Tomb of Darius the Great

King Darius says: By the favor of Ahuramazda these are the countries which I seized outside of Persia; I ruled over them; they bore tribute to me; they did what was said to them by me; they held my law firmly; Media, Elam, Parthia, Aria, Bactria, Sogdia, Chorasmia, Drangiana, Arachosia, Sattagydia, Gandhara [Gadâra], India [Hiduš], the haoma-drinking Scythians, the Scythians with pointed caps, Babylonia, Assyria, Arabia, Egypt, Armenia, Cappadocia, Lydia, the Greeks [Yaunâ], the Scythians across the sea [Sakâ], Thrace, the petasos-wearing Greeks [Yaunâ], the Libyans, the Nubians, the men of Maka and the Carians.

O man, that which is the command of Ahuramazda, let this not seem repugnant to you; do not leave the right path; do not rise in rebellion!

The nationalities mentioned in the DNa inscription are also depicted on the upper registers of all the tombs at Naqsh-e Rostam (starting with the tomb of Darius I) as a group of 30 Achaemenid soldiers who are in their native clothing and bearing weapons while supporting the platform on which the King of Kings stands for his devotion to Ahuramazda, the highest deity of Zoroastrianism.

[8] One of the last rulers of the Achaemenid dynasty, Artaxerxes II (r. 404–358 BCE), also uses the same labels over the soldiers as depicted on his own tomb in Persepolis.

The inscription identifies the ethnicity of all 30 soldiers: The nationalities of the soldiers depicted on the reliefs and mentioned in the individual labels of the DNe inscription are, from left to right: Makan, Persian, Median, Elamite, Parthian, Arian Bactrian, Sogdian, Choresmian, Zarangian, Arachosian, Sattagydian, Gandharan, Hindush, Saka (Haumavarga), Saka (Tigraxauda), Babylonian, Assyrian, Arab, Egyptian, Armenian, Cappadocian, Lydian, Ionian, Saka "beyond the sea", Skudrian (Thracian), Macedonian, Libyan, Nubian, and Carian.

Carving of Darius I on the tomb
The DNa inscription on the upper-left corner of the façade of Darius I 's tomb at Naqsh-e Rostam
Ethnicities of the Achaemenid Persian Empire depicted on the tomb of Darius the Great . The nationalities mentioned in the DNa inscription are also depicted on the upper registers of all the tombs at Naqsh-e Rostam , starting with Darius' tomb. [ 6 ] The ethnicities on Darius' tomb further have trilingual labels over them for identification, collectively known as the DNe inscription ; one of the best preserved friezes is that of Xerxes I .