TEHRAN-- The economic sector is preparing to invest one trillion rials ($2.5 million) in the UNESCO-registered Bisotun, which welcomes huge bas-reliefs and engravings of Darius the Great, in the western province of Kermanshah, the provincial tourism chief has said.The amount of financial investment is expected to be invested in the advancement of the tourist infrastructure within the World Heritage website in the future, IRNA estimated Mohammadreza Soheili as stating on Monday.Currently, around 250,000 tourists visit this World Heritage site every year, and this number is expected to triple if the financial investment is made in the creation of brand-new centers and establishing facilities, the main added.Situated some 30 kilometers from Kermanshah, at the foot of the Zagros Mountains, Bisotun was inscribed on UNESCOs World Heritage list on July 13, 2006.
The principal monument of this historical site is a huge bas-relief and cuneiform inscription bought by Darius the Great quickly after he ascended to the throne of the Persian Empire in 521 BC.The bas-relief portrays Darius holding a bow, as an indication of sovereignty and treading on the chest of a figure who pushes his back before the Achaemenid king.
According to legend, the figure represents Gaumata, the Median Magus, and pretender to the throne, whose assassination caused Dariuss rise to power.Below and around the bas-reliefs, there are about 1,200 lines of engravings telling the story of the fights Darius waged in 521-520 BC against the guvs who tried to take apart the empire founded by Cyrus.The engraving is composed in 3 languages.
The oldest is an Elamite text describing legends explaining the king and the rebellions.
This is followed by a Babylonian variation of similar legends.
The last phase of the engraving is particularly crucial, as it is here that Darius presented the Old Persian version of his res gestae (things done).
This is the only recognized monumental text of the Achaemenids to document the re-establishment of the empire by Darius I.
It also bears witness to the interchange of influences in the development of significant art and writing in the area of the Persian Empire.
There are also remains from the Median duration (8th to 7th centuries BC) in addition to from the Achaemenid (6th to 4th centuries BC) and post-Achaemenid periods.According to the UN cultural body, Bisotun bears exceptional statement to the essential interchange of human values in the advancement of significant art and writing, showing ancient traditions in huge bas-reliefs.
The area was on the ancient trade route connecting the Iranian high plateau with Mesopotamia and consists of remains from prehistoric times to the Median and Achaemenid eras.ABU/ AM