Archaeological History of Iran : The Schweich Lectures of The British Academy

138 Pages·1935·3.22 MB·English

by  Ernst E. Herzfeld

T HE S C H W E I CH L E C T U R ES ON
B I B L I C AL A R C H A E O L O G Y, 1 9 34
ARCHAEOLOGICAL HISTORY
OF IRAN
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
AMEN HOUSE, E.C. 4
LONDON EDINBURGH GLASGOW
NEW YORK TORONTO MELBOURNE
CAPETOWN BOMBAY CALCUTTA
MADRAS SHANGHAI
HUMPHREY MILFORD
PUBLISHER TO THE UNIVERSITY
PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS, OXFORD
BY JOHN JOHNSON, PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY
P R E F A CE
I
F one must compose a short course of lectures from
a vast archaeological material, collected during long
years, and yet unpublished, the choice of subjects must be
determined by a leading idea, the purpose of the lecture.
To attract attention to this new matter, one might show
the most beautiful examples, or choose a group of objects
to prove some new thesis. I risk renouncing beauty and
special problems, and prefer to speak about such objects
as intrinsically illuminate the history of Iran, of which we
know so very little.
The idea occurred to me when reading E. G. Browne's
great Literary History of Persia, which is history abstracted
from literature. In a similar way history can be written from
archaeological monuments, in defining archaeology as some
thing wider than a mere history of ancient art, and in taking
as an archaeological document every object from which con
clusions as to the political and cultural developments of
antiquity may be drawn, whether it be architecture, sculp
ture, small works of art and industry, inscriptions and other
written documents, or, otherwise, myths and legends, coins,
royal names, titles, and protocols. Such an extension of the
notion of archaeology and archaeological documents is as
justified as the use of archaeological material for reconstruct
ing history. Prehistory is entirely based on archaeology; in
the transitional stages to history, archaeology is the main
source; and for all ancient history it explains, more than
inscriptions and literature, the growth of cultural life. It is
the archaeological method, in dealing with all that disparate
material, that makes it a unity.
But, when trying to put into action that idea, it soon be
came clear that it would require three large volumes with full
documentary evidence, instead of three short lectures. As the
three volumes remain to be written, the lectures can only be
vi PREFACE
an essay of how such a book might be. The title 'Archaeo
logical History'j hence, is a Mum pro parte, an aim not attained.
These preliminary remarks are intended to ward off the im
pression that what I shall expose is a complete medley. It
may well sound desultory if I jump from architecture to
legends, from sculpture to coins, from paintings to inscrip
tions, but it is not losing the thread. For the quality common
to all such material is that it has something to tell about
cultural developments of high antiquity, which means that
it is material eminently archaeological in the real sense of that
word.
The first of these lectures is printed in a larger form than it
was possible to give to the lecture, which had to be cut down
to suit the time-limit. The two others are printed almost
exacdy as they were delivered. Of the pictures shown, only
a part could be reproduced: not meant as final, but as pre-
Kminary publication. A short report had been given, with
out illustrations, in %DMG. 1926, of the earlier explorations.
I am indebted to Mr. Donald McCown for his help in
reading the manuscript, and to Sir Frederic Kenyon, who
gave me valuable suggestions in reading the proofs.
C O N T E N TS
PREFACE . . . . . .. v
LIST OF PLATES . . . . .. ix
LIST OF FIGURES IN T HE T E XT xi
LECTURE I. T HE PRE-ACHAEMENIAN AND T HE ACHAE-
MENIAN EPOCHS (3 December 1934) 1
LECTURE II. T HE HELLENISTIC PERIOD (5 December
!934) 44
LECTURE III. T HE SASANIAN EPOCH (7 December 1934) 76
INDEX 109
LIST OF PLATES
i. Map of Achaemenian Empire,
n. Rock-Sculpture of Kurangûn.
in. Rock-Sculpture of Kurangûn.
rv. Rock-Sculpture of Bahrâm II, at Naqsh i Rustam over old
Elamite Sculpture.
v. Rock-Tomb of Dâ u Dukhtar.
Achaemenian Tombs of Akhur i Rustam.
vi. Temple of Khurha.
vil. Kûh i Khwâja.
Rock-Sculptures of Mithradates II and Gotarzes II at Bisutun.
vra. Kûh i Khwâja, front of Gallery and Temple.
Kûh i Khwâja, Gallery with paintings,
rx. Kûh i Khwâja, the two periods of the main façade of the court.
x. Graffito on fragment of Sculpture of Darius, from Persepolis.
Kûh i Khwâja, stucco ornament.
xi. Firuzabad, Ardashir I and Ardavan V.
Shapur, Shapur I and Valerian.
xn. Shapur, the army of Shapur I.
Shapur, saddle-horse of Shapur I.
xni. Shapur, Tribute-bearers,
xrv. Kale i Dukhtar, near Firuzabad.
xv. Takht i Rustam, near Teheran.
Firuzabad, courtyard of Ardashir's Palace,
xvi. Firuzabad, Palace of Ardashir I.
xvn. Madrasa i Ghiyâthiyya at Khargird.
xviii. Island of Khàrg, Christian Catacombs.
xix. Khârg, front of Catacomb.
Khàrg, interior of Catacomb.
xx. Hamadan, Tomb of Esther.
Lindjàn, near Isfahan, Jewish sanctuary.
LIST OF FIGURES IN THE TEXT
1. Fragments of bronze vessel from Nihawand . . 7
2. Assyrian representation of a north-western Iranian town . 13
3. Assyrian representation of Kisesim . . . . 14
4. Assyrian representation of Harhar . . . 15
5. Assyrian representation of Musasir . . . . 16
6. Wood capitals from rustic buildings . . - 33
7. Modern village mosques and rest-houses . . - 34
8. Bronzes from Van, British Museum . . - 36
9. Kings enthroned, from coin devices . . - 72
10. Graffito of Shapur, elder brother of Ardashir I, at Persepolis 80
11. High-place and lower temple of Kale i Dukhtar, Khurasan . 89
12. Fire-temple Car-taq, near Gira . . . . 91
13. Fire-temple Gar-taq, near Gira . . . - 92
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O C E AN
?—
L E C T U RE I
THE PRE-AGHAEMENIAN AND THE
AGHAEMENIAN EPOCHS
'HE whole Near East, its plains and mountains, has been
JL inhabited by man since the stone age, and compared
with European sites of the same age the oriental sites show a
high degree of culture. With the aeneolithic age, the intro
duction of copper, a separation begins. The mountain lands,
occupied since the palaeolithic period, and hence more
advanced, remain behind. The alluvial lands like Egypt,
Babylonia, Assyria afforded easier conditions for settling in
villages and towns.
Iran, from this period, was to Babylonia as northern
Europe was to the Mediterranean countries in the second
and the early first millennia B.C. After 3000 B.C. Babylonia
enters into the light of history, producing writing that we can
read, whereas Iran does not seem to have taken part in the
intellectual developments that led to writing. That does not
mean that there had been no intercourse, no cultural con
tact; on the contrary, connexions must have been common,
for the mountains owned the metal that distinguishes the
period. And just as in later historical times, amicable rela
tions must always have alternated with hostile ones, with the
tendency of extending political influence in either ^direction.
In Iran, too, documents may be found, and a few of them
have been found, that will spread the light of history on those
lands. But, at present, during the third and second millen
nia Iran is for us a prehistoric land.
Western Iran (Pi. I), in this old application of the name,
includes Armenia, which, with its prodigal wealth of metals
and its central position between the lands of old oriental
history and Asia Minor, the Balkans, the Caucasus, and
South Russia, must be regarded as the true home of
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