An Old Persian Inscription from Phanagoria

Abstract

This article is a publication of the fragmentary Old Persian inscription from the ancient Greek city of Phanagoria (the Taman Peninsula, Russia). The inscription was found in a private house built over the ruins of the city’s fortifications, which perished in a fire in the late first or the early second quarter of the 5th century BC. The fragment of the stele bears six partially preserved lines of the text. The signs at the beginning and the end of each line are missing. Due to the fragmentary nature of the inscription, its contents can not be determined. However, the archaeological context of the find allows us to attribute its authorship to King Xerxes. The new document attests that the Persian Empire took an active interest in the northern coast of the Black Sea.