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Rüdiger Schmitt. Die altpersischen Inschriften der Achaemeniden. Editio minor mit deutscher Übersetzung

Thomas Jügel
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Rüdiger Schmitt. Die altpersischen Inschriften der Achaemeniden. Editio minor mit deutscher Übersetzung. Wiesbaden: Reichert, 2023, 210 pp. (réimpression avec corrigenda)

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1Born from the idea to create a synoptic edition of the Achaemenid inscriptions (including the Old Persian, Elamite and Babylonian versions) in cooperation with Assyriologists and historians, Schmitt prepared a comprehensive edition of Old Persian texts aimed at a readership including also non-experts of Iranic studies. Minor inscriptions on vessels, seals, and weights were omitted.

2The edition is preceded by a survey of the Achaemenid inscriptions (including those in other languages than Old Persian), which provides concise information on their length, similarity to other inscriptions, bibliographical references and their dating (including doubts on the same where applicable). The neat arrangement by king and place permits to quickly grasp the chronology and geographical distribution of the inscriptions, as well as the heyday of their production according to our current knowledge.

3Some notes on the transcription are given on p. 6 (for a detailed explanation see Schmitt 1989: 64–66, Compendium linguarum iranicarum, Wiesbaden: Reichert). As is the tradition for Sanskrit, c stands for č, and j for ǰ. The originally syllabic is noted as such, but assumed to represent ǝr, and the pronunciation of ç would be a sound similar to s. No specific mention is made for the glides, which are noted v and y when used as consonants, but and when part of a diphthong.

4The corpus presents the transliteration, transcription and German translation, which are structured in semantic units cross-referenced by means of capital letters. Lines (and columns) are indicated by means of superscript numbers in the transliteration. The comments following each paragraph justify the readings or interpretation (especially if different from previous editions) and are kept to a minimum as readers are referred to the main editions for detailed discussions.

5The translation is meant to be literal with the so-called manā-kr̥tam construction (aka neo-perfect, ergative construction, etc.) rather mechanically rendered by the German passive perfect (i.e. “von mir getan (worden ist)”). Schmitt’s translation is therefore similar to linguistic glosses and helps to identify the Old Persian constructions.

6Schmitt acknowledges the existence of studies on texts and language published since the first edition (2009), but admits not to have carried out a revision. He also refrains from correcting errors within the text of the second edition. Instead, lines that contain an error are marked by an asterisk in the margin. The corrigenda are found in the appendix (pp. 209–210) containing 60 corrections.

7Schmitt has rendered outstanding contributions to the Iranic studies and to the study of Old Persian in particular, many of his works are standard references. His dictionary (2014: Wörterbuch der altpersischen Königsinschriften, Wiesbaden: Reichert) includes several indices, grammatical determination of each form, list of attestations, etymologies, and detailed lexical information. In combination with this edition, the two works are indispensable tools for anyone who wishes to teach, study or simply learn more about Old Persian.

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Thomas Jügel, « Rüdiger Schmitt. Die altpersischen Inschriften der Achaemeniden. Editio minor mit deutscher Übersetzung »Abstracta Iranica [En ligne], Volume 45 | 2023, document 5, mis en ligne le 30 décembre 2024, consulté le 14 janvier 2026. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/abstractairanica/56930 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/14ar6

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