Paikuli inscription

The Paikuli inscription was set up as a monument to victory, and tells how and why Narseh ousted his grand-nephew from power. [A History of the Jews in Babylonia, Volume 12 History of the Jews in Babylonia - Page 3 by Jacob Neusner - Architecture]

In 293 Narses marched from Armenia in open revolt against his nephew with a host of supporters and allies, whose names are recorded on the Paikuli inscription. [The Cambridge Ancient History - Page 494 by Alan K. Bowman, Peter Garnsey, Averil Cameron] This list includes king Tiridates, possibly of Armenia. The inscription shows that by this time Armenia was no longer regarded as part of Eranshahr, a view that is reinforced from the Roman side by a remark found in Ammianus Marcellinus.

Background

The Paikuli inscription of Narses shows that Assuristan (Babylonia) at least was in Persian hands, but says nothing of Nisibis and Singara. [In Praise of Later Roman Emperors: The Panegyric Latini - Page 69 by C. E. V. Nixon, Barbara Saylor Rodgers]

The fact of Amru's vassalage to Narses was preserved by the latter in the Paikuli inscription. [Israel Oriental Studies - Page 21by Joel L. Kraemer ]

In the 19th century, it was visited by several travelers, it consisted of the ruins of a large, square tower that had originally been covered on all sides by stone blocks, some contained inscriptions, but, at the time, lay scattered all around the monument.

Sassanians

At Tabari and with sources that follow his work, and also in the Paikuli inscription of Narses, a son of Papak called Shapur is mentioned as his successor. Although the text of the inscription of Paikuli in which king Shapur appears is unclear because of long lacunae. Some could suggest that Narses in the inscription sought to compare his succession to the throne with that of his grandfather Ardashir. Just as Ardashir had succeeded Shapur.

cquote|S. Mori contends that the Paikuli inscription is basically relating the traditional Near Eastern story of how a king achieves supremacy with the aid of the gods in the epic form. He also believes that the early Islamic texts, such as al-Tabarī are of little use for the history of the Sasanian period. [“The narrative structure of thePaikuli Inscription,” Orient, vol. 30-31, 1995, pp. 182-193]

References

Bibliography

*The Sassanian Inscription of Paikuli By Helmut Humbach

External links

* [http://www.klassalt.uni-kiel.de/projekte/sasaniden/Paikuli_Inschrift.pdf The Sassanian Inscription of Paikuli]
* [http://www.sasanika.com/pdf/Paikuli.pdf The Sassanian Inscription of Paikuli by Prods Skjærvø]
* [http://www.iranica.com/articles/v12f3/v12f3019d.html Herzfeld and the Paikuli Inscription at Iranica]