BABYLON AND PERSIA

286 MEDIA, BABYLON, AND PERSLA.as the country began to be called from its capitalShushan or Susa, and possibly of the un-Aryan pop¬ulation of the entire Zagros region. For this lan¬guage has been shown to belong neither to theAryan nor to the Semitic, but to the Turanian oragglutinative type. It used at first to be called" Proto-Median," i.e., " earliest Median," but now itis proposed to calk it " Scythic," /.^..Turanian, or" Amardian," in compliment to the nation who isthought to have inhabited Anshan.This immensemonument of human pride, labor, and patience wasattributed by the Greeks, like every thing out of thecommon in these parts of Asia, and in a distortedform, to the mythical queen Semiramis.*1 8. The Persian kings, succeeding, as they did,long lines of Assyrianand Babylonian monarchs,appropriated their literary style, which henceforthbecame the set and invariable form of Oriental pub¬lic speaking and writing. This .style we accord¬ingly recognize in the trilingual Behistun inscription,with perhaps just a shade less of stiffness. LikeKyros, like every long-descended prince, Dareios(DaRAYAVUSH is the Persian form), begins by estab¬lishing his genealogy:' ' I am Dareios the great king, the king of kings, the king ofPersia, the king of nations, the son of Hystaspes, the grandson ofArsames, the AkhoQmenian." Says Dareios the king: My father was Hystaspes CYishtaspa) ; ofHystaspes the father was Arsames (Arshama) ;of Arsames the fatherwas Ariaramnes (Ariyaramana); of Ariaramnes the father was Teispes(Chishpai'sh); of Teispes the father was AkhtEmenes (Hakhamanish)." Says Dareios the king : On that account we are called Akhtemenians.From ancient times we have descended ; from ancienttimes our family have been kings.* See " Story of Assyria," p. 198.