Persepolis Travel Guide | Iran Travel Information
The site's
Iranian name is Takht-e-Jamshid, "The throne of Jamshid", a mythical
King of Iran. The ancient name is "Parsa", "Pars's Town".
Provincial of Fars. Altitude 1,800 meters, 60 km N-E of Shiraz on an excellent
road, 420 km S of Esfahan on a good road. International airport at Shiraz.
National airport at Persepolis.
Though archaeologists have discovered evidence of
prehistoric settlement, inscriptions indicate that construction of the city
began under Darius I the Great (reigned 522–486 BC),
who, as a member of a new branch of the royal house, made Persepolis the
capital of Persia proper, replacing Pasargadae, the burial place of Cyrus the
Great. Built in a remote and mountainous region, Persepolis was an inconvenient
royal residence, visited mainly in the spring. The effective administration of
the Achaemenian Empire was carried on from Susa, Babylon, or Ecbatana. This
accounts for the Greeks being unacquainted with Persepolis until Alexander the Great's invasion of Asia. In 330 BC Alexander
plundered the city and burned the palace of Xerxes, probably to symbolize the
end of his Panhellenic war of revenge. In 316 BC Persepolis was still the
capital of Persis as a province of the Macedonian empire. The city gradually
declined in the Seleucid period and after, its ruins attesting its ancient
glory. In the 3rd century AD the nearby city of Istakhr became the centre of
the Sasanian empire.
The first westerner to visit Persepolis was Antonio de Gouveia from Portugal who
wrote about cuneiform
inscriptions following his visit in 1602. His first written report on Persia,
the "Jornada", was published in 1606. The first scientific excavation
at Persepolis was carried out by Ernst
Herzfeld in 1931,
commissioned by the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. He believed the reason
behind the construction of Persepolis was the need for a majestic atmosphere,
as a symbol for their empire and to celebrate special events, especially the “Nowruz”, (the
Persian New Year held on 21 March). For historical reasons and deep rooted
interests it was built on the birthplace of the Achaemenid dynasty, although
this was not the centre of their Empire at that time.
The main
characteristic of Persepolitan architecture is its columns, which were made of
wood. Only when even the largest cedars of Lebanon or the
teak trees of India
did not fulfill the required sizes did the architects resort to stone. The
bases and the capitals were always of stones, even on wooden shafts, but the
existence of wooden capitals is probable.
The remains
including the bas-reliefs and sculptures provide an insight into hearts and
beliefs of the ancient Persians (Iranians). The buildings at Persepolis are
divided into three areas; military quarters, the treasury and the reception and
occasional houses for the King of Kings. These included the Great Stairway, the
Gate of Nations (Xerxes), the Apadana palace of Darius, the Hall of a Hundred
Columns, the Tripylon Hall and Tachara palace of Darius, the Hadish palace of Xerxes, the
palace of Artaxerxes
III, the Imperial Treasury, the Royal Stables and the Chariot house.
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