Acknowledgments
This work would not have been possible without the assistance and guidance of my colleagues in the DARIOSH group: Prof. Adriano V. Rossi, Prof. Ela Filippone, and Prof. Gian Pietro Basello. At the outset in March 2018, I was young and had minimal experience, yet they kindly trusted me and accepted me into the project. Consequently, my research has greatly benefited from our collaborative efforts; each of them has meticulously read and revised my manuscripts multiple times. Their insightful comments and suggestions, stemming from their profound expertise in the field, as well as their ongoing investigations and the discussions we engaged in during our meetings, have significantly enhanced the quality of the manuscripts and minimized my errors.
Dr. Julien Cuny, our esteemed colleague in the DARIOSH-Louvre Project, has consistently and graciously facilitated our visits to the storage and exhibit halls of the Louvre Museum, allowing us to photograph and study the fragments in person. He carefully documented, photographed, and analyzed the fragments from an archaeological perspective, and during this work, he identified many joining fragments, one of which is presented in this study. His comments have illuminated several areas that were previously obscure to me, providing me with a clearer archaeological understanding of the inscriptions.
However, they may not concur with all the interpretations and conclusions presented herein. Additionally, some mistakes or lapsus calami may have been overlooked despite several revisions. All these aspects are, of course, the responsibility of the author. I extend my warmest thanks to them and look forward to continued collaboration in the future.
Mr. Loghman Ahmadzadeh (Susa World Heritage Site) graciously facilitated my visit to the Susa Museum in May 2023 in every aspect and, together with his colleagues, assisted me in photographing the fragments there. Whenever needed, he generously provided additional photographs of fragments stored at the Museum (within the permissions granted by the relevant authorities) and shared with me his valuable archaeological insights as well as a forthcoming article of his.
Prof. Dr. Shervin Farridnejad (University of Hamburg) advised me over the past couple of years to publish these essays as a monograph. Subsequently, he generously offered to include the work in the Ancient Iran Series collection, and during the preparation of the book, he provided invaluable suggestions concerning technical details and formatting aspects, as well as comments on some of my interpretations.
I am deeply grateful to both of them for their support and contributions.
Moreover, my research has been significantly facilitated and, in specific aspects, improved due to the generous assistance of various friends and colleagues:
Dr. Jebrael Nokandeh (director of the National Museum of Iran) and his colleagues, including Dr. Yousef Hassanzadeh, Ms. Simin Piran, and Ms. Firuzeh Sepidnameh at the National Museum of Iran; Mr. Hadi Mirvali (director of the Susa Museum) and Mr. Ali Buyeri (director of the Susa World Heritage Site), along with their colleagues such as Mr. Loghman Ahmadzadeh, Mr. Hamid Sorkheh, Mr. Mahdi Omidfar, Mr. Seyyed Ahmad Tafakh, and Mr. Ramin Yashmi at the Susa Museum, have generously collaborated with the DARIOSH Project. They facilitated our access to the storage areas of these museums and assisted in the documentation and photography of the fragments.
Ms. Mehrak Malekpour Alamdari carefully photographed the fragments housed at the National Museum of Iran, both in the exhibit hall and in storage, and provided the drawings used in this study.
Dr. Pejman Firoozbakhsh and Dr. Meysam Mohammadi offered valuable insights and suggestions for improving the Persian translations of the inscriptions.
I extend my sincere gratitude to each of them. Without their generous support and collaboration, navigating this research would have been considerably more challenging.
Salman Aliyari Babolghani
Hamburg, June 2024