Persepolis Site Iran
Ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire that is situated 60 km northeast of the city of Shiraz in Fars Province is Persepolis site in Iran. Iranians call it Takht-e Jamshid (The throne of Jamshid), Jamshid being the first, probably mythical, ruler of Iran. The legendary city is the former capital of Darius the Great and founded in 512 BC. There was no more impressive construction in the ancient world, except perhaps Karnak in Egypt. It was constructed by the famous Achaemenid Empire and was used as the capital for holding ceremonies and summer residence of the Achaemenid emperors.
History
The construction of this ancient site began during the reign of Darius I (552-486 B.C) about 518 B.C, and continued under his son Xerxes I (486-465B.C) And his grandson Artaxerxes I (464-425 B.C). The building operations of this magnificent ensemble went on for more than a century and it eventually began falling into ruin after the downfall of the Achaemenian dynasty. The inscriptions on the walls of Persepolis provide a lot of information about the magnificent Persian history and culture.
Alexander the Great burned this amazing site during his attack to Iran and most probably a great amount of books, artworks and cultural symbols were destroyed then. Sassanid kings also added some inscriptions to Persepolis. They are mostly located in Tachara palace, which was the palace of Darius the Great. Persepolis Site with its 2500 Years history is one of the most important sites in Iran which is registered to UNESCO World Heritage in 1979. Most of the information about the background of Achaemenids and their culture come from the inscriptions on stone and metal found on the walls and tablets of these palaces.
Architecture
It's name regards to Pars e City (Persian City), includes a 125,000 square meter terrace on Rahmat Mountains. Depressions were filled with soil and heavy rocks, which were joined together with metal clips for creating this level terrace. Stones from nearby Rahmat Mountain (the mountain of mercy) which were adequate in every way for the purpose, were used in the construction of this ensemble. It is considered as one of the most significant remnants of the history of past civilization beacause of its unique and masterminded architectural design. They hired many professional architects and artists from different nations at that time and made this incredible heritage with a unique urban architecture style. The palaces have simple design that consists of a square central hall which surrounded by several regular rows of columns and covered by a flat roof.
Different Parts of Persepolis Site
The structures of Takhte Jamshid incorporate three general groupings: military quarters, the treasury, and the party rooms and incidental houses for the King. There are a lot of parts in this site, Apadana Palace (Darius used it as official audiences), The Hadish Palace, Sad Sotoon palace (The military palace), Gate of all nations and Tachar Palace (Palace of Darius the Great) and the other beautiful parts. Also, there are several beautiful symbols which everyone mentions to some special things for example, lutus flower, refer to 12 months of year, the fighting between cow and Lion, symbol of Coming summer and leaving winter.