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s old centre frieze of archers circa 510 bc from the palace of darius in susa now in the louvre bottom a well preserved persian column capital from persepolis iran location achaemenid empire influences ancient egyptian 1 ancient greek ancient mesopotamian 2 influenced sasanian achaemenid architecture includes all architectural achievements of the achaemenid persians manifesting in construction of spectacular cities used for governance and inhabitation persepolis susa ecbatana temples made for worship and social gatherings such as zoroastrian temples and mausoleums erected in honor of fallen kings such as the burial tomb of cyrus the great achaemenid architecture was influenced by mesopotamian assyrian egyptian elamite lydian greek and median architecture 3 4 5 the quintessential feature of persian architecture was its eclectic nature with foreign elements yet producing a unique persian identity seen in the finished product 6 achaemenid architecture is academically classified under persian architecture in terms of its style and design 7 achaemenid architectural heritage beginning with the expansion of the empire around 550 b c was a period of artistic growth that left an extraordinary architectural legacy ranging from cyrus the great s solemn tomb in pasargadae to the splendid structures of the opulent city of persepolis 8 with the advent of the second persian empire the sasanian dynasty 224 624 revived achaemenid tradition by constructing temples dedicated to fire and monumental palaces 8 perhaps the most striking extant structures to date are the ruins of persepolis a once opulent city established by the achaemenid king darius the great for governmental and ceremonial functions and also acting as one of the empire s four capitals persepolis would take 100 years to complete and would finally be ransacked and burnt by the troops of alexander the great in 330 b c 9 similar architectural infrastructures were also erected at susa and ecbatana by darius the great serving similar functions as persepolis such as reception of foreign dignitaries and delegates performance of imperial ceremonies and duties and also housing the kings pasargadae edit mausoleum of cyrus the great edit mausoleum of cyrus the great in iran dimensions of the tomb tomb of cyrus despite having ruled over much of the ancient world cyrus the great would design a tomb that depicts extreme simplicity and modesty when compared to those of other ancient kings and rulers the simplicity of the structure has a powerful effect on the viewer since aside from a few cyma moldings below the roof and a small rosette above its small entrance there are no other stylistic distractions 10 structural details edit after his death cyrus the great s remains were interred in his capital city of pasargadae where today his limestone tomb built around 540 530 11 still exists the translated ancient accounts give a vivid description of the tomb both geometrically and aesthetically with its massive stonework and smooth surfaces relieved by the minimum of decorative detail the tomb creates an impression of dignity simplicity and strength in design it combines two distinct elements a high plinth composed of six receding tiers and a modest gabled tomb chamber in its original state the tomb probably measured c 11 1 o m from the once hidden foundation level to the apex of the roof of the six tiers of the plinth the lowest has an average height of 1 65 m the second and third have a height of 1 05 m and the last three each have a uniform height of 57 5 cm the base of the plinth measures c 13 35 12 30 m while the base of the tomb chamber measures c 6 40 5 35 m as for the cella s other measurements the narrow doorway in its present condition without its original doorsills is 1 39 m high and 78 cm wide the passage is 1 20 long and the chamber is 3 17 m in length with a uniform width and height of 2 11 m the walls of the chamber are up to 1 50 m thick above the chamber a hollow compartment in the roof almost divided in two for structural reasons measures 4 75 m in length and 85 cm in height the capstone of the roof is missing 12 arrian s direct testimony indicates that cyrus the great was indeed buried in the chamber inside the edifice as he describes alexander seeing it during his visit to pasargadae but it is also a possibility that the body of cyrus the great had been interred below the structure and that the tomb seen on the top is in fact a cenotaph or a false tomb there was originally a golden coffin inside the mausoleum resting on a table with golden supports inside of which the body of cyrus the great was interred upon his resting place was a covering of tapestry and drapes made from the best available babylonian materials using fine median workmanship below his bed was a fine red carpet covering the narrow rectangular base of his tomb 13 history edit translated greek accounts describe the tomb as having been placed in the fertile pasargadae gardens surrounded by trees and ornamental shrubs with a group of achaemenian protectors the magi stationed nearby to protect the edifice from theft or damage 14 15 the magi were a group of on site zoroastrian observers located in their separate but attached structure possibly a caravanserai paid and cared for by the achaemenid state by some accounts they received a salary of daily bread and flour and one sheep payment a day 16 the magi were placed in charge of maintenance and also prevention of theft years later in the ensuing chaos created by alexander the great s invasion of persia and loss of a centralized authority directing and caring for the magi cyrus the great s tomb was broken into and most of its luxuries were looted when alexander reached the tomb he was horrified by the manner in which the tomb was treated and questioned the magi and put them to court 14 on some accounts alexander s decision to put the magi on trial was more about his attempt to undermine their influence and his show of power in his newly conquered empire than a concern for cyrus s tomb 17 regardless alexander the great ordered aristobulus of cassandreia to improve the tomb s condition and restore its interior 14 the tomb was originally ornamented with an inscription that according to strabo and other ancient sources stated 18 o man i am cyrus the great who gave the persians an empire and was the king of asia grudge me not therefore this monument the edifice has survived the test of time for some 2 500 years after the arab invasion of persia and collapse of the sasanian empire arab armies wanted to destroy this historical artifact on the basis that it was not in congruence to their islamic tenets but quick thinking on the part of the local persians prevented this disaster the persians renamed the tomb and presented it to the invading army as the tomb of king solomon s mother it is likely that the inscription was lost at this time 19 mohammad reza pahlavi shah of iran the last official monarch of persia during his 2 500 year celebration of the persian empire paid significant homage to the achaemenid kings and specially cyrus the great many suspected that just as alexander the great before him the shah of iran wanted to appeal to cyrus s legacy to legitimize his own rule by extension 20 the shah of iran however was generally interested in protection of persian imperial historical artifacts after the iranian revolution the tomb of cyrus the great survived the initial chaos and vandalism propagated by the islamic revolutionary hardliners who equated persian imperial historical artifacts with the late shah of iran there are allegations of the tomb being in danger of damage from the construction of the sivand dam on river polvar located in the province of pars and water related damage but there is no official acknowledgement of this claim united nations recognizes the tomb of cyrus the great and pasargadae as a unesco world heritage site 11 shah of iran s 2 500 years celebrations an animated picture of the mausoleum tomb of cyrus under repair four winged guardian edit the four winged guardian figure of cyrus with four wings a two horned crown and royal elamite clothing perhaps one of the most memorable remaining architectural and artistic works is the bas relief of cyrus the great in pasargadae this is a bas relief cut upon a stone slab depicting a figure or a guardian man most likely a resemblance of cyrus himself possessing four wings shown in an assyrian style dressed in elamite traditional clothing assuming a pose and figure of an egyptian god and wearing a crown that has two horns in what resembles an ovis longipes palaeoaegyptiacus the structure originally had an upper stone slab that in three different languages old persian elamite babylonian declared i am cyrus the king an achaemenid 21 this carved in limestone writing was in place when sir robert ker poter described the piece in 1818 but at some point has been lost david stronach has suggested that there were originally four such figures set against doorways to the palace of cyrus in pasargadae 21 that this bas relief has such an eclectic styling with elements of egyptian elamite and assyrian reflects the oecumenical attitude of the achaemenian kings who from the time of cyrus onward adopted a liberal policy of tolerance and conciliation toward the various religions embraced within their empire 21 it would therefore depict the eclectic nature of achaemenid life from policies of the kings to their choice of architecture herodotus recounts that cyrus saw in his sleep the oldest son of hystaspes darius the great with wings upon his shoulders shadowing with the one wing asia and with the other wing europe 21 noted iranologist ilya gershevitch explains this statement by herodotus and its connection with the four winged figure in the following way 21 herodotus therefore as i surmise may have known of the close connection between this type of winged figure and the image of the iranian majesty which he associated with a dream prognosticating the king s death before his last fatal campaign across the oxus this relief sculpture in a sense depicts the eclectic inclusion of various art forms by the achaemenids yet their ability to create a new synthetic form that is uniquely persian in style and heavily dependent on the contributions of their subject states after all that is what distinguishes achaemenid architecture from those of other kingdoms it is its originality in context of fusion and inclusion of existing styles in such a way as to create awe inspiring structures a recreation of the details of the four winged figure in olympic park sydney note the details of the two horned crown ruins of the private palace of cyrus the great in pasargadae where this winged figure could have served as decoration an erect column found in the ruin complex of cyrus s private palace unlike apadana columns no fluting is used a so called swallow tail or dovetail staple this is an early huge example of staple used in architecture in order to fasten stones together persepolis edit panorama of persepolis an incomplete schematic blueprint of persepolis note c apadana hall g talar i takht or hall of 100 column n tachar or palace of darius h hadish or palace of xerxes the great b darvazeh i mellal or gate of all nations f trypilon 8 not shown behind the reference text khazaneh treasury a well preserved persian column showing the details of the capital of the columns in persepolis persepolis is the latinized version of the old persian name parsa literally meaning the city of persians another spectacular achievement of the achaemenids persepolis became one of the four capitals of the empire initiated by darius the great around 518 b c it would grow to become a center for ceremonial and cultural festivities a center for dignitaries and visitors to pay homage to the king a private residence for the persian kings a place for satraps to bring gifts for the king in the spring during the festival of nowruz as well as a place of governance and ordinance 18 persepolis s prestige and grand riches were well known in the ancient world and it was best described by the greek historian diodorus siculus as the richest city under the sun 10 structural details edit today the archaeological remnants of this once opulent city are about 70 kilometers northeast of the modern iranian city of shiraz in the pars province in southwestern iran persepolis is a wide elevated complex 40 feet high 100 feet wide and a third of a mile long 8 composed of multiple halls corridors a wide terrace and a special double symmetrical stairway that would provide access to the top of the terrace 18 the stairway would delineate relief scenes of various motifs of daily life or nature including some that were literal as well as metaphorical some scenes would show natural acts such as a lion attacking its prey but bear symbolism of spring and the nowruz festival other scenes would depict subjects from all states of the empire presenting gifts to the king as well as scenes depicting royal guards or scenes of social interactions between the guards or the dignitaries 18 this stairway is sometimes referred to as all countries 9 the structure was constructed from various halls and complexes that included hall of apadana the largest hall with 36 columns tachar the private chamber of darius the great hadish added later on as a private chamber for king xerxes the great the talar i takht also known as the 100 columned hall serving as the throne hall for general meeting with the king darvazeh i mellal the gate of all nations the khazaneh the royal treasury a hall palace complex later on developed by artaxerxes iii tripylon council hall and the rock cut tombs of the kings or naqsh e rostam 18 the most impressive hall in the complex is the apadana hall occupying an area of about 109 square meters with 36 persian columns each more than 19 m tall each column is fluted with a square base except a few in the porticos and an elaborate capital with two animals supporting the roof the structure was originally closed off from the elements by mud brick walls over 5 meters thick and over 20 meters tall 22 the columns have a composite capital depicting addorsed bulls or creatures the columns in the porticoes have circular bases and are capped by ornate capitals after the end of the fluting themselves topped by detailed addorsed bulls supporting the roof 22 apadana s relief is also unique in that it delineates the presence and power of the king known as treasure reliefs the depicted scenes on apadana stress the continuity of the kingdom through darius the great and stress his presence throughout the empire as well as depict his army of persian immortals perhaps this was darius s attempt to create a symbol of the assured continuity of his line apadana hall and the adjacent structures in the complex are believed to have been designed to host large number of people in fact the halls of persepolis could at any one ti...
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