Old Persian is known exclusively from inscriptions of the Achaemenid kings of Persia, found in southeastern Iran at the ancient capital Persepolis, at the ancient sites of Naqs-i-Rastam, Murghab, Susa, Hamadan, Behistan, and Elvend, and in Armenia and Western Egypt. These are primarily the inscriptions of Darius the Great and his successor Xerxes, who ruled from 521-486 and 486-465 B.C., respectively. They are inscribed in the scripts of various languages. Usually cuneiform but also Aramaic versions are found.
The inscriptions offer first-hand accounts, often propagandistic, of their authors accomplishments in battle, which are usually ascribed to the will of Ahura Mazda. They command to obey the will of the king are accompanied by the insistence that doing so is also to obey the will of Ahura Mazda. Xerxes Daeva Inscription at Persepolis also includes a record of the persistence of some older form of Indo-Iranian deva-worship, long since supplanted in the Acheaminid royal house by the advent and spread of the Zoroastrian reforms.
This collection brings you some of these ancient words with the corresponding English translations.
Click the Achaemenid flag to get a random Old Persian word and improve your vocabulary of this language.
Primary languages
Old Persian
English