Jar of Xerxes I

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Jar of Xerxes I
Jar of Xerxes I from the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus.
Detail of the inscription in Egyptian: "The great king Xerxes".
The jar was found in the ruins of the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, in Caria, modern Turkey.

The Jar of Xerxes I is a jar in calcite or alabaster, an alabastron, with the quadrilingual signature of Achaemenid ruler Xerxes I (ruled 486–465 BC), which was discovered in the ruins of the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, in Caria, modern Turkey, at the foot of the western staircase.[1] It is now in the British Museum, though not currently on display.[2]

Description

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

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

— Old Persian inscription on the Jar of Xerxes, Mausoleum at Halicarnassus.[3]

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.

Darius 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.

Artemisia I, who had acted with merit as his only female Admiral during the Second Persian invasion of Greece, and particularly at the Battle of Salamis.[5]

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

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

Similar jars

A few similar alabaster jar exist, from the time of

Darius I to Xerxes, and to some later Achaemenid rulers, especially Artaxerxes I.[1]

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

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jar of Xerxes I.
  1. ^
    ISBN 9780521228046
    .
  2. ^ Room 15, display case 3 (G15/dc3) "alabastron British Museum". The British Museum.
  3. ^ a b c A Jar with the Name of King Xerxes - Livius.
  4. ^ a b Newton, Charles Thomas (1863). A History of Discoveries at Halicarnassus, Cnidus and Branchidae. Day & Son. p. 667.
  5. ISBN 9781400865130
    .
  6. ^ a b c British Museum Xerxes Alabastron.
  7. ^ Metropolitan Museum of Art.
  8. ^ Metropolitan Museum of Art.
  9. ^ Revue archéologique (in French). Leleux. 1844. p. 444-450.
  10. ^ The vase is now in the Reza-Abbasi Museum in Teheran (inv. 53). image inscription
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