The discovery and decipherment of the trilingual cuneiform inscriptionsBooth, Arthur John
History
The discovery and decipherment of the trilingual cuneiform inscriptions
Booth, Arthur John
Achaemenian inscriptions; Cuneiform inscriptions
His essay on Cuneiform Decipherment was among the works he left
incomplete. It was in the form of a review of Lassen’s recent Memoir, and
three papers on the subject appeared during his lifetime in the ‘Journal
Asiatique,’ and a fourth was published shortly after his death.[480] It
can scarcely be said that he has gone beyond the introduction. The first
essays are occupied chiefly with an account of what had been already
accomplished in the field of cuneiform research, and with a review of
the ethnological points raised by Lassen’s treatment of the provinces
of Darius. It is only incidentally that he touches upon the language
of the inscriptions, and he reserves the discussion of the alphabet to
a future paper. Unfortunately, his premature death prevented him from
accomplishing his task, and strange to say not a single note could be
found among his papers that might be used for the purpose. This is the
more remarkable from the frequent references he makes to that portion
of his work in which he proposes to explain the points of difference
with Lassen, and to the various passages from the inscriptions that he
intended to bring forward in support of his views.[481] On other subjects
he was in the habit of making the most elaborate notes, and it is
scarcely possible to suppose that in a matter of this kind he charged his
memory with an accumulation of detached words and phrases collected from
the numerous inscriptions then available.
The essays indicate some of the corrections he proposed, but for the
reason mentioned we are left very much to conjecture the foundation upon
which they were based.
We see, however, that his correction of 27 (𐎹) from _h_ into _y_
was suggested by the words read by Lassen ‘Arbah’ and ‘Huna,’ which
he recognised should be more properly read ‘Araba_y_a’ and ‘_Y_una’
(Ionians).[482] Similar etymological considerations led him to the
correction of the 𐏃 _a_ into _h_. This letter occurs at the beginning of
the words Lassen reads ‘aryᵃwᵃ,’ ‘arᵃqᵃtis,’ and ‘Aidhus,’ where Jacquet
points out that the corresponding Zend forms require an aspirate.[483]
In these essays we have only found two other corrections suggested. The
first is 10 (𐎺), the _e_ of Grotefend, which Lassen nearly approached in
_w_, but to which Jacquet rightly gives the value of _v_.[484] The other
is 26 (𐎰), the _i_ of Grotefend and _z_ of Lassen, which Jacquet changes
into _th_ in consideration of its occurrence in Assyria (Athuria) and
Sattagydes—which he reads ‘Thrataghadus’ and also (as Lassen adds) in
Mithra.[485]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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