Sponsors and timing
This website was created as part of the research project Munich Open-access Cuneiform Corpus Initiative (MOCCI) [https://www.en.ag.geschichte.uni-muenchen.de/chairs/chair_radner/research_radner/mocci_en/index.html], whose funding is provided by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (through the establishment of the Alexander von Humboldt Chair for Ancient History of the Near and Middle East [http://www.ag.geschichte.uni-muenchen.de/lehrstuehle/ls_radner/index.html] [2015–20]) and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (Historisches Seminar - Abteilung Alte Geschichte [2015–]).
The principal aim of the Achaemenid Royal Inscriptions online (ARIo) Project is to publish linguistically-annotated (lemmatized), open-access editions of all of the known Achaemenid Royal Inscriptions, in all of their original ancient languages (principally Old Persian, Elamite, and Akkadian, but also Egyptian). Much of this work, especially on the Old Persian inscriptions, was completed during Phase 1 (2016–18 and 2020), during which Henry Heitmann-Gordon [http://www.ag.geschichte.uni-muenchen.de/personen/mitarbeiter/heitmann-gordon/index.html] (1) retro-digitized all of the texts edited in Rüdiger Schmitt, Die altpersischen Inschriften der Achaimeniden. Editio minor mit deutscher Übersetzung (Wiesbaden 2009); (2) lemmatized those inscriptions with the aid of Rüdiger Schmitt, Wörterbuch der altpersischen Königsinschriften (Wiesbaden 2014); (3) translated Schmitt's German translations into English; converted Elamite and Akkadian inscriptions from Persepolis kindly provided by Matt Stolper; and (4) created numerous informational pages on the rulers of the Persian Empire and their inscriptions. ARIo, although much work is still needed to complete the Project's main objectives, especially on the Elamite and Akkadian inscriptions, was made publicly accessible in late 2018.
ARIo Phase 2 began in January 2024, when MOOCI and DARIOSH [https://www.ismeo.eu/portfolio_page/dariosh-digital-achaemenid-royal-inscription-open-schema-hypertext-2/] (Digital Achaemenid Royal Inscription Open Schema Hypertext) became cooperation partners, with the latter taking the lead on updating and expanding ARIo's open-access content. During this next stage, the DARIOSH team aims to:
- revise and update the transliterations of the Old Persian, Elamite, and Akkadian inscriptions from Persepolis based on collation of the texts from the originals and photographs;
- lemmatize the Elamite and Akkadian inscriptions;
- revise the English translations; and
- add Italian translations for all of the inscriptions.
After this work has been completed, the DARIOSH team intents make further improvements and additions to ARIo corpus. At the present time, the following is tentatively planned for Phase 3:
- revision of the editions of the inscriptions from Bisotun, Egypt, Elvend, Naqsh-e Rostam, Susa, and Van;
- translation of those inscriptions into Italian; and
- creation of object and score transliterations of the Persepolis and Susa inscriptions.
As we are just at the very beginning of Phase 2, no timeline has been established for the start of Phase 3. As work on ARIo currently ongoing, we ask you to be patient with us as we expand, improve, and refine our content.
Project team
Official Inscriptions of the Middle East in Antiquity (OIMEA) Editorial Board
- Grant Frame [https://upenn.academia.edu/GrantFrame] (Emeritus Professor, Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, University of Pennsylvania)
- Jamie Novotny [http://www.ag.geschichte.uni-muenchen.de/personen/mitarbeiter/novotny/index.html] (Akademischer Oberrat, Historisches Seminar – Abteilung Alte Geschichte, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München)
- Karen Radner [http://www.ag.geschichte.uni-muenchen.de/personen/mitarbeiter/radner/index.html] (Alexander von Humboldt-Professorin für die Alte Geschichte des Nahen und Mittleren Ostens, Historisches Seminar – Abteilung Alte Geschichte, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München)
OIMEA Advisory Committee
- Rocío Da Riva [http://www.ub.edu/prehist/component/tlpteam/team/dra-rocio-da-riva-munoz] (Professor of Prehistory, ICREA Academia Research Prize Awardee 2014, Departament d'Història i Arqueologia, Universitat de Barcelona)
- Eckart Frahm [https://nelc.yale.edu/people/eckart-frahm] (Professor of Assyriology, Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, Yale University)
- Andreas Fuchs [https://uni-tuebingen.de/fakultaeten/philosophische-fakultaet/fachbereiche/altertums-und-kunstwissenschaften/institut-fuer-die-kulturen-des-alten-orients-ianes/institut/mitarbeiter/altorientalische-philologie/fuchs-andreas-apl-prof-dr/] (Außerplanmäßiger Professor and Akademischer Oberrat, Institut für die Kulturen des Alten Orients, Altorientalische Philologie, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen)
- Mirjo Salvini [http://independent.academia.edu/MirjoSalvini] (Former Director, Istituto di Studi sulle Civiltà dell'Egeo e del Vicino Oriente, CNR, Roma)
- Mark Weeden [https://www.ucl.ac.uk/classics/people/academic-staff/mark-weeden] (Associate Professor Ancient Middle Eastern Languages, Department of Greek and Latin, University of London)
ARIo Contributors
- Salman Aliyari Babolghani [https://www.aai.uni-hamburg.de/voror/personen/aliyari-babolghani.html] (DARIOSH [https://www.ismeo.eu/portfolio_page/dariosh-digital-achaemenid-royal-inscription-open-schema-hypertext-2/])
- Alexa Bartelmus [http://www.ag.geschichte.uni-muenchen.de/personen/mitarbeiter/bartelmus/index.html]
- Gian Pietro Basello [https://unifind.unior.it/get/person/200145] (DARIOSH [https://www.ismeo.eu/portfolio_page/dariosh-digital-achaemenid-royal-inscription-open-schema-hypertext-2/])
- Ela Filippone [https://kataclima.academia.edu/ElaFILIPPONE] (DARIOSH [https://www.ismeo.eu/portfolio_page/dariosh-digital-achaemenid-royal-inscription-open-schema-hypertext-2/])
- Grazia Giovinazzo (DARIOSH [https://www.ismeo.eu/portfolio_page/dariosh-digital-achaemenid-royal-inscription-open-schema-hypertext-2/])
- Gene Gragg (Achaemenid Royal Inscriptions project [https://isac.uchicago.edu/research/projects/achaemenid-royal-inscriptions-project])
- Henry Heitmann-Gordon [http://www.ag.geschichte.uni-muenchen.de/personen/mitarbeiter/heitmann-gordon/index.html]
- Jamie Novotny [http://www.ag.geschichte.uni-muenchen.de/personen/mitarbeiter/novotny/index.html]
- Adriano V. Rossi [https://unior.academia.edu/AdrianoRossi] (DARIOSH [https://www.ismeo.eu/portfolio_page/dariosh-digital-achaemenid-royal-inscription-open-schema-hypertext-2/] director)
- Matt Stolper [https://nelc.uchicago.edu/people/matthew-w-stolper] (Achaemenid Royal Inscriptions project [https://isac.uchicago.edu/research/projects/achaemenid-royal-inscriptions-project])
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