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into an underground sewage network and away from the structure 24 the five zones i v all possessed a runoff capacity of 260 l s liters second more than sufficient for handling mountain runoff indicating that the system was also used for water supply to the inhabitants sewage management and even irrigation of the gardens around the structure 24 a schematic diagram of the reservoir a photo of the reservoir as it exists today irrigation zones i ii in north and iii iv v in south 24 structural technologies edit in order for such a massive structure to have functioned properly it meant that the weight of the roof columns and indeed the terrace had to be distributed evenly construction at the base of the mountain offered some structural support the ceiling material was a composite application of wood and stone decreasing its overall weight extensive use of stone in persepolis not only guaranteed its structural integrity for the duration of its use but also meant that its remains lasted longer than the mud bricks of susa palaces the remaining structural columns doorways another view of the columns the columns and the door frames history edit scholars agree that it was darius the great who initiated the construction and expansion of the persepolis project however german archaeologist ernst e herzfeld believed that it was cyrus the great who chose the site for the construction although it ultimately came down to darius the great to finish the construction and create its impressive buildings excavations on behalf of the oriental institute of chicago university headed by herzfeld in 1931 and later cooperation by eric f schmidt in 1933 led to some of the most impressive uncovering of achaemenid artifacts palaces and structures herzfeld felt that the site of persepolis was made for special ceremonies and was meant to convey the power of the achaemenid empire to its subject nations 18 on some accounts persepolis was never officially finished as its existence was cut short by alexander the great who in a fit of anger ordered the burning of the city in 330 b c started originally by darius the great a century earlier the structure was constantly changing receiving upgrades from subsequent persian monarchs and undergoing renovation to maintain its impressive façade after the burning of the city persepolis was deserted and it was relatively lost to history until the excavations of herzfeld schmidt and the chicago team uncovered it in the 1930s this great historical artifact is unfortunately at serious risk of irreparable damage 8 from neglect the elements and vandalism persepolis was by no means the only large scale achaemenid project as susa also hosted a similar structure initiated by darius for similar ceremonial purposes however that history is able to enjoy the remains of persepolis as opposed to meager remnants of susa owes partly to selection of stone in construction of persepolis over mud brick in susa and the fact that it had been relatively uninhabited protecting it from wear and tear of inhabitants politically persepolis also was a significant find because nearby discovery of naqsh e rostam the persian necropolis home to darius the great shed light on the significance it has had as one of the major capitals of the empire 10 naqsh e rostam would not only house darius the great but also his son xerxes the great artaxerxes i and darius ii as well the necropolis complex was looted following invasion of alexander and possibly in the sassanid period and during the arab invasion during the pahlavi era the structure enjoyed protection and coverage as mohammad reza shah appeased to its royal and national symbolism during this era many western politicians poets artists and writers were gravitated to iran and persepolis either as a function of the political relations with the iranian monarchy or to report on or visit the ruins such figures include the procession of international dignitaries attending the 2 500 year celebration of the persian empire held by shah as well as individual visits by such figures as heinrich lübke of germany and ralph graves of life magazine in an article in life in 1971 graves describes his experience at persepolis in the following way when you see persepolis for the first time as i did facing marvdasht you are likely to be disappointed but once inside the ruins themselves you are overwhelmed by the still proud soaring columns and by the quality and the fresh state of the bas relief carvings which are certainly among the finest in the history of the world s art but mostly you are transfixed by the sudden realization that all this happened 24 centuries ago and that people from every nation in the known world of the time had stood in the same place and felt the same 25 lubke in his visit to persepolis lubke and the bas relief lubke and the wall relief theatrical performance by western artists in shiraz arts festival vandalism edit throughout history there have been instances of neglect or vandalism in persepolis the most notable historical figure to vandalize this structure was alexander the great who after entering persepolis in 330 b c called it the most hateful city in asia and allowed his macedonian troops to pillage it 26 despite this stern hatred alexander also admired the persians as is obvious through his respect for cyrus the great and his act of giving a dignified burial to darius iii years later upon revisiting the city he had burnt alexander would regret his action plutarch depicts the paradoxical nature of alexander when he recounts an anecdote in which alexander pauses and talks to a fallen statue of xerxes the great as if it were a live person shall i pass by and leave you lying there because of the expeditions you led against greece or shall i set you up again because of your magnanimity and your virtues in other respects 27 in retrospect it must be understood that despite his momentary lapse of judgment and his role as having been the single most significant figure to bring an end to persepolis alexander is not by any means the only many individuals in the following centuries would damage persepolis including thieves and vandals during the sasanian empire when the arab armies invaded in the seventh century they took to causing civil disturbances religious persecution of persians and burning of the books that no clear record of their vandalism remains to date is most likely due to their destruction of books and historical records opinionated 28 during the qajar era and in world war ii the structure would also suffer vandalism at the hands of the allies natural causes such as earthquakes and winds have also contributed to the overall demise of the structure 29 the first french excavation in susa carried out by the dieulafoys and the looting and the destruction of persian antiquities by the so called archeologists had a deep impact on the site jane dieulafoy writes in her diary yesterday i was gazing at the huge stone cow found recently it weighs around 12 000 kilos it is impossible to move such an enormous mass i couldn t control my anger i took a hammer and started striking the stone beast i gave it some ferocious blows the head of the pillar burst open like ripe fruit citation needed even to date the structure is not safe from destruction and vandalism after the iranian revolution a group of fundamentalists serving khomeini including his right hand man sadegh khalkhali tried to bulldoze both the renowned persian poet ferdowsi s tomb and persepolis but they were stopped by the provisional government 30 the gallery below highlights only some of these unfortunate acts of vandalism mostly by foreign visitors from the late 1800s to mid 1900s currently the structure is at high risk of irreparable damage 8 a graffito left during the sasanian era by a horseman a graffito left by explorer henry morton stanley of new york herald english graffiti left by foreign visitors virtual reconstruction edit french archaeologist egyptologist and historian charles chipiez 1835 1901 has created some of the most advanced virtual drawings of what persepolis would have looked like as a metropolis of the persian empire the following mini gallery depicts his virtual recreations 31 the first image on the left is a view of the talar i takht or the 100 columns hall of persepolis note on the far left portion of the image the famous lamassu or chimeric man lion eagle beast greeting the visitors look below for a picture of a lamassu chipiez s drawings delineate his technical prowess and attention to details the second picture from the left is chipiez s drawing of the columns their capital ornation and roof structure of the palace of darius in persepolis also known as tachar it has bull details as well as the use of wood in construction of the roof this explains why the palace caught fire when alexander the great set it aflame the third picture from the left is a more detailed technical drawing of the talar i takht or the 100 column hall note the layering of the roof the detailing on the edges of the roof the window structures and the technical detailing of the construction poles the last picture on the right is a panoramic view of the outside of the palace of darius the great in persepolis details of the persepolis reliefs are depicted as one can note the symbolic scenes of lions attacking bulls accompanied by two groups of persian soldiers protecting symbolically in this case the infrastructure above hall of 100 columns hall of the throne or talar e takht analysis of the roof and column s capital of the tachar or palace of darius an aerial reconstruction of the structure in talar e takht or 100 columns hall virtual construction of the entrance to palace of darius the great persepolis susa edit main article palace of darius in susa reconstruction drawing of the palace of darius at susa glazed siliceous bricks depicting palms disposed as flowers ca 510 b c from the palace of darius the great susa note the lively coloration preserved thanks to the structure being protected from the elements by being buried item is currently on display in the louvre france another decorative terra cotta frieze from palace of darius the great at susa depicting what seems to be spirals note the blue color and the resemblance to the ocean susa was an ancient city 5500 b c even by the time of the achaemenids susa became a part of the achaemenid empire in 539 b c and was expanded upon by darius the great with construction of palace of darius and later development of palace of artaxerxes ii the palace had a unique apadana resembling the one in persepolis except this hall was much larger than its persepolis counterpart covering some 9 200 square meters 32 cyrus the great chose susa as a site for one of his fortifications creating a wall there that was significantly taller than older walls made by the elamites this choice might have been to facilitate the trade from persian gulf northward 18 what remains in way of structure from this once active capital are five archaeological mounds today located in modern shush in southwestern iran scattered over 250 hectares 33 structural details edit darius s design of his palace in susa would resemble persepolis structurally and aesthetically but would incorporate more of a local flair the structure hosted a large hall of throne or apadana similar to the apadana of the persepolis this susa version of apadana would be composed of three porticoes at right angles to each other one of which was closed in all three sides by the walls and only open in its southward direction the palace was decorated with reliefs in enameled terra cotta of lions walking 32 intricate scenes depicting archers of king darius would decorate the walls as well as motifs of nature such as double bulls unicorns fasciae curling into volutes and palms disposed as a flower or a bell the archers in particular depict a unique symbiosis of persian ionian and greek artistry of the time probably reflecting the origin of the artists who were originally hired by darius the great and their personal reflections on the finished work 32 perhaps the most striking terra cotta relief is that of the griffin depicting a winged creature resembling a lion with wings of an eagle picture not shown here the terra cotta brick reliefs were decorated with lively dye colorations often giving them a lifelike quality history edit architecturally the palace of darius in susa was the epitome of the persian architecture at the height of the empire s growth originally erected by darius and extensively renovated and modified by artaxerxes ii it was meant to reflect the same opulence and prestige as persepolis this was darius the great s attempt to decorate his summer capital of susa and to show case its glory for its construction darius brought egyptian architects and workers 34 in darius palace egyptianizing cavetto cornices were introduced as a decoration over the lintels of niches windows and doorways 35 subsequently all buildings at persepolis were to have such cornices 35 french archaeologist marcel auguste dieulafoy discovered the remnants of the palace of darius among the ruins of susa producing the artifacts of this once magnificent structure now at display in the louvre museum france he also wrote a series of architectural observations known as l art antique de la perse which made a significant impression on the art community as to the intricacy of the achaemenid architecture 32 although dieulafoy and his wife jane made significant contributions in way of excavation susa remains were noted by many observers years before and were in fact officially noted by william k loftus in 1852 33 susa was a wealthy city by the time alexander the great invaded it and it is said that he required 10 000 camels and 20 000 donkeys to carry away the treasures 18 for the most part the architectural wealth of susa lies in its palaces and ceremonial structures most of which have been eroded away by time or wear and tear today the most important remnants of the achaemenid contribution to the architecture of ancient susa are found in remnants of the palace of darius the great in the original excavation site or hosted in foreign nations museums as persian artifacts today the archaeological remains of the structure remain exposed to the elements wear and tear and human activity and it seems that remains of susa would be forever lost except perhaps for few selected pieces on display at the louvre or foreign nations museums below are a few selected photos from the palace of darius the photo on the far left depicts the famous archers relief from the palace of darius from susa the second picture from the right is a two dimensional lamassu a mythical creature with wings of an eagle head of a man and body of a lion the picture in the middle is of the base of a column from the palace of darius in susa inscribing in its rim in three languages babylonian elamite and old persian that darius is the great ...
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