Page:Discovery and Decipherment of the Trilingual Cuneiform Inscriptions.djvu/16

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CONTENTS


INTRODUCTION

page
Achaemenian Inscriptions, written in three styles of Cuneiform character, and in three different languages . . . . . ix
The Decipherment of the Persian Text afforded the clue to the others . . . . . xi
Discovery of Sumerian, the ancient language of Babylonia . . xiii
The Historical Results . . . . . . . . . xv

CHAPTER I

The Discovery of Achaemenian Ruins and Inscriptions: Barbaro to Le Bruyn: A.D. 1472-1718 . . . . . . . 1
Barbaro visits Chehel Minar and the Tomb of the Mother of Solomon: A.D. 1472 9
The Portuguese Mission — Gouvea first mentions the Inscriptions: A.D. 1602 11
Don Garcia de Silva Figueroa identifies Chehel Minar with Persepolis: A.D. 1618 17
The 'Viaggi' of Pietro della Valle: A.D. 1621 24
Sir Thomas Herbert, 'Relation of Some Years Travaile': A.D. 1627—The first view of Persepolis 33
Mandelslo's View of the Tomb of the Mother of Solomon: A.D. 1638 40
The French Travellers Daulier Deslandes, Thévenot, and Tavernier: A.D. 1665 48
Dr. Hyde's opinion: A.D. 1700 . . 59
Chardin's Travels—The Drawings of Grélot: A.D. 1711 . . . 61
Kaempfer first describes the writing as 'Cuneiform': A.D. 1712 . 69
He and Le Bruyn make the first copies of Inscriptions: A.D. 1718 . 71