description Persepolis Foundation Tablets Overview
The Persepolis Foundation Tablets are a collection of clay administrative records discovered at the ruins of Persepolis, the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Persian Empire in present-day Iran. Dating primarily to the reigns of Darius I and Xerxes I (6th–5th centuries BCE), the tablets are written mostly in Elamite cuneiform and document rations, wages, and work assignments for laborers and officials involved in construction and administration at the capital.
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What are the Persepolis Foundation Tablets?
The best-known foundation tablets are gold and silver deposits associated with Darius I's Apadana at Persepolis, carrying a royal inscription in Old Persian, Elamite, and Akkadian. They should not be confused with the clay Persepolis Fortification Tablets, which are administrative records. [USC Persepolis Archive](https://dornsife.usc.edu/wsrp/persepolis-fortification-archive/)
Who commissioned the Persepolis Foundation Tablets?
The foundation deposits are associated with Darius I, whose reign is conventionally dated from 522 to 486 BCE. The wider Persepolis administrative archives also contain records from the reigns of Xerxes and Artaxerxes I.
What languages appear on the Persepolis foundation inscriptions?
The royal foundation inscriptions use Old Persian, Elamite, and Akkadian, the three-language formula used for major Achaemenid royal statements. This differs from the much larger administrative archive, which is dominated by Elamite records.
How are the Foundation Tablets different from the Fortification Tablets?
Foundation tablets are commemorative deposits that identify the king and his empire, while Fortification Tablets record practical matters such as rations, travel, workers, and payments. The Fortification Archive was found in rooms within the fortification wall and records administration around 509 to 494 BCE. [University of Chicago](https://isac.uchicago.edu/research/projects/persepolis-fortification-archive)
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