539 – 330 BCE
Achaemenid Persian
Persian rule, the long twilight of cuneiform.
Cyrus the Great takes Babylon in 539 BCE without a battle, ending native Mesopotamian rule. The Achaemenid Persian Empire governs from Susa and Persepolis; Aramaic becomes the lingua franca of administration. Yet cuneiform does not die — Babylonian astronomers, priests, and scholars continue to write on clay for several more centuries, producing some of the most precise astronomical records of the ancient world. The last dated cuneiform tablet known belongs to 75 CE.
Primary sources
Tablets from this period
2515 tablets dated to Achaemenid Persian — showing 24 below; browse all 2515.
Cyrus Cylinder
Often called the world's first declaration of human rights — a 20th-century characterization that overstates its scope; it is, more accurately, a typical Mesopotamian royal accession text framed as Marduk's restoration of order. But its references to religious tolerance and the return of exiled peoples (which the Hebrew Bible echoes in describing the end of the Babylonian Exile) have made it one of the most politically resonant cuneiform artifacts ever recovered.
LawWriting & LiteratureAstronomical tablet BM 32234
Tablet image sourced from Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). No scholarly translation referenced in source metadata. Source description: Clay cuneiform tablet. Astronomical, lunar eclipse table for at least 609-447 BC. Dated 4th century BC. From Babylon. Refers to the murder of the Persian king Xerxes I (485-465 BC) by his son. BM 3223
Astronomy & Mathematics
Clay tablet. The cuneiform text mentions the murder of Xerxes I (r. 485-465 BCE) by his son and a lunar eclipse (609-447 BCE). From Babylon, Iraq. British Museum
Tablet image sourced from Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). No scholarly translation referenced in source metadata. Source description: Clay tablet. The cuneiform text mentions the murder of the Achaemenid king Xerxes I (r. 485-465 BCE) by his son and a lunar eclipse (for at least 609-447 BCE). 4th century BCE. From Babylon, Iraq. Bri
Astronomy & Mathematics
Clay Tablet with Cuneiform Inscriptions (4703976097)
Tablet image sourced from Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0). No scholarly translation referenced in source metadata. Source description: Achaemenid period (ca. 550 - 330 BCE). I'd heard about and no doubt seen cuneiform tablets, but it wasn't until I visited the museum at Persepolis that I realized the medium (a clay tablet) and the fo
Writing & Literature
Cuneiform Foundation Tablet (4695995469)
Tablet image sourced from Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0). No scholarly translation referenced in source metadata. Source description: Achaemenid Period (ca. 550 - 330 BCE) In the museum at Persepolis, Iran. A translation of the text appears in the next photo.
Writing & Literature
Cuneiform tablet- account of aromatics, Ebabbar archive MET ME86 11 118
Tablet image sourced from Wikimedia Commons (CC0). No scholarly translation referenced in source metadata. Source description: Babylonian or Achaemenid; Cuneiform tablet; Clay-Tablets-Inscribed
EconomyDaily Life
Cuneiform tablet- account of date disbursement, Ebabbar archive MET ME86 11 172
Tablet image sourced from Wikimedia Commons (CC0). No scholarly translation referenced in source metadata. Source description: Achaemenid; Cuneiform tablet; Clay-Tablets-Inscribed
EconomyDaily Life
Cuneiform tablet- account of dates as imittu-rent, Ebabbar archive MET ME86 11 65
Tablet image sourced from Wikimedia Commons (CC0). No scholarly translation referenced in source metadata. Source description: Achaemenid; Cuneiform tablet; Clay-Tablets-Inscribed
EconomyDaily Life
Cuneiform tablet- account of dates as irbu-revenue, Ebabbar archive MET ME79 7 38
Tablet image sourced from Wikimedia Commons (CC0). No scholarly translation referenced in source metadata. Source description: Achaemenid; Cuneiform tablet; Clay-Tablets-Inscribed
EconomyDaily Life
Cuneiform tablet- account of rent payment of pomegranates, Ebabbar archive MET ME86 11 165
Tablet image sourced from Wikimedia Commons (CC0). No scholarly translation referenced in source metadata. Source description: Achaemenid; Cuneiform tablet; Clay-Tablets-Inscribed
EconomyDaily Life
Cuneiform tablet- account of silver disbursements, Egibi archive MET ME79 7 26
Tablet image sourced from Wikimedia Commons (CC0). No scholarly translation referenced in source metadata. Source description: Babylonian or Achaemenid; Cuneiform tablet; Clay-Tablets-Inscribed
EconomyDaily Life
Cuneiform tablet- account of silver disbursements, Egibi archive MET ME79 7 36
Tablet image sourced from Wikimedia Commons (CC0). No scholarly translation referenced in source metadata. Source description: Babylonian or Achaemenid; Cuneiform tablet; Clay-Tablets-Inscribed
EconomyDaily Life
Cuneiform tablet- account record, inventory, Egibi archive MET ME79 7 34
Tablet image sourced from Wikimedia Commons (CC0). No scholarly translation referenced in source metadata. Source description: Babylonian or Achaemenid; Cuneiform tablet; Clay-Tablets-Inscribed
EconomyDaily Life
Cuneiform tablet- account regarding temple sheep, Ebabbar archive MET ME86 11 198
Tablet image sourced from Wikimedia Commons (CC0). No scholarly translation referenced in source metadata. Source description: Achaemenid; Cuneiform tablet; Clay-Tablets-Inscribed
EconomyDaily Life
Cuneiform tablet- account statement, Egibi archive MET ME79 1 21
Tablet image sourced from Wikimedia Commons (CC0). No scholarly translation referenced in source metadata. Source description: Babylonian or Achaemenid; Cuneiform tablet; Clay-Tablets-Inscribed
EconomyDaily Life
Cuneiform tablet- agreement regarding division of property MET ME86 11 293
Tablet image sourced from Wikimedia Commons (CC0). No scholarly translation referenced in source metadata. Source description: Babylonian or Achaemenid; Cuneiform tablet; Clay-Tablets-Inscribed
Writing & Literature
Cuneiform tablet- allocation of dates for fodder, Ebabbar archive MET ME86 11 116
Tablet image sourced from Wikimedia Commons (CC0). No scholarly translation referenced in source metadata. Source description: Achaemenid; Cuneiform tablet; Clay-Tablets-Inscribed
Writing & Literature
Cuneiform tablet- assumption of debt by guarantor, archive of Bel-remanni MET ME86 11 175
Tablet image sourced from Wikimedia Commons (CC0). No scholarly translation referenced in source metadata. Source description: Achaemenid; Cuneiform tablet; Clay-Tablets-Inscribed
Writing & Literature
Cuneiform tablet- Atra-hasis, Babylonian flood myth MET 266810
Tablet image sourced from Wikimedia Commons (CC0). No scholarly translation referenced in source metadata. Source description: Babylonian or Achaemenid; Cuneiform tablet; Clay-Tablets-Inscribed
Mythology
Cuneiform tablet- Atra-hasis, Babylonian flood myth MET 266811
Tablet image sourced from Wikimedia Commons (CC0). No scholarly translation referenced in source metadata. Source description: Babylonian or Achaemenid; Cuneiform tablet; Clay-Tablets-Inscribed
Mythology
Cuneiform tablet- certification of presence of interested party, Egibi archive MET ME86 11 161
Tablet image sourced from Wikimedia Commons (CC0). No scholarly translation referenced in source metadata. Source description: Achaemenid; Cuneiform tablet; Clay-Tablets-Inscribed
Writing & Literature
Cuneiform tablet- declaration before witnesses, archive of Iddin-Nabu and Shellebi MET ME86 11 147
Tablet image sourced from Wikimedia Commons (CC0). No scholarly translation referenced in source metadata. Source description: Achaemenid; Cuneiform tablet; Clay-Tablets-Inscribed
EconomyDaily Life
Cuneiform tablet- declaration before witnesses, Egibi archive MET ME79 7 32
Tablet image sourced from Wikimedia Commons (CC0). No scholarly translation referenced in source metadata. Source description: Babylonian or Achaemenid; Cuneiform tablet; Clay-Tablets-Inscribed
EconomyDaily Life
Cuneiform tablet- deposition-record of oath MET ME86 11 324
Tablet image sourced from Wikimedia Commons (CC0). No scholarly translation referenced in source metadata. Source description: Achaemenid; Cuneiform tablet; Clay-Tablets-Inscribed
Writing & Literature