Jar of Xerxes I

Jar ofXerxes I from the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus.

Detail of the inscription in Egyptian: "The great king Xerxes".

TheJar of Xerxes I is a jar incalcite oralabaster, analabastron, with the quadrilingual signature ofAchaemenid rulerXerxes I (ruled 486–465 BC), which was discovered in the ruins of theMausoleum at Halicarnassus, inCaria, modernTurkey, at the foot of the western staircase.^[1] It is now in theBritish Museum, though not currently on display.^[2]

The jar contains the same short inscription inOld Persian, Egyptian, Babylonian, and Elamite:^[1][3][4]

𐎧𐏁𐎹𐎠𐎼𐏁𐎠 𐏐𐏋 𐏐𐎺𐏀𐎼𐎣
(Xšayāršā : XŠ : vazraka)
"Xerxes : The Great King."

The function of this jar is not well known. It may have contained some of the water from the Nile, received as a symbol of submission.^[1] A few other examples of broadly similar jars are known throughout the Achaemenid Empire, including jar fromDarius I.^[1] The jar may have been part of the collection of the Carian Satrap, and testifies to the close contacts between Carian rulers and the Achaemenid Empire.^[1][3]

The vases, of Egyptian origin, were very precious to the Achaemenids, and may therefore have been offered by Xerxes to Carian rulers, and then kept as a precious object.^[4] In particular, the precious jar may have been offered by Xerxes to the Carian dynastArtemisia I, who had acted with merit as his only female Admiral during theSecond Persian invasion of Greece, and particularly at theBattle of Salamis.^[5]

The Jar is located in theBritish Museum.^[6] Its height is 28.8 centimetres, its diameter 12.8 centimetres at the rim.^[6] It was excavated byCharles Thomas Newton in 1857.^[6]

• 
  The Jar of Xerxes I, at time of discovery.
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  Hieroglyphic inscription on the jar: "The great king Xerxes".
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  Cuneiform inscriptions on the jar ("The great king Xerxes" in three languages,Old Persian first).
• 
  The jar in the British Museum (side)

A few similar alabaster jar exist, from the time ofDarius I to Xerxes, and to some later Achaemenid rulers, especiallyArtaxerxes I.^[1]

• 
  Egyptian alabaster vase ofDarius I with quadrilingual hieroglyphic and cuneiform inscriptions
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  TheCaylus vase, acquired circa 1760, was key in the decipherment ofcuneiform.
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  Another jar of Xerxes I, at theMetropolitan Museum of Art.^[7]
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  The same jar in black and white photography.^[8]
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  Fragment of a jar of Xerxes I. Louvre Museum
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  Jar of Xerxes I, year 2. Louvre Museum
• 
  Quadrilingual inscription ofArtaxerxes I on an Egyptian alabaster vase.^[9][10]

• History of Achaemenid Egypt
• List of Iranian artifacts abroad
• Yale Babylonian Collection Alabastron Vessel - contemporary vessel of the same era in theYale Babylonian Collection

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• 5th-century BC artifacts
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• Elamite language
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• Mausoleum at Halicarnassus

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