The Ganj Nameh are set of cuneiform characters written in three languages (ancient Persian, Elamite, and Babylonian), set into a rock face on Mount Alvand, about 5 kilometers from modern-day Hamadan which once served as the capital of the Medes and Achaemenids. 

 

The scripts describe the conquests of two Achaemeniad Kings namely, Darius and his son Xerxes who call Ahuramazda for help. However, the later generations who could not read the cuneiform alphabets of the ancient Persian, Elamite and Babilian scripts, thought it was the guide to an uncovered treasury. 

 

The two tablets are set in stones as protection from the elements and written in 3 languages in cuneiform writing. 

 

The tablet on the right side embraces the name of Xerxes and the one on the left bears the name of Darius the Great. 

 

The translation of the text of the right side plate attributed to Xerxes is as follows:

"The mighty lord is Ahuramazda, the god of gods, who created this land, the sky and the people, the same god who brought people happiness, who appointed Xerxes as king, the unique king of kings, the unique ruler of the rulers, I am Xerxes, the great king, king of kings, king of multinational countries, king of this large land, the son of Darius the Achaemenid."

 

This translation corresponds with part of the inscription attributed to Xerxes at the main entrance of Persepolis and the other plate inscription of Ganj Nameh attributed to Darius the first, the father of Xerxes, had the same sentences with the difference that instead of Xerxes it has the name of Darius. These two plates too, similar to the majority of inscriptions by the Achaemenid kings include greetings to Ahuramazda and the fathers and forefathers of these kings.

 

Today two new carved tablets have been added in the parking lot of this site with modern Farsi and its English translation. One noticeable element while visiting this site is a large number of surrounding landscapes both cultural and natural.