Alibaigi, Sajjad. 2025. A Clue to a Puzzle: The Assyrian Provincial Seal of Surkh Dom-i Luri, a pattern for Darius I’s Seal. Arta 2025.004.
This short article examines the iconographic origins of the famous seal of Darius I, for which an Egyptian provenance has been proposed and now in the British Museum (BM 89132). Although the influence of the glyptic art of the first millennium BC on Achaemenid seal-carving is well evident, scholars have paid less attention to this influence on the cylinder seal of Darius I. Among the Assyrian seals and impressions of the second and first millennia BC, there are important examples that are iconographically similar to the seal of Darius, but the provincial seal of Surkh Dom provides the most clues to the connection between the seal of Darius and the Assyrian style seals. This seal, which was found from the excavations of the Surkh Dom shrine, is more similar to Darius’ seal than any other. It seems that the Assyrian provincial style of Surkh Dom-i Luri seal should also be added to the long list of influences of Neo-Assyrian art on Achaemenid and considered as a pattern for the seal of Darius I.