Persepolis (Old-Persian: Pārśa[2]), also spelled Perspolis, was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (ca. 550–330 BC)

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Persepolis (Old-Persian: Pārśa[2]), also spelled Perspolis, was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (ca. 550–330 BC). Persepolis is situated 70 km northeast of the modern city of Shiraz in the Fars Province of modern Iran. The earliest remains of Persepolis date from around 515 BCE. UNESCO declared the citadel of Persepolis a World Heritage Site in 1979. To the ancient Persians, the city was known as Pārsa. The English word Persepolis is derived from the Greek Persépolis (Περσέπολις), compound of Pérsēs (Πέρσης) and pólis (πόλις), meaning "Persian city". In contemporary Persian, the site is known as Takht-e Jamshid (تخت جمشید, "The Throne of Jamshid"), and Chehel minar (چهل منار, "The Forty Columns/Minarets"). Archaeological evidence shows that the earliest remains of Persepolis date from around 515 BC. André Godard, the French archaeologist who excavated Persepolis in the early 1930s, believed that it was Cyrus the Great (Kūrosh) who chose the site of Persepolis, but that it was Darius I (Daryush) who built the terrace and the great palaces. Darius ordered the construction of the Apadana Palace and the Council Hall (the Tripylon or three-gated hall), the main imperial Treasury and its surroundings. These were completed during the reign of his son, King Xerxes the Great (Khashayar). Further construction of the buildings on the terrace continued until the downfall of the Achaemenid dynasty

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Size: 2911px × 4367px
Location: Shiraz, Iran
Photo credit: © Alireza Teimoury / Alamy / Afripics
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Keywords: achaemenid, ancient, apadana, empire, fars, gate, hall, iran, jamshid, nations, palace, persepolis, persian, shiraz, soldiers, takht, throne, tombs