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Imperial Monuments under Darius - Coggle Diagram
Imperial Monuments under Darius
Statue at Susa
Basic Facts
colossal, over-life-size image of Darius I
original height of c. 3 m
found near a monumental gate at Susa, east of the palace of Darius on the Apadana mound at Susa
therefore it was placed in a highly visible palace-gateway context
Location
stands at a threshold space
one had to move toward or past the image of Darius as they entered or exited the royal space
Acculturation
Darius wears Persian court dress, and strapless royal boots. His bracelets and dagger are Iranian in style
But the statue format is Egyptian - back-pillar form, rigid pose, arms to side, clenched right fist
therefore it is a hybrid royal image
Texts
a trilingual cuneiform text runs down the folds on one side of the robe
"This is the statue of stone, which Darius the king ordered to be made in Egypt, so that whoever sees it in time to come will know that the Persian man holds Egypt"
on the other side and on the base there is an Egyptian hieroglyphic text, much longer and conceptually different
presents Darius as King of Upper and Lower Egypt, lord of the two lands, chosen by Atum and linked to Re and Neith
speaks in thoroughly Egyptian royal idiom
so the texts do different ideological work for different audiences
The hieroglyphic message is pharaonic and legitimates Darius within Egyptian kingship
The base
on the front of the base are the two Nile gods performing sma-tawy - the ritual "uniting the two lands". This is the classic emblem of Upper and Lower Egypt joined under the king
bolsters the idea that Darius is claiming Egypt in Egypt's own visual language
the long sides of the base
the long sides are decorates with figures of subjects in Egyptian style but with Persian influence
they are accompanied by labels, identifying them as subject lands, including: Persia, Media, Elam, Babylon, Sardis, Thrace etc.
there are 24 figures total, 12 on each side, each raising their arms to support Darius
placing the figures with upraised hands under Darius' feet concretely expresses the verbal statement that all lands are united beneath his sandals
these figures are still presented as dignified, differentiated, and literally supporting the king
Overall, the base turns an old Egyptian motif of domination into a Persian imperial image of ordered support
Location
the cuneiform inscription says Darius ordered the statue to be made in Egypt
analysis shows the stone was of Egyptian origin
Therefore, it is possible either that the statue was later moved to Susa, or was a copy of a statue set up in Egypt
because the statue speaks so clearly to an Egyptian audience, it is difficult to believe it was originally commissioned only for Susa
the monument's Egyptian material, style, and hieroglyphic elements strongly suggest an Egyptian point of origin or intended Egyptian audience, but it also functioned powerfully in the imperial centre at Susa
Naqsh-e Rustam
Basic Facts
a cliff necropolis about 6 km northwest of Persepolis, cut into the rock face of the Husayn Kuh
closely linked to Persepolis and its royal landscape
four monumental rock-cut tombs here. Only the tomb of Darius I is securely identified via inscription. The other three are conventionally ascribed to Xerxes, Artaxerxes I, and Darius II
Darius I's tomb helps to establish the standard royal cliff-tomb model later successors copied
this form is unliked the older built tomb of Cyrus at Pasargadae and has no exact prototype in the Near East, Egypt, or Greece
Architecture
the facade represents the front of a palace, with four engaged columns and an architectural register that recalls the palace of a living monarch
the dimensions of the portico on Darius' tomb are almost identical to those of his palace at Persepolis
projects continuity between life and death, especially when considering the proximity to Persepolis
The Facade
can be broken into three registers
Lower/architectural register: the portico facade with doorway and columns
The middle register: the great throne bench/platform supported by subject peoples
top register: a religious scene of the king standing on a stepped platform before a fire altar, with winged symbol of Ahuramazda above
The Throne Bench (middle register)
the throne bench is supported by 30 representatives of the empire's peoples, each in distinctive costume and headgear
it is a visual simile of the Empire - the Achaemenid world supports the throne
the inscription (DNa) tells the viewer to look at the sculpted peoples who bear the throne and thereby understand how many countries Darius ruled
the point is that the empire is not only large, but also diverse, ordered, classified, and visually knowable from the imperial centre
hierarchy is still made clear
The Babylonian
almost all the bearers are armed, except the Babylonian, who is unarmed
this could be a deliberate humiliation, probably reflecting the repeated Babylonian revolts against Darius and Xerxes
this is an interpretation, not a fact. Shows that this monument can be used as tentative evidence that these revolts did happen
DNa (in top register)
the main themes:
Ahuramazda created earth, heaven, man, happiness, and made Darius king
Darius lists the countries he seized outside Persia and say they bore him tribute, obeyed his commands
he says that Ahuramazda saw the earth in commotion and bestowed it on him
gives the ideology behind the visual scheme: that the empire is large, was previously disordered, brought to order by Darius via divine will
DNb (in architectural register)
a different type of inscription
says that Ahuramazda created the work seen here, created happiness, and bestowed wisdom and energy on Darius
Darius says he is not a friend of the Lie
presents himself as physically capable - good horseman, bowman, and spearman, on foot and on horseback
Religion in the top register
the king stands on a three-stepped platform before a fire altar, with the winged symbol above
the king's raised right hand corresponds to that of the winged symbol, underlining the close relation between the king and Ahuramazda
the king is not presented as a god, but occupying a privileged place between gods and subjects
