Susa was one of the favorite capitals of Darius and may have been more strategically important than Persepolis, which was more of a ceremonial capital. Of course, as the main capital of the Elamites, it had been important for millennia and the Achaemenids were certainly aware of its history as a royal city. The Susa texts are, in general, building inscriptions, that do not talk about anything political. One of these short texts is quite interesting… Darius I says, “Ahura Mazda is mine.” What could this imply? We will of course briefly go over these implications and try to understand the tone of the text, and why it would have been written here. We will also briefly talk about the history of the city of Susa itself, one of the most important cities of the ancient world and the ancestral capital of the Elamites.
Script - The vocalic ṛ will be discussed in more detail and compared to the syllables ar and ra.
Grammar - Compounds and consonant stems will be covered in more detail. The vocative and imperative will also be discussed, including the syntax.
Reading - Skjaervo, Chapter 8
Vocabulary
|
asman- |
heaven |
|
ava-jata- |
killed |
|
ava-rasa- |
To come down to |
|
brātar- |
brother |
|
ciyākaram |
Of what sort |
|
daiva- |
Demon (?), foreign god? |
|
daivadāna- |
Place of worship of demons (?) |
|
darga- |
long |
|
duškạrta- |
Evil deed, something badly done |
|
fra-jan- |
To cut off |
|
idā |
here |
|
jīva- |
To live |
|
kamnam |
A few, insufficient |
|
kayāda- |
astrologer |
|
Manah- |
Mind, thought |
|
marīka- |
Young man |
|
pạrsa- |
To ask, punish |