Alexander the
Great
Since Persepolis was in the heartland,
no one expected that it will
come enemies there. It was probably therefore Persepolis lacked
strong fortifications.
Persepolis
continued to flourish under the later
Achaemenian Kings, until it was burned and destroyed by Alexander the Great in 330
BC.
Alexander and
his soldiers stormed and break trough Persepolis from the
northeastern corner where the mountain and the platform meet.
|
Photo. Persepolis seen from outside. Even
though it was just a single entrance at Persepolis, Alexander the Great
manage to find a way in. |
 |
It is
not known whether the burning of
the city was an accident or an act of revenge for the Persians destruction of
Temples in
Athens in 480 BC. It's
also said that Alexander couldn't leave Persepolis standing
with half of the empire still unconquered. Therefore he destroyed the
constructions due to political and tactical reasons.
World
Empire
The Persian
Empire of Darius I, the first of the new Aryan empires in the seat of the old
civilizations, was the greatest empire the world had seen so far. It included
all Asia Minor and Syria, all
the old Assyrian and Babylonian empires,
Egypt, the
Caucasus
and Caspian regions, Media,
Persia, and
it extended into India as far
as the Indus. Such an empire was possible because the horse, rider, the
chariot and the made-road had now been brought into the
world.
|
Photo. Shoes designed by the Old Persians,
which made them able to walk and run over long distances.
It`s said that the Addidas Company designed their jogging shoes based
on the same design. |
 |
So far the ox and the camel for desert use had afforded
the swiftest method of transport. Great arterial roads were made by the Persian
rulers to hold their new empire, and post horses were always in waiting for
the imperial messenger or the traveller with an official permit.
Moreover the
world was now beginning to use coined money, which greatly facilitated trade and
intercourse. But the capital of this vast empire was
no longer Babylon (in
Iraq). In
the long run the priesthood of Bel Marduk gained nothing by their treason.
Babylon was still important, but
it was no w a declining
city. The great cities of the new empire were Persepolis,
Susa and
Ecbatana.
First
letters
The first
letters in the history has its origion from
Iran. These letters
were based on the Old Persian language. It was used exclusively used for royal
proclamations and announcements, which is
known as cuneiform inscriptions dating from the time of the Achaemenian
Kings of ancient Persia (6th - 4th centuries BC).
At the head of
staircase is the Gateway of All Nations, built by Xerxes I and is guarded at
east and west by bull figures, which are related to bull figures of
Assyria.
Above the bulls, on the inner side of the Gateway is a three-language cuneiform
inscription in the main languages of the realm: Persian, Babylonian and
Elamite.
It says:
"A great God is Ahuramazda, who has created this Earth, who has created the
heaven, who has created man, who has created good things for man,
who has made Xerxes King, sole King of many, sole Commander
of many.
I am Xerxes, Great King,
King of Kings, King of lands, King of many races, King of this earth reaching
even far off, son of Dariush the King, the Achaemenian.
King Xerxes says: By the
grace of Ahuramazda I constructed this Gateway of All Nations. Many other
beautiful things were constructed in Persia. I constructed them and my
father constructed them. Everything we have constructed which looks beautiful we
have constructed by the grace of Ahuramazda. King Xerxes says: May Ahruamazda
protect me and my kingdom and whatever is constructed by me as well as what has
been constructed by may father".
| Photos. Some
places around in the ancient city of Persepolis there
are cuneiform inscriptions. It`s written based on the first letters in the
world`s history. |
 |
Translated
directly from the inscription on the photo above (seen on a stone in the Gateway
of All Nations): "Xerxes, Great King, King of Kings, son of Darius
King, King, Achaemenian".
It was a big
contrast seeing these ancient letters togheter with modern grafitty at the same
stone. Unfortunately have foreign tourists, militaries and ambassadors
market their signs and signature here.
Excavations and preservation
Modern
excavations in Persepolis
began in the early in the 19th Century. In 1979 it was declared a World Heritage
Site by the UNESCO. After this the preservation working has improved, and some parts
of the site have also been reconstructed. There is still a lot of work do to.
Beautiful
bas-reliefs
There are more than
3000 bas-reliefs in the structures and cemeteries of
Persepolis.
Between the
staircase ramps are symbols of the Zarathustrian God Ahura Mazda, and carvings
representing the different Nations of the World, from Egyptians and Armenians,
to Babylonians, Assyrians, and Medians.
Of
the 127 nations of the empire, 23 of them are represented
in the Book of Esther.
| Photos. Some of the carvings display people from different nations
around the world, Persepolis,
Iran.
|
 |
Audience
halls
The audience hall indicate that the Old Persian where
very hospitable. Everybody who went to the big festivals had to pas through the
Gate of All Nations, which is located at the end of two monumental
staircases. It`s impresses with it massiveness. I wonder how it would be to
walk here in the past, and I tried to imagine how it would it would be
to be hosted by Darius I.
Further the Gate leads to the Throne Hall, or the
Hundred-Column Hall (Sad-Sotun - the Hundred Columns). The Hall contains several
doorways adorned with carvings showing the King in military combat.
|
Photo. The
Hall of the hundred Column with me in the middle.
It`s Persepolis` second audience hall and stands east of the first
audience hall Apanda.
|
 |
It`s believed
that the Gate of All Nations and the Throne Hall were used in New Year's
celebrations when delegates presented the annual tribute to the Persian King.
The Hall of the hundred Column was the largest edifice on the platform of
Persepolis. It was built by Xerxes and completed by Artaxerxes I.
|
Photo.
The Apadana Palace is also a audience hall.
It had a square interior hall with 6 rows of 6 columns
and could hold up to 10,000 people. |
 |
It seems that all great
empires in the history end, sooner or later. So did the Achaemenian Empire of
Persepolis, but the remains give an impression of a mighty kingdom in
the past. It must have been a beautiful complex, and with inscriptions based on
the first letters in the history, which tell about how people lived at that
time: they founded the cradle of the civilisation! The inscriptions are
like secret messages to future generations of people. Iranians showed their
greatest hospitality to people around the world during
. They still do!
Stein Morten
Lund, 22 August
2004
Additional
information
Sources:
Persepolis and
Archaeological sites in Fars (Werner Felix
Dutz).
Persepolis - the
Achaemenian Capital (R. Ghirshman & E. Herzfeld).
Iran
Cultural Heritage Organisation.
A movie about
Alexander the Great:
It's coming in
November 2004. The movie being made by Oliver Stone, starring Colin Farrell as
Alexander, Sir Anthony Hopkins as Ptolemy, Angelina Jolie as Alexander's mother,
Olympias, Val Kilmer as King Philip II, Jared Leto as Alexander's best friend,
Hephaestion, Rosario Dawson as Alexander's wife, Roxane and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers
as Cassander.
Alexander the
Great was born in 356BC in Pella the ancient
capital of Macedonia.
Alexander was the son of Philip II, king of
Macedonia,
and Olympias a princess of Epirus. He
is considered as the most brilliant military leader who ever lived: a Commander
who never lost a battle. He united the Western world and introduced Hellenic
culture throughout his vast Empire. Alexander's kingdom stretched from
Mt.
Olympus in
Greece all
the way to the Himalayas.
While on his
conquests Alexander founded over 70 cities. Many of them became great centers of
trade and learning. Alexander originated the concept of "one world" without
racial or territorial delineation. He established the first uniform monetary
system which greatly enabled trade between nations and the concept of uniform
laws governing all. At that time there was no race of men,
no city, nor even a single individual
to whom Alexander's name and fame had not penetrated. He was
remembered in legend and both feared and worshipped from
Iceland to
China. The
Byzantines made him a Saint and the Mohammedans included him in the
Koran.
Links to the
coming movie about Alexander the Great:
www.alexanderthegreatmovie.com/soundtrack.html
www.alexander-the-great.co.uk
http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/alexander/p/AlexanderMovie.htm
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Pars
Tourist Agency (P.T.A.), Iran
Presentation:
It`s
a private Persian incoming agency. It's located in Shiraz under the license
number 1/47026 issued by Iran Travel & Tourism Organization (ITTO) (www.farstourism.org). They organise a wide
variety of tours for individuals as well as groups such as inbound historical,
cultural, anthropology, mountaineering, trekking, adventure and natural
excursion tours.
Speciality - exploring nomad tribes:
For real adventurers P.T.A.
arranges expeditions in to rural areas to search for nomad tribes in Iran's high
mountains. Some of the tribes are Bakhtiari, Lor, Qashqai. They live in a
beautiful landscape that will take your breath away. You will be able to explore
the tribe's daily life and unique culture in a natural way. Sometimes you will
experience a wedding, birth, fighting game, dancing, festival or other things.
Take your time and see what happens. Then it will be an experience of a
lifetime.
Contact info:
Phone: 0098-711-2223163 and 0098-711-2240645. Mobile
Phone (around the clock) 0098-9171118514.
Fax: 0098-711-2229693
Letters:
Pars Tourist Agency (P.T.A), Zand Street 71358, Next to Iran Cinema, Shiraz,
Iran.
Website: www.key2persia.com
E-mail: info@key2persia.com
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