Elamite is the language in use in that region, which is already in sophisticated administrative use by the time the imperial centre was being set up. We often forget the tribution of the elamites, the ilamites in southwestern hiran, that they made to the achiminid empire. And darius himself, when he erer talks in his inscription at bisutuno behistan in western hiran,. talks about theilamites. So this was a very powerful kingdom, which was, in a way, on the same level as the kingdoms in mesopotamia. and also strategically, they were placed in a very important place.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the role of the great 'City of the Persians' founded by Darius I as the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire that stretched from the Indus Valley to Egypt and the coast of the Black Sea. It was known as the richest city under the sun and was a centre at which the Empire's subject peoples paid tribute to a succession of Achaemenid leaders, until the arrival of Alexander III of Macedon who destroyed it by fire supposedly in revenge for the burning of the Acropolis in Athens.
The image above is a detail from a relief at the Apadana, the huge audience hall, and shows a lion attacking a bull.
With
Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones
Professor of Ancient History at Cardiff University
Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis
Curator of Middle Eastern Coins at the British Museum
And
Lindsay Allen
Lecturer in Greek and Near Eastern History at King's College London
Producer: Simon Tillotson.