Ganjnameh Inscriptions

Ganjnameh Inscriptions Historical place in Hamadan, Iran

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Ganj Nameh is an ancient inscription, 5 km south-west of Hamedan, on the side of Alvand Mountain in Iran. The inscriptions were carved in granite in two sections. The one on the left was ordered by Darius the Great (521-485 BC) and the one on the right by Xerxes the Great (485-65 BC). Both sections were carved in three ancient languages: Old Persian, Neo-Babylonian and Neo-Elamite. The inscriptions start with praise of the Zoroastrian God (Ahura Mazda) and describe the lineage and deeds of the mentioned kings.

Later generations who could not read the Cuneiform alphabets of the ancient Persian assumed that they contained the guide to an uncovered treasure; hence they called it Ganjnameh. The name literally means "treasure epistle", but it has also been called Jangnameh whose literal translation is "war epistle".

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