Context:
This stone relief, which is carved into the cliff face, is located directly above the entrance to the tomb of Darius the Great. The intricate figures and details display the amount of importance Darius had as a king and leader of the Achaemenid Empire, as well as having the work be carved into the underside of the cliff wall for better protection and preservation of the work. This shows that the location was carefully thought out and chosen so that these royal tombs would last longer than any other, so then the kings like Darius could have their legacies persist thousands of years beyond their death. That is a level of effort that normal graves and tombs would not have achieved. That further shows how critical the appearence and untouchable reputation of the kings were to the empire; their royal tombs were placed in a more remote, open location where they could be easily seen and visited. This would have constantly reinforced their important legacies and contributions to the First Persian Empire to its people, as well as introduce its history and culture to anyone viewing these tombs, just as it does now in the modern day for many visitors.
Subject:
This figure is the image of Ahuramazda, the great god worshipped by the Persians. He is represented by the top half of a men, and the bottom half of a soaring bird. It's recounted by many different kings of the Achaemenid Empire in our readings that they were chosen by the god: "A great god is Ahuramazda, who created this earth, who created yonder sky, who created man, who created happiness for man, who made Darius king.."
Having Ahuramazda shown standing next to Darius the Great at his tomb reinstates his claim of being gifted kinghood by the god, proving his validity. This not only reflects positively on the late king himself, but also reassures the people in the empire of his family's sacred lineage and right to rule. It displays his god-given power and status even in death.
Style:
Within this stone relief, the artist used Hierarchy of Scale to establish the top two figures as the most important. Since this was embellished on the tomb of Darius the Great, it is fair to make the assumption that the top left figure is King Darius himself, with the figure to his right being Ahuramazda due to his half-man, half-bird appearence. Both Darius and his god Ahuramazda are much bigger in scale than the group of individuals below them, showing off the difference in power between the First Persian Empire and the countries the empire has conquered.
Object Annotation #1
Rae Hawley (chawley)
Created on September 9, 2025
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Transcript
Context:
This stone relief, which is carved into the cliff face, is located directly above the entrance to the tomb of Darius the Great. The intricate figures and details display the amount of importance Darius had as a king and leader of the Achaemenid Empire, as well as having the work be carved into the underside of the cliff wall for better protection and preservation of the work. This shows that the location was carefully thought out and chosen so that these royal tombs would last longer than any other, so then the kings like Darius could have their legacies persist thousands of years beyond their death. That is a level of effort that normal graves and tombs would not have achieved. That further shows how critical the appearence and untouchable reputation of the kings were to the empire; their royal tombs were placed in a more remote, open location where they could be easily seen and visited. This would have constantly reinforced their important legacies and contributions to the First Persian Empire to its people, as well as introduce its history and culture to anyone viewing these tombs, just as it does now in the modern day for many visitors.
Subject:
This figure is the image of Ahuramazda, the great god worshipped by the Persians. He is represented by the top half of a men, and the bottom half of a soaring bird. It's recounted by many different kings of the Achaemenid Empire in our readings that they were chosen by the god: "A great god is Ahuramazda, who created this earth, who created yonder sky, who created man, who created happiness for man, who made Darius king.."
Having Ahuramazda shown standing next to Darius the Great at his tomb reinstates his claim of being gifted kinghood by the god, proving his validity. This not only reflects positively on the late king himself, but also reassures the people in the empire of his family's sacred lineage and right to rule. It displays his god-given power and status even in death.
Style:
Within this stone relief, the artist used Hierarchy of Scale to establish the top two figures as the most important. Since this was embellished on the tomb of Darius the Great, it is fair to make the assumption that the top left figure is King Darius himself, with the figure to his right being Ahuramazda due to his half-man, half-bird appearence. Both Darius and his god Ahuramazda are much bigger in scale than the group of individuals below them, showing off the difference in power between the First Persian Empire and the countries the empire has conquered.