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Orchid Says: The Apadana is the largest building on the terrace at Persepolis. It is believed to be the main audience hall, where the kings received tribute and dignitaries. Only a handful of the 20m tall columns, capped with lions and bull captals remain. The major feature remaining are...
iwys Says: Many of the original structures have been re-erected since Professor Herzfeld's 1931 expedtion. This is the re-constructed Gate of Xerxes, also known as the Gate of all Nations, with it's guardian man-bulls. Above the bulls, on the inner side of the Gateway is a cuneiform...
iwys Says: The columns of the Apadana Palace form the image of Persepolis that people are most familiar with. Darius died in 486 BC before it was completed and the construction was continued by his son, Xerxes. There are thirteen columns still standing. Originally, the roof was...
iwys Says: The king's bath is supplied with water by a channel running down from the mountainside. The door of thc royal bath shows the king coming out cleaned and dressed, followed by two servants, with an umbrella and a fly swat. This domestic detail appealed to me.
iwys Says: At the base of the rock face, beneath the tombs, there are nine rock reliefs, depicting great episodes from the lives of the Sasanian kings. These include the investiture of Ardashir I, Bahram II in his royal court, two equestrian reliefs of Bahram II, the investiture of...
iwys Says: The royal necropolis of Naghsh-e Rostam is, if anything, even more impressive than the main site of Persepolis. It comprises four massive tombs hewn out of the rock face. The tombs are known locally as the 'Persian crosses', because of the shape of their facades. The...
iwys Says: The oldest relief at Naqsh-e Rostam is severely damaged and dates to 1000 BC. It shows a man with unusual head-gear and is thought to be Elamite in origin. It is part of a larger mural, most of which was removed at the command of Bahram II. The man with the unusual cap gives...
iwys Says: I saw this at the British Museum after I visited Persepolis. It was originally part of the facade on Palace G, which was constructed by Artaxerxes III (358-338 BC), but it was later moved to form the new north facade of Palace H, which is now totally in ruins. This sphinx...
iwys Says: The most complete structure still standing in Persepolis is the Palace of Darius, also known as the Tachara or Winter Palace. Twelve massive columns supported the roof of the central hall. King Artaxerxes III made later alterations to the palace including the addition of...
iwys Says: The Palace of Xerxes is quite similar in architectural style to the Palace of Darius, although it was twice as big and is slightly less well preserved than its neighbour. The best preserved part is the staircase. The main palace hall originally had 36 columns and was...
iwys Says: This is one of the most interesting details on the walls. The motif depicting the lion killing the bull is repeated many times on the walls of Persepolis. It may represent a contest between the forces of good and evil, with the bull representing the evil spirit Ahriman and...
Staircases of the Apadana Palace
Sambawalk Says: The best kept reliefs can be seen along the staircases of the Apadana Palace. There are 23 different scenes showing us the representatives of 23 different countries in the Achaemenian Empire, how they dressed, what weapons they carried and what treasury they brought from...
Sambawalk Says: The two completed graves behind Takhti Jamshid would then belong to Artaxerxes II and Artaxerxes III. The unfinished one is perhaps that of Arses of Persia, who reigned at the longest two years, or, if not his, then that of Darius III (Codomannus), who is one of those whose...
Taxi to Persepolis and others (2012 values)
BoraArasan Says: iran is in an economical crisis. Fuel prices are effected directly reason of crisis. And country's economy is based on fuel. Even it is so cheap for us (for we Turks specially) but locals worrying. That 's why taxi hiring prices also increased.if you want to hire a taxi i...
Taxi to Persepolis, Naqsh-e Rostam, Pasargadae
Sambawalk Says: I took a day trip by taxi from Shiaz to Persepolis, Naqsh-e Rostam, Naqsh-e Rajab, Pasargadae. The taxi is arrnaged by Anvari Hotel in Shiaz. It costs IR450,000 per car (May 2008). We started out at 7:30am and went back to hotel at 2pm. The whole duration time included about...
Helpfulness
The cuneiform script is the earliest known form of written expression and we owe its existence to the Sumerians. It changed throught the centuries, starting as pictorial representations and then slowly becoming more simplified (from about 1500 to 600 signs) and more abstract, like the scripts that you can see in Persepolis. Of course the writing became more phonological, too.
This first form of cuneiform script was at the base of the Old Persian alphabet found in Persepolis. No one could translate it until in 1835, at Behistun, Iran, a carved inscription of identical text in three languages (Old Persian, Babylonian, and Elamite) was discovered. Basically the very local version of the Rosetta stone.
Updated May 30, 2008
Helpfulness
Crowds at No Ruuz, the Iranian New Year, are nearly unbearable... from the terrace of Persepolis we could see hordes of people heading towards the ruins. So many people took away some of the charm, but we still managed to enjoy our visit - nearby smaller sites were less crowded and more pleasant, though. If you are traveling at this time of the year, it's maybe a good idea to head to Persepolis very early in the morning - and be at the entrance as soon as the gates open.
So many people means also smaller inconveniences... like going to the toilet. Queues are long and slow - and all toilets except one is a typical Iranian squat toilet, which I actually don't mind. However I learned that if you are a westerner you may skip the queue (don't worry, the lady at the door will not disapprove - if she notices you, she will tell you to skip the queue herself) and use the only western-style toilet, as no Iranians use it.
Updated May 30, 2008
MalenaN Says: Naqsh-e Rajab is a small site 3 km north of Persepolis, and it is near to Naqsh-e Rostam as well. Here you will find four early Sassanian bas-reliefs, which are important cultural remains. In the reliefs are motifs from the lives of Ardeshir Baabakaan (who was the founder of...
hydronetta Says: The tombs Naqsh-e Rostam are not far away from Persepolis and it’s definitely a must to see archaeological site. Curved on the cliffs high above the ground level are four tombs. They are believed to belong to Darius I, Artaxerxes, Xerxes I and Darius II. Underneath the tombs...
call_me_rhia Says: Persepolis is not actually Persepolis... to the ancient Persians it was Pārsa, the City of Persians. To contemporary Persians it ia Takht-e Jamshid, the Throne of Jamshid. To the ancient Greeks it was simply Persēs polis, Persian city, and by this name we know it...
Persepolis was founded by Darius the Great in 518 BC and it was the capital of an ancient Persian empire, which extended all the way across the Middle East, from Pakistan to Egypt. It remained one...
* TAKHT-E JAMSHID * THE THRONE OF JAMSHID *
For more photos see my travelogue BAS RELIEFS AND FRIEZES . .
Persepolis stood on a limestone terrace overlooking the marvdasht plain, at the foot of the kuh-e-rahmat,the mountain of mercy. The sassanid capital of gur lies about two miles north-west of the...
Build your own Takht-e Jamshid (Persepolis) page
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