Bistun, also Bisotun is located in western Iran, 30 kilometres northeast of Kermanshah on the foothill of a mountain by the same name, along the ancient trade route linking the Iranian high plateau with Mesopotamia. The ancient site features remains from the prehistoric times to the first Iranian dynasty, the Medians (728-550 BCE), and their heirs, the Achaemenid (550-330 BCE), Parthian (278 BCE-224 CE) Sasanian (224-651 CE) dynasties and Ilkhanid period.
The principal monument of this archaeological site is the bas-relief and cuneiform-inscription ordered by Darius the Great, when he rose to the throne in 521 BCE.