The Riddle of the Mountain

Abstract

For almost 2,000 years, the Behistun Inscription lay unread. Carved into the cliffs of western Iran and written in cuneiform, the inscription had “baffled for centuries the most learned men in Europe” until Henry Rawlinson, a British former army officer, set about solving it. The riddle of Behistun is a story about how knowledge is created. It changed how Westerners think about the past forever.