CHAPTER I

The Discovery of Achaemenian Ruins and Inscriptions: Barbaro to Le Bruyn: A.D. 1472-1718 1

Barbaro visits Chehel Minar and the Tomb of the Mother of Solomon: A.D. 1472 9

The Portuguese Missions—Gouvea first mentions the Inscriptions: A.D. 1602 11

Don Garcia de Silva Figueroa identifies Chehel Minar with Persepolis: A.D. 1618 17

The ‘Viaggi’ of Pietro della Valle: A.D. 1621 24

Sir Thomas Herbert, ‘Relation of Some Years Travaile’: A.D. 1627—The first view of Persepolis 33

Mandelslo’s View of the Tomb of the Mother of Solomon: A.D. 1638 40

The French Travellers Daulier Deslandes, Thévenot, and Tavernier: A.D. 1665 48

Dr. Hyde’s opinion: A.D. 1700 59

Chardin’s Travels—The Drawings of Grélot: A.D. 1711 61

Kaempfer first describes the writing as ‘Cuneiform’: A.D. 1712 69

He and Le Bruyn make the first copies of Inscriptions: A.D. 1718 71