TEHRAN – Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts Minister Seyyed Reza Salehi-Amiri announced that a collection of Achaemenid-era clay tablets, recently returned from the United States, will soon be unveiled at the National Museum in Tehran.

The unveiling ceremony is scheduled to be held in the presence of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Salehi-Amiri said.

Speaking on the sidelines of a government meeting on Wednesday, the minister explained that the clay tablets had been sent to the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago nearly 90 years ago for research and study.

Over the years, Iran has been engaged in legal proceedings to secure the return of these artifacts. As part of President Pezeshkian’s recent visit to the United States for the UN General Assembly, 1,100 tablets were returned to the Islamic Republic.

In addition to the tablets, Salehi-Amiri highlighted the return of another historical artifact—a tablet that was discovered near the Dez Dam in Khuzestan province over 50 years ago. “This tablet had been taken out of the country by an Iranian citizen and was recently handed over to Iran by the individual’s family.”

The minister further noted that preparations are underway to display the tablets to the public at the National Museum of Iran. He emphasized that Iran continues to pursue legal efforts in several countries to retrieve other historical artifacts that have been taken abroad over the years. “Any Iranian artifact found abroad must be returned to its homeland,” he added.

The return of these tablets represents the sixth batch of historical artifacts that have been successfully repatriated to Iran from the United States.

The tablets, inscribed primarily in Elamite cuneiform and Aramaic, vary in shape and size and provide crucial insights into the management of resources, infrastructure, social relations, basic needs, wages, and the economic conditions of the Achaemenid Empire during the reign of Darius I.

The UNESCO-listed Persepolis, locally known as Takht-e Jamshid, was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (c.550 – 330 BC). It ranks among the archaeological sites, that have no equivalent, considering its unique architecture, urban planning, construction technology, and art. Available evidence suggests that Persepolis was burnt by Alexander the Great in 330 BC apparently as revenge against the Persians because it seems the Persian King Xerxes had burnt the Greek City of Athens around 150 years earlier.

The Achaemenid Empire was the largest and most durable empire of its time, stretching from Ethiopia, through Egypt, to Greece, Anatolia (modern Turkey), Central Asia, and India at its height

AM