Darius' Red Sea Canal Stele

The completion of a canal between the Nile and the Red Sea by Darius I is recorded by Herodotus 2.158. Four damaged stelai recording the construction of this canal are known, only one of which (the Chalouf stela) preserves the text.  The stela carries an Old Persian text and relief on one side, Egyptian text and relief on the other.

See A. Kuhrt, The Persian Empire: A Corpus of Sources from the Achaemenid Period (2007), pp. 485-6; C. Tuplin, ‘Darius’ Suez Canal and Persian Imperialism’, in Achaemenid History VI: Asia Minor and Egypt (Leiden 1991) 237-283.

Old Persian text:
(§1) Ahura Mazda is a great god, who created that sky, who created this earth, who created happiness for man, who made Darius king, who gave to Darius a kingdom which is great, which possesses good horses and good men.
(§2) I am Darius, the Great King, king of kings, king of lands, king of this great earth, son of Hystaspes, an Achaemenid.
(§3) Darius the King says: “I am a Persian. From Persia, I seized Egypt. I ordered the digging of this canal from a river called Nile, which flows in Egypt, to the sea which begins in Persia.  Afterwards this canal was dug just as I ordered, and ships flowed through this canal from Egypt to Persia, just as I wished.”

Egyptian text:
... Egypt.  There is no water in it... “Let the inspectors go... to dig the canal from... water... let a boat come... with inspectors carrying all the gifts.”  
...We did as his majesty commanded... 24 boats filled with... they arrived in Persia... all the... princes and inspectors... without... 
“You are King for all eternity... sand... all the... travelling to it since earliest time, they never found any water, but they used to bring... Your majesty has made... boats filled with their tribute. Everything your majesty has pronounced, now exists, like that which comes from the mouth of Ra.” 
And so his majesty ordered... “Write this up on a stele, inscribed... honour the god...” 
We did according to his majesty’s orders... Darius, may he live forever... no such thing has ever happened before.