscription of Apasa the Scribe
File:Meshkin Shahr Pahlavi Inscription Original.jpg, Sasanian inscription in Meshginshahr
File:Stone cross with Pahlavi inscription.jpg, Stone cross with Book Pahlavi writings. Valiyapalli Church in Kottayam
Kottayam () is a municipal town in the Indian state of Kerala. Flanked by the Western Ghats on the east and the Vembanad Lake and paddy fields of Kuttanad on the west. It is the district headquarters of Kottayam district, located in south-we ...
, Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
, India
File:MIK - Sassaniden Pahlavi-Monogramm.jpg, Sasanian relief with Inscriptional Pahlavi monogram
A monogram is a motif made by overlapping or combining two or more letters or other graphemes to form one symbol. Monograms are often made by combining the initials of an individual or a company, used as recognizable symbols or logos. A series o ...
ʾpr, which stands for ''abzūn farr'', meaning "May his '' farr'' increase!"
References
*http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/sasanian-rock-reliefs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parthian and Sasanian inscriptions
Sasanian inscriptions
History-related lists