Raw·lin·son  (rô'lĭn-sən)  British diplomat and scholar who deciphered cuneiform texts from ancient Persia. |
Rawlinson, Sir Henry Creswicke
British army officer and Orientalist who deciphered the Old Persian portion of the trilingual cuneiform inscription of Darius I the Great at Bisitun, Iran. His success provided the key to the deciphering, by himself and others, of Mesopotamian cuneiform script, a feat that greatly expanded knowledge of the ancient Middle East.
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