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 Gate of All Nations in Persepolis | |
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  Shown within Iran  Persepolis (West and Central Asia) | |
| Location | Marvdasht, Fars Province, Iran[1] |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 29°56′06″N 52°53′24″E / 29.935°N 52.890°E |
| Type | Settlement |
| History | |
| Builder | Darius I, Xerxes I and Artaxerxes I |
| Material | Limestone, mud-brick, cedar wood |
| Founded | 6th century BC |
| Abandoned | 330 BC |
| Periods | Achaemenid Empire |
| Cultures | Persian |
| Events |
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| Site notes | |
| Condition | Ruins |
| Management | Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization of Iran |
| Public access | Open |
| Website | persepolis.ir |
| Architecture | |
| Architectural styles | Achaemenid |
| Official name | Persepolis |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | i, iii, vi |
| Designated | 1979 (3rd session) |
| Reference no. | 114 |
| Region | Asia-Pacific |
Persepolis (/pərˈsɛpəlɪs/; Old Persian: 𐎱𐎠𐎼𐎿, romanized: Pārsa; New Persian: تخت جمشید, romanized: Takht-e Jamshīd, lit. 'Throne of Jamshid') was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (c. 550–330 BC). It is situated in the plains of Marvdasht, encircled by the southern Zagros mountains, Fars province of Iran. It is one of the key Iranian cultural heritage sites and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979.[2]
The earliest remains of Persepolis date back to 515 BC.[3] The city, acting as a major center for the empire, housed a palace complex and citadel designed to serve as the focal point for governance and ceremonial activities.[4] It exemplifies the Achaemenid style of architecture. The complex was taken by the army of Alexander the Great in 330 BC, and soon after, its wooden parts were completely destroyed by fire, likely deliberately.[3]
The function of Persepolis remains unclear. It was not one of the largest cities in ancient Iran, let alone the rest of the empire, but appears to have been a grand ceremonial complex that was only occupied seasonally; the complex was raised high on a walled platform, with five "palaces" or halls of varying size, and grand entrances. It is still not entirely clear where the king's private quarters actually were. Until recently, most archaeologists held that it was primarily used for celebrating Nowruz, the Persian New Year, held at the spring equinox, which is still an important annual festivity in Iran. The Iranian nobility and the tributary parts of the empire came to present gifts to the king, as represented in the stairway reliefs. It is also unclear what permanent structures there were outside the palace complex; it may be better to think of Persepolis as only one complex rather than a "city" in the usual sense.[3]
The exploration of Persepolis from the early 17th century led to the modern rediscovery of cuneiform writing and, from detailed studies of the trilingual Achaemenid royal inscriptions found on the ruins, the initial decipherment of cuneiform in the early 19th century.[5]
- ^ "Location of Persepolis". Google Maps. Archived from the original on 20 April 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
- ^ UNESCO World Heritage Centre (2006). "Pasargadae". Archived from the original on 5 March 2020. Retrieved 26 December 2010.
- ^ a b c Mousavi, Ali, Persepolis: Discovery and Afterlife of a World Wonder, p. 53, 2012, Walter de Gruyter, ISBN 978-1614510338, Google Books Archived 20 April 2023 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Gates, Charles (2011). Ancient cities: the archaeology of urban life in the ancient Near East and Egypt, Greece and Rome (2nd ed.). London: Routledge. pp. 186–187. ISBN 978-0-203-83057-4.
- ^ Mousavi, Ali (14 March 2012). "VI. Persepolis and the Puzzle of Cuneiform Inscriptions". Persepolis. De Gruyter. pp. 113–122. doi:10.1515/9781614510338.113. ISBN 978-1-61451-028-4.
In this way, the exploration of the ancient ruins at Persepolis proved to be an important key to the development of historical and archaeological studies in the first half of the nineteenth century.