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Primary sourceArtifact522-486 BCE

Weight with Trilingual Inscription of Darius

522-486 BCE

A stone weight from Persepolis inscribed in Darius I's name, used as a standard measure in the empire.

This weight standard, inscribed in his name, reflects Darius I's efforts to standardise measures across his empire.

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Photo of a dark grey stone object with a rounded top and flat sides, covered in rows of cuneiform-style wedge inscriptions. A white museum label sits at the right edge, and a fragment of rough stone is visible at the left.
Weight with trilingual inscription, Persepolis, Achaemenid period, reign of Darius I (522-486 BCE).

About this source

What it is

This is a stone weight from Persepolis dating to the reign of Darius I, carved with an inscription in three languages. It weighs about 4930 grams and was used as a standard for measuring weight across the empire.

Why it matters

Everyday objects like this weight show the practical side of ruling a vast empire: Darius needed standardised weights and measures so that trade, taxes and payments worked the same way everywhere. The trilingual inscription, like those on his palaces and seals, reflects the many languages and peoples under his rule.

Look closer

  • Why would a king care about weights and measures being the same everywhere?
  • What does the cuneiform inscription on the object tell us, and why might it be written in several languages?
  • What does an ordinary object like this reveal about empire that a grand monument might not?

This artifact is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Darius the Great on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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