 | ||
Persepolis is a beautiful ancient city that is located 70 km northeast of City of Shiraz in Islamic Republic of Iran. On those days, Persepolis was used as a capital of Archaemenid Empire which literally means "City of Persians".
Archaeological evidence shows that the earliest remains of Pesepolis date from around 515 BC. Cyrus the Great chose the site of Persepolis, but Darius I was the one who built the terraces and the great palaces. Darius ordered the construction of the Apadana Palace and The Council Hall, also the main imperial treasury and its surroundings. Those were completed during the reign of his son, King Xerexes the Great.bn
Archaeological evidence shows that the earliest remains of Pesepolis date from around 515 BC. Cyrus the Great chose the site of Persepolis, but Darius I was the one who built the terraces and the great palaces. Darius ordered the construction of the Apadana Palace and The Council Hall, also the main imperial treasury and its surroundings. Those were completed during the reign of his son, King Xerexes the Great.bn
Persepolis is near River Kur. he site includes a 125,000 square metre terrace, partly artificially constructed and partly cut out of a mountain, with its east side leaning on Kuh-e Rahmet ("the Mountain of Mercy"). The other three sides are formed by retaining wall, which vary in height with the slope of the ground.
Around 519 BC, construction of a broad stairway was begun. The stairway was planned to be the main entrance to the terrace 20 metres above the ground. The dual stairway, known as the Persepolitan stairway, was built in symmetrically on the western side of the Great Wall. The 111 steps were 6.9 metres wide with treads of 31 centimetres and rises of 10 centimetres. Originally, the steps were believed to have been constructed to allow for nobles and royalty to ascend by horseback. New theories suggest that the shallow risers allowed visiting dignitaries to maintain a regal appearance while ascending. The top of the stairways led to a small yard in the north-eastern side of the terrace, opposite the Gate of Nations.
Persepolitan architecture is noted for its use of wooden columns. Architects resorted to stone only when the largest cedars of Lebanon or teak trees of India did not fulfill the required sizes. Column bases and capitals were made of stone, even on wooden shafts, but the existence of wooden capitals is probable.
The buildings at Persepolis include three general groupings: military quarters, the treasury, and the reception halls and occasional houses for the King. Noted structures include the Great Stairway, the Gate of Nations, 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.
The UNESCO declared the citadel of Persepolis as a world heritage site on 1979. And until now, Persepolis still shines its grace to the world.
