Darius' Suez Inscriptions

The following three texts are part of a stela of pink granite that was discovered in 1866, by Charles de Lesseps, near Kabret, 130 kilometers from Suez. The upper part shows the Persian kingDarius the Great (twice), flanking acartouche with his name (DZa). To the left and right is inscriptionDZb; at his feet isDZc, written in ancient Persian andElamite; the reverse of the stone gives the same text - with some extra details - in Egyptian. The first two texts resembleDNa.

The monument, also known as the "Chalouf Stele", documents the construction of a canal that connected the riverNile to the Red Sea. The project, undertaken by king Darius in c.515-c.495 BCE, may not have been the first of its kind: it is possible that the rulers of the New Kingdom had already dug a canal like this, although hard evidence is missing. The list of places mentioned in thebiblical book ofExodusas the route of the Jews leaving Egypt, resembles the general direction of the canal. But although Darius may have merely restored an older water course, the project itself was very important, because it facilitated trade between the Nile, Red Sea, and Persian Gulf.

There were older canals (e.g., by Ramesses II) and the canal remained in us. In the Early Middle Ages, it was used to transport food from Egypt to Mecca.

DZa (cartouche)

Darius

DZb (signature)

Darius the great king, king of kings, king of all nations, king in this great earth, son ofHystaspes, anAchaemenid.

DZc (Canal Inscription)

A great god isAhuramazda, who created yonder sky, who created this earth, who created man, who created happiness for man, who made Darius king, who bestowed on Darius a great kingdom with good horses and good people.

I am Darius the great king, king of kings, king of all kinds of men, king in this great earth far and wide, son of Hystaspes, an Achaemenid.

King Darius says: I am a Persian; setting out from Persia, I conquered Egypt.^note[In fact, it wasCambyses who had conquered Egypt.] I ordered to dig this canal from the river that is called Nile^note[The wordPirâva contains a pun on the wordpiru, "ivory", the product for which Egypt was famous.] and flows in Egypt, to the sea that begins in Persia. Therefore, when this canal had been dug as I had ordered, ships went from Egypt through this canal to Persia, as I had intended.

Literature

• Carol A. Redmount, "The Wadi Tumilat and the 'Canal of the Pharaohs'", in:Journal of Near Eastern Studies, 54/2 (1995) 127-135

Author

• Jona Lendering

More pictures

• Chalouf

Country

• Egypt

Categories

• Egypt
• Persia

Subdisciplines

• Archaeology
• Epigraphy
• Oriental studies

Tag

• Inscription

See also

• Achaemenids(article)
• Achaemenid Royal Inscriptions(text)
• Darius I the Great(article)