Conville & Walsh

From 1827 Henry Rawlinson, fearless soldier, sportsman and imperial adventurer, spent 25 years in India, Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan in the service of the East India Company.

A gifted linguist, fascinated by history and exploration, he became obsessed with cuneiform, the world’s earliest writing. The key was an immense inscription high on a sheer rock face in Iran, carved over 2000 years ago on the orders of King Darius the Great of Persia.

Only Rawlinson had the physical and intellectual skills, courage and self-motivation and, crucially, the opportunity to make the perilous ascent to copy the monument, and ultimately to solve the mysteries of cuneiform.

By unlocking the doors to the forgotten civilizations of the Middle East dating back to the very beginnings of history, Rawlinson revealed a completely new view of the origins of civilization and of the world itself. And, by proving to the astonished Victorian public that people and places in the Old Testament really existed, Rawlinson became a celebrity and assured his own place in history.