Persepolis (Takht-e Jamshid)

🕰️When was it built?

Building began in 518 BC. Its founder was Darius the Great, and after him his son Xerxes and his grandson Artaxerxes I added new palaces. It flourished for nearly 200 years, until Alexander of Macedon invaded Iran in 330 BC and set it on fire.

🏛️What was it built for?

It was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenids. On the first day of each new year, envoys from the lands under the king's rule gathered here with their offerings and presented their gifts to the king. The Apadana palace was built for these Nowruz celebrations and for receiving the envoys.

👀What you will see

• The main stairway at the entrance to the terrace, with 111 wide, low steps on each side.
• The Gate of All Nations, or Gate of Xerxes, the entrance building, 10 metres high.
• The Apadana palace, where 14 of its 72 columns still stand.
• The reliefs of the Apadana's eastern stairway: envoys from different lands carrying gifts in their hands.
• The Tachara palace, with inscriptions left on its walls by later kings, from the Sasanians to the Qajars.
• The Hall of a Hundred Columns, the Hadish palace and the Treasury.

💡Something interesting

The name Parsa was forgotten after the Achaemenids, because no one could read the Old Persian script and language any more. People gave these palaces the name of Jamshid, a legendary king. After Islam it was also called Chehel Menar (Forty Minarets) and Hezar Sotun (Thousand Columns).