Hans C. Boas, Director :: PCL 5.556, 1 University Station S5490 :: Austin, TX 78712 :: 512-471-4566
Early Indo-European Texts
Old Persian
Scott L. Harvey and Jonathan Slocum
This page contains a text in Old Persian with a modern English translation. This particular text and its translation are extracted from a lesson in the Early Indo-European Online series, where one may find detailed information about this text (see the Table of Contents page for Old Iranian Online in EIEOL), and general information about the Old Persian language and its speakers' culture.
Old Persian: excerpt from DB I
26 thâtiy 27 Dârayavaush xshâyathiya ima tya manâ kartam pasâva yathâ xshâyathiya 28 abavam Kabûjiya nâma Kûraush puc*a amâxam taumâyâ 29 hauvam idâ xshâyathiya âha avahyâ Kabûjiyahyâ brâtâ 30 Bardiya nâma âha hamâtâ hamapitâ Kabûjiyahyâ pasâva Kabûjiya 31 avam Bardiyam avâja yathâ Kabûjiya Bardiyam avâja kârahyâ 32 naiy azdâ abava tya Bardiya avajata pasâva Kabûjiya Mudrâyam 33 ashiyava yathâ Kabûjiya Mudrâyam ashiyava pasâva kâra arika abava 34 pasâva drauga dahyauvâ vasiy abava utâ Pârsaiy utâ Mâdaiy utâ 35 aniyâuvâ dahyushuvâ thâtiy Dârayavaush xshâyathiya pasâva 36 I martiya magush âha Gaumâta nâma hauv udapatatâ hacâ Paishiyâuvâdâyâ 37 Arakadrish nâma kaufa hacâ avadasha Viyaxnahya mâhyâ 38 XIV raucabish thakatâ âha yadiy udapatatâ hauv kârahyâ avathâ 39 adurujiya adam Bardiya amiy hya Kûraush puc*a Kabûjiyahyâ brâtâ 40 pasâva kâra haruva hamic*iya abava hacâ Kabûjiyâ abiy avam 41 ashiyava utâ Pârsa utâ Mâda utâ aniyâ dahyâva xshac*am hauv 42 agarbâyatâ Garmapadahya mâhyâ IX raucabish thakatâ âha avathâ xshac*am 43 agarbâyatâ pasâva Kabûjiya uvâmarshiyush amariyatâ 48 thâtiy Dârayavaush xshâyathiya naiy âha martiya 49 naiy Pârsa naiy Mâda naiy amâxam taumâyâ kashciy hya avam Gaumâtam 50 tyam magum xshac*am dîtam caxriyâ kârashim hacâ darsham atarsa 51 kâram vasiy avâjaniyâ hya paranam Bardiyam adânâ avahyarâdiy 52 kâram avâjaniyâ mâtyamâm xshnâsâtiy tya adam naiy Bardiya 53 amiy hya Kûraush puc*a kashciy naiy adarshnaush cishciy thastanaiy 54 pariy Gaumâtam tyam magum yâtâ adam arasam pasâva adam Auramazdâm 55 patiyâvahyaiy Auramazdâmaiy upastâm abara Bâgayâdaish 56 mâhyâ X raucabish thakatâ âha avathâ adam hadâ kamnaibish martiyaibish 57 avam Gaumâtam tyam magum avâjanam utâ tyaishaiy fratamâ martiyâ 58 anushiyâ âhatâ Sikayauvatish nâmâ didâ Nisâya nâmâ 59 dahyâush Mâdaiy avadashim avâjanam xshac*amshim adam adînam vashnâ 60 Auramazdâha adam xshâyathiya abavam Auramazdâ xshac*am manâ frâbara
Translation
26 Darius the King 27 declares: This is what was done by me when the king 28 I did become. The son of Cyrus, of our family, Cambyses by name -- 29 he was the king here. Of that Cambyses [there] was a brother, 30 Smerdis by name, having the same mother and father as Cambyses. And then Cambyses 31 struck down that Smerdis. When Cambyses struck down Smerdis, 32 it did not become known among the people that [he] had struck down Smerdis. And then Cambyses 33 went to Egypt. And when Cambyses went to Egypt, the people grew treacherous, 34 and thus deceit rose rampantly in both Persia and Media and 35 in the [Empire's] other lands. Darius the King declares: Later, 36 there was one man, a Magian, Gaumata by name, and he rose up from Paishiyauvada. 37 [There is] a mountain in Persia named Arakadri. From there, when fourteen days of the month of Viyakhna 38 were completed, he rose up, [and] he deceived the people [saying] thus: 39 "I am Smerdis, the son of Cyrus who [is] brother of Cambyses." 40 Thereupon, all the people became rebellious against Cambyses and went over to him, [Smerdis], 41 Persia and Media and the other lands, [and] he seized the kingdom. 42 Nine days were completed in the month of Garmapada [when] he seized the kingdom thus. 43 And then Cambyses died by his own hand ...
48 ... Darius the king declares: There was no man, 49 neither Persian nor Median nor any among our family who could render that Gaumata 50 kingdom-deprived. The people feared him greatly, 51 lest he would strike down the numerous people who knew him previously as Smerdis; 52 lest he would strike down the people on account of this: "Lest he who would know me [would know that] I am not Smerdis, 53 the son of Cyrus." No one dared to say anything 54 against Gaumata the Magian until I came. After that, 55 I asked Ahura Mazda for help, [and] Ahura Mazda bore me aid. 56 Ten days of the month of Bagayad were completed when, with a small number of men, 57 I struck down that Gaumata the Magian and those men who 58 were his foremost allies. [There was] a fortress called Sikayauvati, a land called Nisaya, 59 in Media, [and] there I struck him down. I seized the kingdom [from] him, [and] by the will 60 of Ahura Mazda, I became king. Ahura Mazda bestowed the kingdom to me.