Western staircase, Palace of Xerxes, looking towards the Apadana Palace, Persepolis, Iran
Persepolis (city of Persians) is located NE of Shiraz, Iran. It was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (ca. 550–330 BC). It became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979. Much of Persepolis was destroyed when it was sacked by the soldiers of Alexander the Great in 330 BC. A view of the Palace of Xerxes with its Egyptian style of door lintels and its Western staircase, looking towards the Apadana Palace. The face of the stairway contaIns a lion and bull motif and script reading: "The great king Artaxerxes, the king of kings, the king of countries, the king of this earth, says: I am the son of king Artaxerxes [II Mnemon]. Artaxerxes was the son of king Darius [II Nothus]. Darius was the son of king Artaxerxes [I]. Artaxerxes was the son king Xerxes. Xerxes was the son of king Darius [the Great]. Darius was the son of a man named Hystaspes. Hystaspes was a son of a man named Arsames, the Achaemenid. King Artaxerxes says: This stone staircase was built by me in my reign".
Size: 5000px × 3337px
Location: Palace of Xerxes, Persepolis, Iran
Photo credit: © Terry Allen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
Keywords: achaemenid, adventure, ancient, apadana, archeology, bull, city, culture, distance, doorways, egyptian, heritage, horizontal, iran, lintels, lion, massive, motif, palace, persepolis, persians, place, ruins, site, stairway, stone, style, tachara, tourism, travel, unesco, western, winter, world, xerxes
