About Persepolis palace
Persepolis palace magnificent ruins are among the world’s greatest archaeological sites. The ruins of Persepolis palace inscribe on UNESCO’s World Heritage Site in 1979. As a history lover, there was no way to miss Persepolis palace as the world’s greatest archaeological sites.
Persepolis palace (Capital of Persia in Greek) or Takht-e Jamshid (The Throne of Jamshid) is a cultural-historical site located in Fars province, 60 km to the northeast of Shiraz City in present-day Iran. Jamshid was the first mythical ruler of Iran.
Persepolis palace story
This splendid palatial complex was ceremonial and glittering capital of Achaemenid Empire, gem of Achaemenid, summer capital or residence of Achaemenian emperors, the showpiece of Achaemenian art, and the great center of Persian Empire.
The ruins of Persepolis palace were once the richest city on earth. The royal palace with a wonder of gold and silver, ivory, and precious stones lay at the heart of the city. The construction of this impressive palace started by Darius I, one of Cyrus’s successors, in about 518 BC. Then it was completed over a period of 150 years by subsequent kings Xerxes I and Artaxerxes I Inspired by Mesopotamian models.
The royal city of Persepolis was known for its architecture, urban planning, construction technology, and art. This palace of Kings captured and burned to the ground by Alexander the Great in 330 BCE.
The usage of Persepolis palace
This cultural site as the seat of government of Achaemenid Empire and ensemble of majestic approaches, monumental stairways, throne rooms (Apadana), reception rooms, and annex buildings designed primarily to be a showplace and spectacular center for the receptions and festivals of the kings and their empire.
Persepolis palace as a symbol of Iran is a world of ancient mystery that located in Iran with some sites include Tachara palace (the oldest palace), Bas-reliefs, The Apadana palace, The Throne Hall, The Hall of Hundred Columns (Kakh-e Sad Sotun), Council Hall (Kakh-e showra) etc.
Today, the haunting and spectacular ruins of the site reveal both the glory of the Achaemenid Empire, and the abruptness of its passing.
Persepolis palace history
Persepolis palace, once the most famous city on earth, is the official capital of the largest ancient empire. Darius founded the city in 519 BC to make this city the most magnificent area of smuggling among the four territories of Susa, Ekbatan, Babylonia and Persepolis, which have been calculated in different regions in order to govern the Achaemenid kingdom in this vast empire Help.
At that time, March 21, representatives of various territories under Darius’s control came to Persepolis palace to celebrate Nowruz and bring the best gifts to the king. Persepolis engravings reflect the presence of the West, Babylonians, Phoenician, Ethiopians and Afghans with precious gifts such as gold and ivory.
Persepolis palace architecture
The delegation was headed by a Persian or material rejal of a two-way staircase that ended up facing the gate of nations. After passing through these stairs, they reached a magnificent ceremonial collection. On two sides of Gate of Nations, there were two statues of the stone guardian. The Gateway has a large 4-story hall. In the eastern and western entrances there are lion bodies with the head of human with the name of Xerxes l the king, written in three languages.
After the entrance to large hall, government guests sit on a black marble bench to pay tribute to the king. After the military authorities crossed the eastern side to the palace of Saddam, the guards were led to the Apadana Palace. Apadana, made by Darius the Great, is the most luxurious Persepolis palace. The palace has a circular hall with 72 columns of 20 yards, the 13th column still remains.
Why Persepolis palace?
The Achaemenid Empire is a familiar name for any history lover, and the ancient city of Persepolis palace is a valuable reminder of this dynasty. The heritage whose name is on Iran’s World Heritage List shines, and is an honor for all Iranian.
- One of the world heritages is Iran.
- It considered one of the largest empires in the world.
- It referred to as the most important Achaemenid heritages.
- It has hosted many celebrations throughout history.
- In terms of architecture and structure, it is a masterpiece in the world.
- Many consider it to be the most prominent and popular Iran’s ancient artifacts.
- In many posters and designs, the motifs and headstones of this heritage are used as symbols of Iran.
A brief introduction to Achaemenid history
Let’s have a brief acquaintance with the Achaemenid history in order to achieve better understanding of Persepolis palace. Here’s a brief overview of Iranian history. This may not be so appealing to you, but in this article of Chiyakotravel, we have tried to tell it in the simplest way so that you can properly understand what we are going to do next.
A state called Pars
In the southern part of Iran, there is a province called Fars, which used to be part of Pars or Fars. Old Fars, or Fars province, encompassed the current provinces of Fars, Bushehr, Hormozgan, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer Ahmad, and even Yazd and Behbahan County of Khuzestan province. A few thousand years ago native tribes of our land, especially Elamites lived in this state, and the remains of them show that Fars was very prosperous at that time.
Aryans entrance to Iran
Three thousand years before these tribes, a group of Indo-European people we know as Aryans came from today’s southern Russia. After strife with the inhabitants of this land, they settled there and set up their homes. Most of these were shepherds, herdsmen and nomads, and lived in tribal ways.
Zoroastrianism in the Persian kingdom
Around 1100 BC, Zoroastrianism arose and introduced the religion of Mazdayasna, a religion based on monotheism and belief in a single god, Ahurmazda. This religion recognized natural forces such as water, wind, fire, soil, and the sun from the attributes of God and considered the source of the evils in the presence of a demon called devil. At that time, the Aryans included large tribes, among them Persians, Medes, Scythians, the Balkans, Khwarazmians, Sogdians, and Parthians. All these tribes spoke a comprehensive language, but with different dialects, and named their land “Erioshi Nem” or “Iriano Khashasr”, the Persian Kingdom. Of course, the name was later changed to Iran Shatr and Iran Shahr, which is shortened to Iran.
Formation of Median State
In the late eighth century BC, Medes came together in western Iran to fight with the Assyrian looters. This war lasted a hundred years until the Assyrians were finally defeated, and Medes established a great government that remained for 120 years.
From the beginning to the end of Achaemenid period
Cyrus – King of Persia – was able to defeat Medes and create the world’s largest state. Persians lived around several places, including Anshan (45 kilometers northeast of Shiraz) and Pasargadae (135 kilometers northeast of Shiraz). Their capital was Pasargadae but later changed to Hamedan. Cyrus was assassinated after nearly thirty years of dominance in the war with the Massagetae nomads – and his son Cambyses sat on his throne.
Cambyses invaded Egypt and added this land to its territory. He faced an uprising of moths and died during the fight. Moghs or Moghans were a clan of Medes who practiced religious affairs. Darius, who was close to Cyrus, removed the Achaemenid throne from Moghans and ruled Iran for 36 years from 522 to 486 BC. Khashayarshah or Khashyarshah, Cyrus’ grandson, ruled Iran for 20 years, followed by Ardashir I for 43 years, Darius II for 20 years, Ardashir II for 44 years, Ardashir III for 21 years and Darius III for 6 years respectively sitting on king’s bed. Eventually Alexander the Great invaded our land and plundered the land and closed the Achaemenid government forever.
Get acquainted with Persepolis palace, the religious capital of Achaemenids
Persepolis palace or Jamshid throne is the name of one of the ancient cities of Iran in Fars province, located 10 kilometers north of Marvdasht and 57 kilometers from Shiraz. The original monument of Persepolis palace was founded by Darius the Great on a rock at the foot of Mount Rahmat, a mountain formerly called Mount Mehr or Mount Mitra, known until two centuries ago by the name of Shahi mountain. The mountain was sacred for ancient Iranians, and there are signs of this sacredness in the Elamite tablets of Persepolis palace, and even a vow to the mountain.
Most parts of this complex made in the plain of Marvdasht, the original name of which is Morgh-dasht or Khoram-dasht. This plain has been home of ancient civilizations and cultures of ancient times and Eilami. A city where Cyrus and his ancestors regarded as their royal city. In other words, the eastern side of the complex of Parsi palaces is located on the mountain of Rahmat and the other three sides are in the plain of Marvdasht. The city was expanded for many years by other Achaemenid kings such as Khashayarshah and Ardashir I and was the glorious and ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire for many years.
Everybody sketches the city through its columns and recognizes its spectacular headstones and searches for traces of history in its designs and paintings. In this ancient city there is a palace called Takht Jamshid (throne of Jamshid), which hosted the Achaemenid Empire on the first day of the New Year, and presented their offerings to the king.
Every piece of this 125,000 square meters city has a lot to say. The engravings, scrolls and inscriptions speak of these past columns and walls and tell stories of history.
The first recorded images of Persepolis palace| The Art of the Italian Photographer
So far, we have reviewed Persepolis palace together, and now we want to turn another page and look at one of the most important photos which left from this heritage. Persepolis palace, a building with thousands of years old, whose name appears on the UNESCO World Heritage List. You can’t find someone in the world who hasn’t heard the name Persepolis, but some people may not be very familiar with the identity of this structure.
What is left from Persepolis
The name Persepolis or Persepolis now referred to a historical ruin in Fars province, but you should know that in fact, Persepolis is the name of one of the ancient cities of Iran that founded during the Achaemenid rule and in the time of Darius the Great. This ancient city gradually developed, and kings such as Xerxes and Ardashir I added to its splendor, making Persepolis the glorious capital of the Achaemenid Empire for many years. Although in these days, Persepolis no longer has the glory of its past, and many parts of this structure have been destroyed or are not in their place, but you can still close your eyes and visualize those days in your mind. . Looking at the paintings and drawings of this building, we can see the greatness of the Achaemenid Empire.
History of images of Persepolis
Today, we want to go to Fars province under an interesting excuse and visit Persepolis palace region which is a relic of the Achaemenid capital. Around 1227 AH, an Italian colonel and photographer named Luigi Pesce came for our country.
Pesce is considered the first photographer to have captured images of Persepolis, Pasargadae and Naqsh-e Rustam.
At that time, Nasser al-Din Shah was in charge of Iranian government. Shah was very interested in modernizing Iran and at the head of all modern arts, he was very interested in photography. That’s why they hired this Italian colonel, and since then, Luigi has taken several pictures of those days in our country. Among the photographer’s recorded images are three portraits of Nasser al-Din Shah in his youth and a group photo. There is also an album of pictures of the architecture of that time and, of course, men from different classes of society in his collection of pictures which well reflect the living conditions of the people and courtiers at that time. Interestingly, there are no images of women in her photography collection. All these recorded photos are very valuable, but among them, there is a precious gem, and that is the collection of “the first recorded images of Persepolis”.
Nasser al-Din Shah, who had seen the pictures of this photographer, asked him to go to Persia and take photos of Persepolis palace, and of course, Luigi Moshe willingly accepted his request. Thus, around 1237 AD, this Italian photographer traveled to the ancient land of Persia and recorded valuable images of Persepolis, Pasargadae and Naqsh-e Rostam. He presented the album of these images to the young Nasser al-Din Shah which is currently being held at Golestan Palace. Of course, Mosquito donated some of his paintings to King William I of Prussia, then part of the German Empire, and another album of 75 photographs was donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. In the following, we want to see the first recorded images from Persepolis by this photographer.
The collection of images of Persepolis palace
1- A valuable treasure of history
2- UNESCO World Heritage Site
Persepolis palace was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1979, number 114, and is an honor for Iranians.
3- A unique opportunity for photography
Luigi Mosquito, with the help of Nasser al-Din Shah, had the chance to capture the first images of Persepolis palace.
4- Columns left from the Achaemenid Empire
5- A memorial to the three great kings of Iran
The ancient city of Persepolis was founded by Darius the Great, and kings such as Xerxes and Ardashir I rendered valuable services in this region, adding to the city’s splendor.
6- The glorious and ceremonial capital of the Achaemenids
The columns left from this structure still show the glory of the distant days.
7- The first time the camera lens fell on Persepolis palace
Luigi Moshe presented his first photographs of Persepolis palace in an album to Nasser al-Din Shah. The album is currently being held at Golestan Palace.
8. A memento of the world’s largest empire
9- Highlights full of words and speech
10- Gate Palace of countries
The Palace of the Gates of States or the Palace of Gates of All Nations was one of the palaces of Persepolis, located next to the entrance stairs. Today, the remains of its gates can be seen on the site. On the gates, the design of winged men and the design of two stone cows with human heads can be seen. At the top of these gates are six cuneiform inscriptions, which, after mentioning the name of Ahuramazda, express such a theme:
Everything that is beautiful is done at the request of Ormazd.
11- Oriental stairs of Apadana Palace
Apadana is one of the inner palaces of Takht-e Jamshid, which is famous for its motifs on the walls of its staircase.
12- One of the masterpieces of world architecture
13- Naqsh Rostam
Naghsh-e Rostam archeological complex is located in the north of Marvdasht city and six kilometers away from Persepolis palace. This ancient site is the tomb of four Achaemenid kings.
14- A valuable treasure for the whole world
Luigi Moshe did not leave these valuable images to Nasser al-Din Shah alone, but donated a number of them to William I; 75 photographs were also given to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
What we learn from Persepolis palace?
Persepolis palace is a leftover from ancient Persia which has transferred a lot of stories in its heart throughout the generations. History is a powerful and precious asset which remind us of our ancestors and what they did in their life. The glory of Persepolis palace and the importance of this royal site shows how Iranian kings had lived and what rich culture they grant for us. If you found this article interesting, please leave a comment for us and share with us your thoughts about Persepolis.
Read more: we are one of the best Iran tour and Iran visa operators in the world!
