Observations on lines 1–3 of the Gāndhārī part of the Dašt-i Nāwur trilingual (DN IV)

Journal article

Ever since its first edition by Gérard FUSSMAN (1974), progress in the understanding of the trilingual Kushan royal inscription of Dašt-i Nāwur has been hindered by inadequate photographic documentation and the over-all unfavourable state of the inscription documented in these photographs. This holds especially true for the Kharoṣṭhī/Gāndhārī part of the inscription (DN IV). However, recent advances in Kushan studies and the interpretation of the Bactrian part of the trilingual (DN I) allow for new insights into the content and makeup of the trilingual that also have implications for the interpretation of the Gāndhārī part. On the backdrop of these recent findings and based on photographs from the estate of the late Gérard Fussman that have only recently been made available by the Collège de France, this article presents a new reading of the first three lines of the Gāndhārī part, contrasts it with readings that have previously been proposed, and in passing discusses methodological issuesthat arise when dealing with inscriptions with such an unfavourable documentation.

Authors: Fries, S; Bonmann, S; Halfmann, J; Korobzow, N

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Harrassowitz Publishing House
• Journal: Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft
• Volume: 175
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 137-161
• Publication date: 2025-01-01
• DOI: 10.13173/zdmg.175.1.137
• EISSN: 2747-4402
• ISSN: 0341-0137
• Language: English