Behistun
or BISUTUN, a mountain near a village of the same name in BEIRA Persian Kurdistan, celebrated for the sculptures and cuneiform inscriptions cut upon one of its sides a rock rising almost perpendicularly to the height of 1,700 feet. These works, which stand about 300 feet from the ground, were executed by the orders of Darius I., King of Persia, ia, and set forth his genealogy and victories. To receive the inscriptions, the rock was carefully polished and coated with a hard, siliceous varnish.
Their probable date is about 515 B. C.
They were first copied and deciphered by Rawlinson.
BEHN (bān), APHRA, or AFRA, or APHARA, an English author, born in Wye, in 1640. Early in life she spent several years in the West Indies, where she met the Indians, who became the model of her famous "Oroonoko." She was the first woman writer in England who earned a livelihood by her pen. Her dramatic works include "The Forced Marriage" (1671) "The Amorous Prince" (1671); "The Dutch Lover" (1673); "Abdelazar" (1677); "The Rover" (1677); "The Debauchee" (1677); "The Town Fop" (1677); "The False Count" (1682). She also wrote "Poems" (1684); etc. She died in London, April 16, 1689.