Takht-e Jamshid ( Persepolis )

Ahura Mazda in Almighty God who created the Earth, created the heavens and created happiness for people...

T akht-e jamshid or as the Greeks called it, persepolis, is a ruined capital of the ancient Iran, about 60 Kms north -east of Shiraz. It is one of the greatest artistic legacies of the ancient world, founded by Darius I ( 550-486 B.C. ), an Achaemenid king, in 518 B.C.He intended to build a capital in his homeland unique throughout history. He decided to found the capital on the slope of a mountain now called Rahmat, located in the Marvdasht plain, regarded as a holy place by him. Takht-e jamshid was completed by Xerxes and Artaxerxes I who ruled iran from 486 to 465 B.C. and from 465 to 425 respectively The palaces were used by the Achaemenid kings up until they were destroyed by Alexander in 330 B.C.

About Persepolis (Takht-e-Jamshid) in Fars province

On top of the rocky mountain of Rahmat in the plain of Marvdasht, the ruins of Takht-e-Jamshid palace are pre-eminent. Construction of these palaces started at the time of Darius I (521 BC) and was not completed in less than a period of 150 years. Takht-e-Jamshid is registered as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

The entrance of the complex is formed by a two-ramp stairway composed of 110 rather wide and short steps. On top of the stairways is the main entrance or `The Great Gate`, marked by two statues of a bull with a human head and a pair of wings. There are two exits, one to the south and the other to the east. The south exit or gate connects to the Apadana Palace .

Takht-e-Jamshid is 125 thousand sq.m. in area, and is composed of the main sections:

- Official reception halls and palaces

- Smaller and more private palaces

- Royal treasury

- Private fort and special fortification

Various edifices or palaces that have been built are as follows:

- The Small Palace or the Gate of All Nations

- The Apadana Palace

- The Palace of Darius ,(one of the primary palaces constructed on the Takht-e-Jamshid rock, which was also called the `Tachar` Palace.)

- Hall or palace of a Hundred Columns

- The Semifinished Gate or palace

- Treasury of Takht-e-Jamshid

- The Three Doorway or Consultation Palace or Hall

- The stone well

- Tombs of Ardeshir II and III

- The Palace of Khashayar Shah (called `Hadish`)

Takht-e-Jamshid was set ablaze by Alexander the Greek (330 BC) after which only ruins have remained. From these ruins, the Apadana Palace , at the main entrance, with 36 columns and three balconies (12 columns in each) in the north, south and eastern sections of the palace have been remained. The northern and eastern terraces are connected to the gardens opposite. The height of the platform in the Apadana Palace is 16 m. and the height of its columns is 18 m.