Introduction to Old Persian

Harvard FAS

This course is an introduction to the Old Persian language of the Achaemenid kings of Ancient Iran. It will introduce the grammar of the language and the cuneiform writing system, and read large selections of the surviving textual material, culminating in the famous Behistun inscription of Darius the Great. The course will also serve to introduce the history and broader cultural and religious context of the Achaemenid Empire and the linguistic position of Old Persian among Iranian and other…