Persepolis: A masterpiece of the Achaemenid civilization

Around 2500 years ago among old historical civilizations the Achaemenid dynasty rose and flourished in the plateau of Persia or Iran. They started to establish and spread one of the vast and glorified empires in the world, its borders stretched from borders of India and China to the very west of borders to Europa and from north to Cyberia and in south to Persian Gulf and even to the south until Indian Ocean. Even though they conquered many places in the ancient world, their main key to success was justice and wisdom. In any attack to other countries and in each military expedition the commanders and rulers of Achaemenid dynasty asked from the soldiers not to attack and burn houses of ordinary people and never rape or invade women and after conquering the cities they never asked people to change their religion and they accepted to follow human rights at that old time. So the kings of Achaemenid dynasty were the first leaders of human rights amnesty and you can find the very old and first human rights on the Cyrus cylinder which was written around 2500 years ago.

Where is Persepolis ?

57 km away from north of Shiraz and in  small city called Marvdasht you can find one of the marvels of historical world in footage of “Rahmat” or blessed mountains its name  in Farsi is “Takht-E-jamshid” , it is also known as Persepolis in western world. Persepolis is a huge stone city made and established all in a preformed stone platform around 12500 square meters . Its enormous and huge size is around 300 m in the north border and 430 m in the eastern front and 390 m in the south border. There is no doubt around glorifying time of establishment the size of the city and borders were more than this size.
About the exact time of establishment of this stone ceremonial city no evidence is found but most of historians agree that the first steps of making this platform which lasts for 3 decades to be ready is 518 BC and by the order the Darius the great and to show the magnificence and glory of the Achaemenid dynasty the first stones of Persepolis put together and it lasts nearly 200 years to be complete.
But you should know this huge structure which contains many halls and facilities never completed because of the Alexander invasion and all the structures burnt and destroyed by one night. What you see today is the remaining of demolished structures destroyed by the alexander and all the remaining which covered and buried under thick layer of earth and mud and uncovered and  renewed by the famous architect “Andre Godard” and after years of excavations opened to public as the first and most important historical site in Iran or middle east.
The Persepolis Iran complex includes palaces, service wards, borders and guardian sections, irrigation and water supply and water reservoirs and sewage systems and two graves of two kings and other special facilities which each one dedicated to special events and functionality and all of this huge city was controlled by the army and a very sophisticated and well organized security system which known as immortal guards. These guards were the most well organized and military educated guards and soldiers which their number were fixed and if one or few of them died for any reason as wars or natural events, in shortest time the dead soldiers or guards replaced by another one in a way the number of immortals was fixed and never declined even after heavy invasions.

Deep dive to the history of Persepolis Iran

The first steps of making this huge city after completing the platform started from the south and by making the “Teacher” and private palace of Darius the great. All walls and stones and other structures were well colored and covered by tiles and enameled bricks and all the details were well ornamented by silver and gold, all the crest and crowns of the kings were covered by thick layer of gold and in the palace of Darius , Xerxesi and artaxerxes some precious stones like emerald, rubies and even diamonds, lapis lazuli and turquoise were added to the walls and sculptures and statues in a very detailed and sophisticated manner which were well known in ancient world as the glorifying empire of Achaemenids in ancient world .
Most of the stones used in Persepolis is made from lime stones in gray and deep gray to black which were like a mirror after polishing and because of this some of the structures known as mirror halls because the stones were highly polished and well finished as shiny as mirrors and the noblemen which lived there could watch themselves in the hall which reflected the light in the morning and illuminated the interior spaces in a very bright way. Because in old times there was no electricity those shiny walls and stones helped to bring more light to the halls and interiors.
Some of those stones were cut from the mount in the corner of  platform and mount “Rahmat” and some of them cut and extracted from a mount nearly 40 km far from platform and some of them cut and brought to the platform, Persepolis, nearly 2 km far from “Rhamat” mountain. The reason for supplying stones from different mines was the color and hardness of stones which were used in different parts of the structure by different quality and aim of usage in the whole platform. For example for making pillars they used a kind of stone by specific mechanical characteristics and for the capitals they used another stone different from color and hardness to make more ornamental specifications and for covering the floors and walls they used another shiny and hard stones which lasted even today and now we understand how knowledgeable were the masters of old times in knowing the stone characteristics and how sophisticated they were in architecture and making the structure.
There are two stairways in symmetry of each other to the south of the platform. It is known that in old times the noblemen in long robes and elite outfit came in glory and stepped up by help of servants or alone or in some cases riding their horses to the top of the platform and entered the gate or hall of all nations. From here a guard or military police guarded and escorted them all the time as this city was exactly in hands of militaries and well protected by the educated soldiers the whole year.
Actually this city was exactly ceremonial and mostly used in New Year ceremonies and special events mostly related to the Iranian Calendar and in other times of the year it was protected by militaries and related forces like immortals and other soldiers. The very vast and huge structure and the most beautiful congress hall in old history of Iran is “Apadana” which is a building started by Darius the great and finished around Xerxes. This huge congress hall which had extra size pillars and different facilities and different entrances was used in New Year to accept noblemen and tribute bearers from all provinces or “Satrapies” from all different corners of the empire to show off the power and authority of the emperor and kings which ruled that vast territory from India to Europe and announce the other rulers to obey all the orders of emperor and never betray the rulers during long years of ruling Persian empire.
In all places of the ceremonial city of Persepolis Iran you can find ornamental pieces , carvings, sculptures and other things to add beauty to the whole structure and every detail shows how important the city was for the Achaemenid kings and rulers 25 centuries ago. It is interesting to know in all structures of Persepolis you cannot find any use of mortar or any kind of paste and all the stones were so well cut which there was not need to use any kind of paste or cement and all the stones where put dried on each other and in few places they used steel and iron joints fixed by molten lead and gold coverings. Unfortunately during the time thieves stole golden plats and iron is rotten and the leads were powered because of oxidation. Today in few places you can find the place of iron joints but even the revenge of time could not destroy this huge structure and most of the city and structures are intact and well preserved during 25 centuries after its establishment.
In favor of knowing this structure you should know as this city was a very active and sophisticated structure and city you can find many congress halls , treasury, official buildings, palaces and even a very sophisticated sewage system to remove the water from rain and flush floods and fortunately this sewage system showed its functionality recent years after a very heavy rain storm and flush floods and less than 3 hours all the water left from the structure to the lower plain without any damage or destroying to the remaining stones and structures.
In Persepolis there are 3 graves of Achaemenid kings which by climbing the mountains above you can reach and visit them. These rock cut tombs belong to different kings achaemenid era including  the rock cut tomb of Artaxerxes I in form of a modified Elam era stone tombs like a cross engraved by artistic forms of the society, Ahura Mazda the god and Zoroastrian cuneiforms, pillars and many different forms about ruling system in old Persian society. Inside the tomb there is a big stone coffin which was broken by thieves and conquests during history and it is empty of anything today. Most of the gold and other precious things are stolen. The entrance is locked by a big slab of stone and notarized and sealed by a special locking system of time in old times. Many other rock cut tombs are made around this mount and all belonged to the kings like Artaxerxes I.   There is a big water reservoir to supply the city by gathering and preserving the water of springs in mountains and preserving the precious water in hot deserts around Persepolis. Even today this stone water reservoir is active and there is water enough inside it to be used by the people who work in Persepolis and irrigating the trees and other water usage.

Why Persepolis is called Persepolis 

To find out etymology of Persepolis it is better to ask from linguistics and historians but in a very short form we can say The very real name of Persepolis in old Farsi language means Pahlavi’s language was “Parseh” or “Takht-E-jamshid” and even today most of Iranian people name this place as old fashion language as “Takht-E-jamshid” but in western world this place known and named as Persepolis. parse comes from the Persian nation and polis means the super city so Persepolis means the super city of Persians. To find out and know this huge structure you need to read books but the best way to know this city is visiting it. To visit this enormous, magnificent and glorified city you need at least one full day and no doubt you need a sophisticated guide to explain all details and control timing to show you any detail you need to know.
As Persepolis is far from city Shiraz you should start in very early morning and because the opening and closing time are changing and different during different seasons of the year it is better you consult our team of tour and travel service providers on sanapersian.travel site or find  us on social media. Our people are ready to answer your questions about Shiraz and Persepolis in detail and help you to find the best program according to your needs and desires.Our team in sanapersian never leave you alone in any part of your program to make a memorable time for you and your beloved family during visiting Iran, Fars province, Shiraz and exclusively Persepolis in detail.
One of the very special point of Persepolis is there are two hotels which you cans stay and accommodate there for one or two nights to watch the sunrise and  sunset of this beautiful city of Persepolis Iran and enjoy more if you are more interested to this old historical stone city which is ages more than 2500 years. In normal situations most of the tourists and group tours stay in the capital city of Fars province, which means Shiraz and in one full day excursion tour they visit this stone city and return to Shiraz or continue their tour to other cities. If you are very interested in Persepolis and you want to find out more about this city it is recommended to stay at least one night in the hotel near Persepolis or in the city near Persepolis, Marvdasht. We are looking forward to visiting you in Iran, Fars, Shiraz and Persepolis in near future. Until then.