The historical complex of Bisotun is located at the foot of Bisotun mountain, 30 km northeast of Kermanshah and next to the road from Kermanshah to Hamedan.
The Bisotun historical complex has some important antiquities such as the statue of Hercules, inscriptions and relief of Darius, relief of Mehrdad II, Farhad Tarash, Shah Abbasi Caravanserai and a number of other works. The inscription and the relief of Darius belong to 520 BC and are on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
In addition, the existence of numerous caves on Mount Biston indicate the presence of Neanderthal human in this area during the Paleolithic period.
This historical and archeological site includes the works of various periods from prehistoric to post-Islamic:
- Hunters Cave and Markher Cave, from prehistoric times, 40 to 70 thousand years ago.
- Medes shrine, from the Median period.
- Darius (Bisotun) inscription and relief, from the Achaemenid period, 520 BC.
- Statue of Hercules, from the Seleucid period, 150 BC.
- Sang Blash and Goodarz & Mehrdad Ashkani reilief, from the Parthian period.
- Sassanid Palace, Farhad Tarash and Sassanid bridge, from the Sassanid period.
- Ilkhanid caravanserai, from the Ilkhanid period.
- Shah Abbasi Caravanserai, inscription of Sheikh Ali Khan Zanganeh and Safavid Bridge, from the Safavid period.
The inscription of Biston, which is dedicated to the victory of Darius I of the Achaemenid dynasty, is one of the most important historical documents in the world. The inscription of Biston, 8 meters height and 22 meters long, has been carved in three languages of ancient Persian, Elamite and Akkadian (New Babylonian) with cuneiform.
A 6-meter-long and 3-meter-height Biston relief above the Biston inscription depicts Darius defeating Gaumat the Magian (false Bardia) and capturing the rebels. The image of Ahuramazda is above the heads of the captives, which gives Darius the Great the ring of power.
Farhad Tarash is a large and semi-functional carving that has created on a wall 36 meters high and 200 meters long at the foot of Mount Bisotun.
Google map link of Bisotun historical complex
