Persepolis- A capital of Persia.
Perespolis was the capital of the Achaemenid Empire. The city ruins are in the Zagros Mountains in the country now known as Iran. Darius founded Persepolis shortly after 518BC. This was to replace an old capital that was called Pasargadae, which is about 40km to the north of where Persepolis was. Persepolis was actually modeled in many ways after the old capital Pasargadae.
Persepolis seemed to have many functions as a city. It had a major role in the religious life of ancient Persians. It also seemed to serve as a place to honor the king of the Empire at the time. Reasons why this seems to be is that there are a lot of shrines and monuments honoring certain kings. There is even buildings honoring old kings, who did honorable things, of the Persian Empire. The largest buildings in Persepolis are called the Apadana of Darius and the throne of Xerxes.
A panoramic view of the gardens and outside of the...
The Achaemenid empire at its greatest extent, incl...
PersepolisBoth were kings of the Persian Empire that did something important. Persepolis also had a military role, as the northern area of the city is military barracks etc. It is believed this is the work of the Persian king Artaxerxes. This was to most likely protect the city from any invasions that happen to attack the city. It was finally a place for the kings of the Persian Empire to store their treasures in the main palace in Persepolis.
Persepolis tells us a lot about the way of life in Ancient Persia. Especially the way of life for the nobles, upper class citizens and the royal family. It also tells us about the day-to-day duties of the king.
The way it tells us about these things is though pictures and carvings of scenes that happened in the city. One such scene has...