Why this book?
- Direct access to the full text of the Achaemenid inscriptions, without the filter of secondary interpretation
- A rigorous, scholarly translation by one of the most authoritative philologists of Iranian languages
- An essential reference for researchers in the history, archaeology, and linguistics of ancient Iran
- A supervised and edited edition overseen by Jaleh Amouzgar, a leading scholar of Iranology
- Documented insight into the political and religious thought of the Achaemenid kings in their own words
About the book
"The Achaemenid Inscriptions" is the Persian translation of the well-known work by Pierre Lecoq, the Belgian Iranologist and a leading scholar of Iranian linguistics and philology at the École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE) in Paris. The book brings together a complete collection of the surviving inscriptions of the Achaemenid kings, which Lecoq translated and annotated by drawing on his deep knowledge of ancient Iranian languages, particularly Old Persian, as well as his familiarity with the parallel Elamite and Babylonian versions of these inscriptions.
This work is part of Lecoq's broader body of scholarship on ancient Iran, which, alongside his complete translations of the Avesta and Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, has established him as one of the foremost living Iranologists. His approach in this book combines philological precision in rendering the cuneiform texts with a historical perspective on the political and religious context in which these decrees and inscriptions were issued.
The Persian translation was undertaken by Nazila Khalkhali and reviewed and edited under the supervision of Jaleh Amouzgar, a distinguished Iranologist and scholar of ancient Iranian languages; subsequent editions have also undergone further revisions with the collaboration of other researchers. Published by Farzan Rooz, the book serves researchers in the history and ancient languages of Iran, students of Iranology, and any reader seeking direct acquaintance with the text and voice of the Achaemenid kings.