Paikuli Monument

The Paikuli monument collapsed long ago, leaving only a fraction of its original elevation intact. However, the archaeological evidence is sufficient for the general reconstruction of the monument on paper, an exercise first carried out by Ernst Herzfeld in the 1920s (see his drawing). Since Herzfeld’s time, scholars have continued to refine the interpretation of the archaeological data.

The monument is cubic in plan, measuring about 8 x 8 m at its base, and was built up from an inner core of unhewn stones. Its facing was of finely cut ashlar blocks, several of them inscribed, all of which have fallen away. Many of the plain facing blocks remain strewn over the hillside, while the inscribed ones are now in the Sulaymaniyah/Slemani museum (as are some blocks with frontal facing images; see below). Herzfeld was able to approximate the form of the monument from the distribution of the blocks as he discovered them on site (see the plan); in developing his reconstruction, he also considered comparable structures—especially the Achaemenid tower at Ka’ba-i Zurdušt, to which Narseh’s father had added an inscription.1 The monument’s original height is uncertain; Herzfeld’s assumption of a 3:2 (H:W) ratio places it at 12 meters high. At the top, there were two courses of architecturally elaborated blocks: an upper row of pinnacles (each made up of four steps) and a row of loopholes below this (see the diagram).2 Engaged three-quarter columns, 31.5 cm in diameter, delineated all four corners; their bell-shaped column bases rested on a slightly projecting podium.3 There is no evidence for any kind of molding, such as a frame for the inscription.

It is clear from the distribution of the fallen inscribed blocks that the inscription, rendered in both the Middle Persian and Parthian languages, occupied the entire width of the monument’s west and east sides respectively. There were 7–8 inscribed courses on each side, each course bearing several lines; the lines ran from corner to corner and apparently extended, in at least some places, onto the corner columns.4 The inscription’s small letter size suggested to Herzfeld that its final lines must have been positioned around eye level if it was to be legible. This would place its lowest courses directly over the podium (see further in “Inscriptions”).

Four high relief blocks with busts of a royal personage, presumably Narseh himself, were discovered on each side of the monument; they were likely set in place above the inscription, roughly in the middle of each wall as reconstructed by Herzfeld. However, it has since been noted that the mounting system on the back of two busts is different from that of the other two, which may indicate differential placements.5 A fragmentary fifth bust, carved entirely in the round, was also discovered among the ruins; it is unclear how this would have been integrated into the architecture, if at all.6  

Each of the four high relief busts portrays a Sasanian king and is clearly sculpted after the same model. The king wears the distinctive imperial crown surmounted with the globular korymbos. His hair falls in four plaits on either side, flanked by the tassels of his diadem; he wears a pearl necklace and earrings, and his beard is drawn through a ring. The fifth bust in the round shows the king adorned similarly.7 Several more specific iconographic features, rendered on all five busts, can be matched to Narseh’s numismatic portraits and his representation in the investiture scene at Naqsh-i Rustam.8   

Taken together, the structure’s architectural and iconographic components must have formed an impressive monument to the events commemorated in the inscription, Narseh’s rise to the throne. It has also been speculated that it held a further ritual function. The possibility of an integral staircase was already discussed by Herzfeld.9 While there is no archaeological evidence for this feature, contemporaneous comparanda can be cited in its support; moreover, the inscription describes the monument as a pillage, which connotes something stepped (whether an altar or a pedestal). It has more recently been suggested that the structure was based on the form of a pedestal upon which the Sasanian king gives audience and receives praises; this would align with the idea that the acclamation of Narseh’s kingship occurred at Paikuli (see “Inscriptions” and “History”). However, it remains unclear whether the structure performed any ritual role beyond its function as a commemorative monument.
 

• 1. Herzfeld 1924, 1–8; here he also refers to the squared tower at Taq-i Girra.
• 2. As Herzfeld (1924, 6) notes, this motif was prevalent in the Mesopotamian architectural tradition; he suggests that Paikuli forms a link between the Mesopotamian and later Islamic versions of the motif.
• 3. Fragments of these bell-shaped column bases were identified after Herzfeld’s time; their existence may indicate that the podium projected more significantly than it does in Herzfeld’s reconstruction (see Cereti and Terribili 2012, 85).
• 4. The recently identified column bases are inscribed in alignment with the main inscription (see the preceding note).
• 5. Terribili and Tilia 2016, 422.
• 6. Herzfeld (1924, 3) takes this as an abandoned piece unused in the monument. However, its high quality may suggest that it was actually used in some way; see the discussion in Colliva and Terribili 2017.
• 7. The korymbos of the fifth bust was identified after Herzfeld’s time (Terribili and Tilia 2016, 423, and fig. 5). The bust and korymbos fragments as combined measure almost 2 m high; the sculpture must have been somewhat taller still, given the break at the lower edge of the bust.
• 8. Additionally, traces of floral (acanthus?) patterns have recently been identified on one of the busts, matching Narseh’s coin type I (see Terribili and Tilia 2016, 423, and fig. 4).
• 9. Herzfeld 1924, 6.