ATIFAH

PERSIA AND THE CITY OF PERSEPOLIS SYAZWANI

IZZUDIN
 PERSEPOLIS
 518 BCE
 King Darius utilized influences and materials from all over his empire, which included
Babylon, Egypt, Mesopotamian and Greece
 At the height of the Persian Empire it stretched from India to Africa
 Persia today is known as Iran
 The city included extensive use of columns
 DARIUS THE GREAT
Member of the king’s body guard
Overthrew the king in 522 BC
Took power and created a well-organized efficient
government
Brought peace and stability
Expanded the empire by 500 miles
But could not conquer Greece
PERSIA IS IN THE MODERN DAY IRAN
PLAN OF PERSEPOLIS

This great complex was created by at least

three Persian monarchs (Darius, Xerxes,
Antxxerxes) as one of the capitals of the
Persian Empire. Its ruins reveal architectural
influences from other cultures in
Mesopotamia, notably the Hittites and
Assyrians, as well as the Egyptians.
PERSEPOLIS
1. APADANA
2. TREASURY
3. DARIUS’S PALACE
4. XERXES GATE
5. STAIRWAY
6. XERXES’S PALACE
7. HAREM / QUEEN QUARTERS
8. HALL OF HUNDRED COLUMNS
9. HALL OF 32 COLUMNS
10. TOMB OF ANTXXERXES III
11. UNFINISHED GATE
1.APADANA (AUDIENCE HALL)
Belongs to the oldest building phase of the palace
complex, the grand design by Darius I the Great (r.
522486).
 On this place, the great king received the tribute
from all the nations in the Achaemenid Empire, and
gave presents in return.
One of the arguments to assume that this was the
function of the Apadana, is the splendid relief on the
eastern stairs, which consists of representations of all
nations in the Achaemenid Empire.
 It was clearly important, because the same relief was repeated on the northern
stairs when the main entrance was moved from the east to the north. When people
came to pay tribute, they saw on the stairs representations of themselves.
Perhaps, this festival was celebrated at the beginning of spring, when the Iranian
nations celebrate Now Ruz, even today. Although this theory is attractive, and
although the celebration of a gift exchange festival in the Apadana is very likely,
there is no hard evidence for the date of its celebration.
the center part of the northern stairs shows king Darius on his throne, crown prince
Xerxes behind him, two incense burners, and an important official, probably
Pharnaces. He salutes the king, and announces the arrival of the tribute carriers, who
are also represented on the wall near the stairs.
View from the southwest The Chehel Sotun palace in Isfahan

The famous columns of

the Apadana

A column base The northeastern corner

VOCABULARY WORDS
The COLUMN is divided into three parts:
The BASE
The SHAFT
The CAPITAL
This shaft is FLUTED
 APADANA, NORTH STAIRS
The northern stairs of the Apadana at Persepolis are hard
to date.
They may belong to the original design by Darius I the
Great, but it seems more likely that they were built after
Xerxes had ordered the building of the Gate of All Nations.
This was the official access to the terrace, and from here,
the easiest entrance of the Apadana were its northern stairs.
Compared to the eastern stairs, the reliefs are of a rather
poor quality.
The bales of wool that the Yauna carry on the eastern relief,
were not understood by the sculptors of its northern
counterpart, where they are carrying some kind of globe.
The theme, however, is the same.
People are bringing tribute to the great king. Many
courtiers are shown, like the Persians and Medes on the
pictures below.
People are bringing tribute to the great king

fight between the lion and the bull is wellknown

 APADANA, EAST STAIRS
 The eastern stairs of the Apadana at Persepolis show a
procession of people bringing tribute to the Achaemenid
king.
 The reliefs were made in the last years of the sixth century,
and probably executed by Yaunâ artists.
 We are allowed to identify the king on the central scene with
Darius the Great (r. 522486), but the relief is also an
idealization: the king who receives the presents is not a
particular individual, but embodies Persian rule.

1. The northern wall: representations of all kinds of Persian

dignitaries, horsemen, and chariots.
2. The center: eight soldiers and the sun god.
3. The southern wall (picture below): all nations of the Persian
Empire
 2. TREASURY
Belongs to the oldest building phase of persepolis, the
great design by king Darius I the great.
One of the most important symbols of the great king's
power
Many people were employed to keep the gold and silver
shining
No less than 1348 people were employed in the treasury
(here seen from the southeast). It was rebuilt several times.
 3. DARIUS’S PALACE
 The palace known as Taçara, "winter palace", in
Persepolis was, according to the inscription known
as DPa, built by king Darius I the Great.
 However, the great king did not live to see it
finished. It was completed after his death in 486 by
his son and successor Xerxes, as we can read in an
inscription he left behind (XPc). Its ruins are
immediately south of the Apadana.
 Compared to Xerxes' Palace, the Apadana and the
Treasury, Taçara has remained wellpreserved. The
big stone structures have survived; only the parts of
wood have vanished.
 THE PALACE OF DARIUS

Palace of Darius

The Palace seen from south

The western entrance, added

by Artaxerxes III Ochus

The palace, seen from the south The southern facade

4. XERXES GATE
 The construction of the Stairs of All Nations
and the Gate of All Nations was ordered by
the Achaemenid king Xerxes (486-465)
Gate of all Nations, eastern entrance
 The successor of the founder of Persepolis,
Darius I the Great .
Like Gate R in Pasargadae, the entrance of
the Gate of All Nations was protected by
bulls .
A lamassu; eastern entrance of
The entire monument was a giant the Gate of All Nations
construction with two large doors in the west
and east and a hall between them .
The columns of the central halls were 16
meters high
 5.STAIRWAY
The construction of the large Stairs of All
Nations in Persepolis was ordered by king
Xerxes(486-465).
The son and successor of the founder of
the city, Darius I the Great.
The individual stairs are very low.
This was to enable horsemen to climb to
the terrace.
The first building one encountered
upstairs, was the Gate of All Nation.
It inspired the Parthian architects of the
sanctuary in Konkoba .
STAIRCASE TO THE UPPER TERRACE, PERSEPOLIS,
IRAN, CA. 518 BCE.

Isolated columns from the Apadana of Darius

are visible, with doorways from Darius’s palace
in the background
6. PALACE OF XERXES
The palace of Xerxes at Persepolis,
called Hadiš in Persian, "dwelling place",
was twice as large as the Palace of
Darius.
The house of Xerxes is badly damage
it’s likely explanation is that it received a
special treatment when the Macedonian
king Alexander the Great destroyed
Persepolis in 330.
The main room had 36 columns and
was surrounded by six smaller rooms:
three to the east, and three to the west.
 face has been destroyed
with a hammer, and someone
must have made a great
effort to create a hole near
the king's ear

from the right are partly

due to natural causes

PREPARED TO BE DESTROYED
7.HAREM\ QUEEN QUARTERS
The "Queen's Quarters" or "harem" is
the name of several buildings in the
southeastern part of the terrace of
Persepolis .
The name "harem" is perhaps better
avoided. It should be stressed that
Achaemenid harems never existed and
are in fact an invention by western
scholars.
The decoration of the Queen's Quarters
is not very different from the rooms of
the king reliefs of royal warriors fighting
against lions.
 8.HALL OF 100 COLUMNS
Started by the Achaemenid king Xerxes; the building was finished by his son and successor
Artaxerxes I Makrocheir (465424) .
Second largest building , 70x70 meters.
The entrance was to the north, where a portico was decorated by two large bulls.
The entrances themselves two on each of the four sides of the square building were decorated
with the usual motifs:. audience scenes, throne scenes, and "royal warriors" fighting against wild
animal

In front the Garrison Quarters Hall of 100 columns A bull at the northern gate One of the entrances
Hall of Hundred Columns; in front the Garrison Quarters
The entrance was to the north, where a
portico was decorated by two large
bulls. The entrances themselves - two on
each of the four sides of the square
building - were decorated with the
usual motifs:. audience scenes, throne
scenes, and "royal warriors" fighting
against wild animals.

A bull at the northern gate The entrances

Its function was changed
and it became a store room,
probably because
the Treasury had become
too small to contain all
treasures that were hoarded
in Persepolis.
A new function may have
been envisioned, however,
because Artaxerxes III
Ochus was building a new
road and a new gate to the
palace, suggesting that the
Hall of Hundred Columns
might have been used for
audience.
Audience scene on one of the entrances: the king receives the mayor of the palace
 Reconstruction

People carrying the king's throne Throne scene on one of the

entrances: the king and a Part of the canopy above the audience
servant with a fly whisk scene, decorated with flowers, bulls, and
lions
9. HALL OF 32 COLUMN
The Hall of thirtytwo columns in
Persepolis (map 9) was built by
Artaxerxes III Ochus (358338), but its
function is unclear .
. It had one portico, but was essentially
a closed building.

This blue faience.

Portico
10.TOMB OF ANXERXES III
There are six finished Achaemenid royal
tombs. Four of them have been discovered at
Naqši Rustam and two at Persepolis .
The four at Naqši Rustam belong to Darius I
the Great, Xerxes, Artaxerxes I Makrocheir,
and Darius II Nothus.
The relieff on the upper part of the tomb
shows the king sacrificing to the eternal, sacred
fire and the supreme god Ahuramazda .
Fourthcentury relief
The capitals of the pilasters of this tomb are
especially well preserved, they show bulls from Egypt, showing
carrying the roof. an Achaemenid
king, probably
the motif of "carrying" is repeated on the Artaxerxes III
upper level, where people carry the platform (Allard
with the king Bull capital
Piersonmuseum,
Amsterdam
 11.UNFINISHED GATE
Construction of the Unfinished Gate of
Persepolis (map 11) was probably
started by king Artaxerxes III Ochus
(358338), and ought to have been
continued by his successors Artaxerxes IV
Arses (338-336) and Darius III
Codomannus (336-330).
 There was civil war going , this
probably caused why the gate is never
finished .
 TRIPYLON
The Tripylon ("triple gate") of Persepolis can be
found between theApadana and the Hall of
Hundred Columns. This suggests that it was built
after the completion of these two buildings, but this
is no more than a speculation. Other scholars argue
for an earlier date.
The three gates were decorated
Eastern gate, we can see the king sitting on his
throne, attended by the crown prince.
The southern and northern gates showed the king
with an attendant, leaving the building. Both
representations are well-known; parallels can be
seen in a/o the Palace of Xerxes and the Hall of
Hundred Columns.
Southern gate Eastern gate
In fact a meeting place, where the king could receive his advisers They call it the Council hall.
Others stress that it is just a monumental corridor between three buildings. The fact that there is
sufficient room between the gates to host several people, is not really decisive; the interior of the
Gate of All Nations is also pretty spacious, and this does not mean that it served as a meeting
place.
The capitals of the four columns in the hall represented a man's head with a bull's body.
These mythological beings are called lamassu's and originated in Babylonia and Assyria.
The Persians adopted them and we can see them in Persepolis in the Gate of All Nations.
The general idea behind lamassu's is that they warded off evil; therefore, they are usually
placed in a gate. This might suggest that the Tripylon was a gate too (and not a Council Hall), but
these lamassu's served as capitals, which is unusual.
To the north of the building is a flight of stairs, decorated with guardsmen. If you descend the
stairs, you're close to the Eastern stairs of the Apadana.
STAIRCASE NORTH
OF THE TRYPILON
AND DETAIL
 Persepolis was largely destroyed by a vengeful
Alexander, when it remained as capital of a
Macedonian province, but gradually declined. The
south wall still bears Darius’ inscription, ‘God
protect this country from foe, famine and
falsehood’. He didn’t, but enough of Persepolis
remains to make it one of the world’s most
impressive monuments.
PERSIAN ART
Persepolis, Iran
Apadana with huge columns 60 feets tall
36 columns with bull-shaped tops
Reliefs on walls symbolize Persian guards
called Immortals
10,000 Immortals protected the city and
ruler
Large ramps leading to apadana enable
chariots to enter hall
SATRAPS
PERSIAN ARCHITECTURE
•Persian architecture has made the greatest contribution to the world’s culture.
•Although Persian architecture styles differ from any Islamic styles today, they have
influenced many building work through much of the Islamic world.
•Persian style of architecture also has influenced Islam, Central Asia, Afghanistan,
Pakistan and India as well in structures all over their history.