Persepolis in Persian Empire now called Iran

1. PERSIA AND THE CITY
OF PERSEPOLIS
ATIFAH
SYAZWANI
IZZUDIN

2. 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

3. 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

5. PERSIA IS IN THE MODERN DAY IRAN

6. 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.

7. 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
PERSEPOLIS

8. 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.

9.  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.

10. View from the southwest
A column base
The Chehel Sotun palace in Isfahan
The northeastern corner
The famous columns
of the Apadana

11. VOCABULARY WORDS
The COLUMN is divided into
three parts:
The BASE
The SHAFT
The CAPITAL
This shaft is FLUTED

12. 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.

13. People are bringing tribute to the great king
fight between the lion and the bull is wellknown

14. 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

15. 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.

16. 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 well-
preserved. The big stone structures have
survived; only the parts of wood have
vanished.

17. THE PALACE OF DARIUS
The Palace seen from
south
Palace of Darius
The southern facadeThe palace, seen from the south
The western entrance,
added by Artaxerxes III
Ochus

18. 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)
 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 .
The entire monument was a giant
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
Gate of all Nations, eastern entrance
A lamassu; eastern entrance
of the Gate of All Nations

19. 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 .

20. 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

21. 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.

22. PREPARED TO BE DESTROYED
from the right are
partly due to natural
causes
face has been destroyed
with a hammer, and
someone must have
made a great effort to
create a hole near the
king's ear

23. 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.

24. 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
A bull at the northern gateIn front the Garrison One of the entrancesHall of 100

25. Hall of Hundred Columns; in front the Garrison Quarters

26. 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

27. 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 Audience scene on one of the entrances: the king receives the mayor of the
palace

28. People carrying the king's throne Throne scene on one of the
entrances: the king and a
servant with a fly whisk
Reconstruction
Part of the canopy above the
audience scene, decorated with
flowers, bulls, and lions

29. 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.
Portico
This blue faience.

30. 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 .
The capitals of the pilasters of this tomb
are especially well preserved, they show
bulls carrying the roof.
the motif of "carrying" is repeated on the
upper level, where people carry the
platform with the king
Bull capital
Fourthcentury
relief from Egypt,
showing an
Achaemenid king,
probably
Artaxerxes III
(Allard
Piersonmuseum,
Amsterdam

31. 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 .

32. 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. Eastern gateSouthern gate

33. 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.

34. STAIRCASE
NORTH OF THE
TRYPILON AND
DETAIL

35. 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.

36. 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

37. SATRAPS

38. 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.