Selected Ancient Persian Palaces and Tombs

Syracuse’s Confused Case:The content of this article is mainly excerpted from blogMuye Qingfeng 66 and ChongduduTravel photography and travel notes.

Palaces of ancient Persia

Persepolis, the most important archaeological site in Iran, represents Iran’s glory. When you come to Iran, you must come to Persepolis. Here, it is also a popular scenic spot for Iranian nationals. It is suggested to stay here until the sunset. Persepolis has another beautiful scenery under the sunset. It is located 51 kilometers northeast of Shiraz. There is no direct public transportation. It is recommended to take a taxi or charter. Tickets are 200,000 rials.

Persepolis was once the capital of the Persian Empire. It was built by Darius I, the “King of Kings”, in 520 BC to receive pilgrimages from all nations. The whole project was completed by Darius I, Xerxes I and Atta Xerxes I after 70 years. As you can imagine, the project is huge! More than 200 years later, Macedonian King Alexander sent his troops eastward to destroy Persia, ending the glory of the palace city with a fire. Now, broken walls is left. From today’s ruins, we can vaguely see the style and magnificence of the palace at that time. In 1979, Persepolis was listed as a world cultural heritage.

On both sides of the entrance road to Persepolis, there are 2,500 trees on each side, which King Pahlavi bought from abroad in 1971 to celebrate the 2500 anniversary of the founding of the Persian Empire.

The ruins of Persepolis are very large in area. The whole palace is built on a huge stone foundation with stairs on both sides. These steps are carved out of huge stones, and each step is not high, so that Persians wearing beautiful long-distance running can gracefully climb the steps.

When entering the ruins, the first thing to see was “Wan Guomen”. 2,500 years ago, when nobles and foreign envoys from all over the Persian Empire came to pay their respects to the Persian emperor, they had to wait in this hall first. The two huge stone carvings on the door are the patron saint of the human head, the cow body and the eagle wing, showing the regal power of the emperor.

Through the “Ten Thousand Gates” and the “March Road”, I came to the most important and exquisite palace in the ruins of Persepolis, the “Apadana” Hall, also known as the audience hall. There are exquisite reliefs on its four steps and stone pillars left in the temple. According to reports, it could accommodate 10,000 envoys from various countries to appear before it.

From “Apadana”, you can see Emperor Darius’s private bedroom “Tazara”. In Xerxes I’s personal palace “Hadish”, the most classic is that he is not as good as the statue of the bedroom accompanied by two attendants.

Coming out of “Hadish” and passing through the dilapidated “Hundred Pillars Hall”, one can see from a distance the tombs of Artaxerxes II and III on the hillside of Rahmat.

There are many stones on the mountain, so be careful at your feet. Climbing up the hillside, the whole Persepolis can be seen clearly. Two tombs can be seen, and their architectural style is similar to that of the Persian Mausoleum. Wait for the sunset on the hillside, look at the scenery of Persepolis, and remember the past and the present.

The site is relatively large, so it is suggested to ask a commentator to introduce the situation, or carefully read the introduction in front of each site, or bring the introduction materials with you, which is easier to find out by comparison. Because the stone carvings here are of great artistic value, they are worth savoring carefully.

Persepolis is a famous scenic spot in Iran, equivalent to the Great Wall of China. If tourists have not been to Persepolis, they have not been to Iran. It is located near Taht Jamsheed, 52 kilometers northeast of Shiraz, Iran. Locals call it the “Mountain of Mercy” in a basin. It is the fifth capital city ordered to be built after Darius I of the Persian Empire acceded to the throne in memory of the kings of the Achaemenid Kingdom (330 years before 550 BC, also known as the First Persian Empire). Persepolis is a Greek name, which means the capital of Persia (Greek “Polis” is the same as English Palace and can also be understood as “Persian Palace”). The Iranians call it “Taht Jamsheed”, the throne of Jamsheed. Jamsheed is the name of an ancient king in Iranian legend. It is said that he first built a palace in Persepolis. The Achaemenid palace was built on its former site. Persepolis was founded in 518 BC and was completed in Darius I, Xerxes I and Altaxerxes I. This great city-state, which symbolizes the brilliant civilization of the Achaemenid Empire, stands solemnly on the Persian Plain. At that time, it not only became a landmark building of the Persian Empire, but also stored a lot of wealth. All the buildings are built on artificial 12-meter-high platforms, 450 meters long from north to south and 300 meters wide from east to west. The east is connected to the hillside, and the other three sides in the north, south and west are vertical walls. As the walls are very high, no more walls have been built on the edge of the platform. Most of the buildings on the stage face south and slightly 15 to the west.

In 330 BC, Alexander the Great captured the place. After frantic plunder, the whole palace was set on fire. The exquisite columns, stigma heads and beams made of Lebanese cedar all disappeared with the fire, leaving only stone pillars, stone foundations and stigma heads. Legend has it that the Persians avenged the destruction of the Temple of Asina and shipped the 1.2 billion gold francs worth of treasures collected in the palace back to Greece. Persepolis witnessed the ancient Achaemenid Empire from prosperity to extinction. The huge steps, exquisite reliefs and awe-inspiring gates remind people of the empire’s former strength. This is a tour guide map of Persepolis.

Terrace Stairway (Tour Guide Map No 1): Miyagi is attached to mountains in the east and faces vast plains in the west. The northern end of the west wall of the platform is the entrance to Miyagi. Tourists walk slowly into the site along 111 steps (each step is 7 meters wide and 10 centimeters high, and has been paved with wooden plank roads). We feel like walking in Beijing’s Yuanmingyuan. All the essence has been burned, leaving only a few pillars.

The Gate of All Lands: After boarding the platform, the first thing I saw was the 18-meter-high Wan Guomen, or Sifang Gate, built during the period of Xerxes I, which diverted into Miyagi.

This used to be a hall supported by four stone pillars, and there are currently three stone pillars. 2,500 years ago, when nobles and foreign envoys from all over the Persian Empire came to pay their respects to the Persian emperor, they had to wait in this hall first.

The two huge stone carvings on the door are the patron saint of the human head, the cow body and the eagle wing, showing the regal power of the emperor.

The words in the form of a deed on the gate of ten thousand countries.

The Army Street (Tour Guide Photo No.20): It is facing Wangomenen and heading east and west.

The eagle-Griffin (Guide Photo No 21): The capital of the four pillars in Wanguomen is the legendary Iranian eagle Homa, which has collapsed from the pillar and is now placed on the north side of the marching road.

The Unfinished Gate (Guide Photo No 21): Located in the northeast corner of Miyagi.

The Cistern (Tour Guide Photo No.3): Located near the south side of Wanguomen.

The Apadana Palace (Tour Guide Photo No.6): Located on the south side of Wanguomen, also known as the audience hall, it is the main hall of Persepolis. It is the place where emperors receive tribute groups. The hall inside the temple is square, with each side 61 meters long and is estimated to accommodate about 10,000 people. There are 36 stone pillars in the hall, and 12 stone pillars in the front porch and the left and right side porches outside the hall, totaling 72. These stone pillars are 18 meters high and have bull carvings on their heads. Their function is to support the roof. In the first picture, the place with the roof and the place with the stone pillars at the back is the Apadana Palace.

On the east side of the throne hall are two huge ceremonial steps decorated with a large number of reliefs, which are one of the most magnificent sights in Persepolis. On the north side of the steps is engraved a guard of Persian generals and soldiers (tour guide map number 4). It is said that the number of guards at that time was not less than 10,000.

The south side of the ladder depicts the parade of tribute takers with different costumes (tour guide picture number 5). Darius and his descendants hold a grand ceremony here every year on Iran’s Nuluz Festival (equivalent to China’s vernal equinox solar term) to receive congratulations and tribute from envoys of conquered countries. These scenes are vividly carved on the steps leading to the courtyard. At that time, the Persian Empire had 35 subordinate countries and 23 nationalities. On the relief sculpture, tribute groups from different countries and nationalities either held gold, silver and jewelry in their hands, or led lions, unicorns, bimodal camels, etc. They were happily and peacefully guided by the palace etiquette officials, and came forward one by one. Each team held various gifts and presented the prosperity of the Persian Empire in a grand way. Behind each tree on the mural is an envoy of a country. These carvings are still lifelike after more than 2400 years.

A special relief sculpture can be seen everywhere here, depicting a lion gnawing at the leg of a cow. This totem is regarded as a symbol of the reincarnation of life. This is the most famous lion bullfight in Persepolis. The relief sculpture originated from the Persian calendar. The bull represents the last constellation in winter and the lion is the first constellation in spring. The lion bites the cow, which is the end of the old year and the beginning of the new year. The Iranian New Year is on the day of the Chinese vernal equinox solar term, which is called Noruz Day.

The west side of the platform extends beyond the west wall of the Miyagi platform, forming a reviewing stand about 10 meters wide, 130 meters long and 15 meters high. From here, one can overlook the tents set up by the local princes on the plain in front of one. These iron shelves in the trees were used by Iranian King Pahlavi in 1971 to set up tents for the ceremony held here to celebrate the 2500 anniversary of the founding of the Persian Empire.

Tripylon Palace (Guide Picture No.10): A palace with three gates, next to the audience hall in the northwest.

Main Staircase of the palace: It was located in the south of Tripylon Palace and was built in the 5th century BC. This is its original and is now kept in the National Museum in Tehran.

The Hundred Column Hall (Guide Picture No.14): Also known as Xerxes’ audience hall, it is used for receiving and holding ceremonies. From Wanguomen to the east and then to the south, you can pass through another independent gate to the “Baizhu Hall”. The hall in the temple is square, each side is 73 meters long, because there are 100 13-meter-high stone pillars in the temple, so it is called the “100-pillar hall”. In this magnificent hall, the king at that time sat on the throne with extraordinary air among the stone pillars made up of hundreds of pillars to entertain distinguished guests from afar.

Only the 100-pillar hall is now dilapidated, leaving only the platform foundation.

Standing in the Hundred Pillars Hall, one can see the tomb of Artaxerxes III on the hillside of Rahmat in the distance.

The gate to the east of Hundred Pillars Hall.

There are exquisite carvings on the stone gate. This is Zoroastrianism, the Lord God of Zoroastrianism, Ahura Mazda. The Persian Empire believed in Zoroastrianism.

The one whose hair was combed was the Persian emperor.

The Palace of Artaxeres (Guide Picture No 11): Located in the west of Fortune Hall.

The so-called “harem” includes 22 small two-or three-bedroom suites for many women and their children to live in.

This is a statue of him entering the bedroom accompanied by his entourage.

The Tachara (Tour Guide Photo No.7): Located on the southwest side of Apadana Palace, Emperor Darius’s private bedroom is exquisite and luxurious.

There is a relief sculpture of Darius fighting the devil on the side of the door.

The Hadish Palace (Tour Guide Photo No.9): Located in the southwest of Persepolis, the private bedroom of Xerxes I. There were 36 stone pillars around that year.

The Treasure of Persepolis (Tour Guide Picture No.12): Located on the south side of the “Hundred Pillars Hall”, it covers an area of more than 8000 square meters. There were many gold, silver and precious items stored in those days. According to records, when Alexander occupied the area in 330 BC, 10,000 pairs of mules and 5,000 camels were needed to transport the gold and silver treasures from the area. On the east side of the Fortune Hall is a stone carving of the Midi nobles paying their respects to Xerxes I, but it is only a replica.

This is its original and is now kept in the National Museum in Tehran.

The men-in-arms (guide map no 15): also known as the 32-pillar hall, is located on the east side of the 100-pillar hall.

Tombs of Artaxeres III (Guide Map No 17): Located on the eastern slope of the whole site.

On the left side of the relief sculpture above the tomb is the Persian emperor, in the middle is Ahura Mazda, the supreme god of Zoroastrianism, on the right side is the flame, and the circle above the flame represents the moon. The relief depicts the Persian emperors communicating with God through fire. The ancient Persians believed in Zoroastrianism and believed that they could get divine revelation through fire.

Standing on the hillside overlooking the whole Persepolis, the Persian Empire has long died out. Standing in front of these remaining stones, it seems to repeat the scene of the Empire ending from prosperity to decline and prosperity. This was once the capital of Persia at its peak. The epic Boshi War, the glory and vicissitudes of the Achaemenid Dynasty, the legions of Ju Lushi the Great and the results of Darius the Great were destroyed by the Alexander fire, leaving only broken walls now. The 1979.12 site was included in the World Heritage List. The World Heritage Committee’s evaluation is that Persepolis was the palace and spiritual capital of the ancient Achaemenid Empire, built in 518 BC during the reign of Darius I. Inspired by the capitals of Mesopotamia, the Persian emperor who mastered many client countries built Persepolis into a building city with many great and huge palaces. The whole ancient city skillfully uses the terrain and builds momentum around the mountain, perfectly blending the natural geographical appearance with the artistic essence of human beings. The ruins of the ancient city of Persepolis have provided many precious materials about ancient Persian civilization and have important archaeological value.

In recent years, Iran has gradually opened up. There are many Chinese traveling to Iran. Under the introduction of an enthusiastic Northeastern, we packed a van to Yazd, the second stop of the trip. On the way, we had to visit three historic sites such as Persepolis. The driver’s name was Ali and he came to pick us up from Yazd. Before leaving Shiraz, we finally saw the gate of the Koran. The Darvazeh Quran of Shiraz is a decorative gate built in the north of Shiraz and has a history of more than 1,000 years. Karim Khan (the first ruler of the Sander dynasty) once placed a Koran in a small room on top of the gate to protect the safety of those who enter and leave. There are waterfalls pouring down the cliff behind the Koran Gate, and only faint traces of water can be seen in winter.

      

Later, he drove to Persepolis. Persepolis was the center of the great Persian Empire and the etiquette capital of the Achaemenid dynasty. Persepolis (Greek for the capital of Persia) is located about 60 kilometers northeast of Shiraz. This magnificent palace is the summer palace of the Achaemenid emperors. It was built for 150 years from the reign of Darius the Great to subsequent emperors.

      

From the highway, turn into a straight road about 2km long and 20 meters wide, with tall cypress trees planted on both sides-this is the royal road, and walk straight to the entrance of Persepolis. This beautifully constructed and well-made palace seems to be an open-air museum. Although the buildings were completed by monarchs of past dynasties, the whole building and style are still one integrated mass. The foundation, steps, windows, hallways and pillars of the main palaces here are all made of stone. Only then can it be retained.

Persepolis’s position in Iran is like our Great Wall Forbidden City, which is an indispensable place to visit. This palace is located at the western foot of Rahmat, sitting east to west, backed by rugged peaks, and stands on a broad platform overlooking vast plains. The platform is built manually and is 18 meters high. The whole platform is 450 meters long and 300 meters wide. There are 100 steps on the left and right sides of the entrance to Persepolis leading to the platform.

       

The first thing printed into view was the tall Xerxes Gate, built by Darius’s son Xerxes. The symmetrical giant relief statue is incomplete. It is said that the bull is guarding the gate, but it cannot be seen. Walking through several towering stone pillars, one can see the winged human face and cow body stone statues on the wall, which add radiance to the stone gate.

       

On the south side of Wanguomen is Apadana, the magnificent hall of Opadana, where a grand reception was held. Usually called the 72-pillar palace. The stone steps of the main hall are engraved with the scene of tribute paid by the envoys of the Achaemenid dependencies (it is said that there were tribute payers from more than 20 regions that had been incorporated into Persian territory at that time, such as Lydia, Babylon, Chaldea, Gandhara, etc. Therefore, a closer look at the clothing and the offerings are different.

      

Southeast is Darius Treasure. After Alexander conquered Persepolis, he discovered an amazing treasure, which needed 1,000 pairs of mules and 5,000 camels to carry away. Archaeologists also found a gold plate to record tribute when excavating the site. The wealth of Persepolis is evident. However, there is really nothing left in what.

On the flat slope in the southwest corner are palaces built during Darius and Xerxes. Many huge stone pillars stand, engraved with reliefs and cuneiform characters, some of which are very exquisite.

      

The tomb of Alexander II on the opposite hillside is the best place to have a bird’s eye view of the ruins of Persepolis. Ju Lushi, Darius and Xerxes, the great monarchs, commanded the heroic and fighting Persian army, invincible and established the vast Achaemenid dynasty.

     

Persepolis is one of the scenic spots with the most concentrated inscriptions in ancient Persia. In order to boast of their achievements and make them immortal, the emperors of Achaemenid wrote these contents on the surface of buildings in cuneiform. A large number of inscriptions on the surface of this stone wall can be seen on the north side of the Baizhu Hall, most of which begin with the words “I, Darius (or the name of other monarchs), the king of kings…”, either telling the history of his conquest, or shining through his power, or serving divine orders to govern, etc. Many inscriptions have been exposed to the sun and rain for more than 2,000 years and are still well preserved.

 

       

Walking in the broken walls of Persepolis, looking up at the lonely stone pillars standing under the blue sky, and the relief sculptures on the rock walls of respectful and obedient envoys offering tribute, one laments the wealth and glory of the ancient Persian Empire time and again. Legend has it that this palace, built by Darius before 2550 and captured by Alexander the Great in 331 BC, was burned down at the instigation of a woman. Human history is so insurmountable and unimaginable.

Ancient Persian Mausoleum

Pasargarde, the first capital of the Persian Empire with a history of 2500 years, is located 130 kilometers northeast of Shiraz and 5 kilometers northeast of the ruins of Persepolis. Founded in 546 BC, the first capital of the Persian Empire established by Ju Lushi the Great of the Achaemenid Dynasty. Today, 160 hectares of Pasargarde site are still preserved. Due to the destruction of the war, the weathering of the years and the theft and plunder, there are only a few buildings left on the grassland. On the whole, there is not as well preserved as Persepolis, but it also has a desolate beauty. In July 2004, it was included in the World Cultural Heritage List.

Tomb of Ju Lushi: Well preserved, it is also a must-see attraction for tourists. It stands aloof and proudly in the boundless wilderness, very simple. Cyrus II (about 600-598 B.C.E.-December 4, 530 B.C.E.) was called “Cyrus the Great” and the founder of the ancient Persian Empire and the Achaemenid dynasty (reigned from 550 to 529 B.C.E.). Ju Lushi the Great started as a small leader in southwestern Iran. After a series of victories, he defeated three empires, namely Midi, Lydia and Babylon, unifying most of the ancient Middle East. The country he founded had a vast territory, from Aegean Sea to Indus River, from Nile to Caucasus. Today, Iranians still respect Ju Lushi as “the father of Iran”. The first picture in this article is also the tomb of Ju Lushi.

The whole mausoleum is a 7-storey building made of huge granite. The top layer is an ordinary rectangular tomb with a length of 3.17 meters, a width of 2.11 meters and a height of 2.11 meters. It has a low and narrow entrance.

Ju Lushi’s Private Palace: It is famous for its unique 30-pillar central hall and wide front and rear balconies. Now these pillars are inverted and remnant, all of which are left with the base and the lower half, while the upper half of the pillars are now partially collected in the Louvre in France.

On a pillar in his private palace, there is an inscription written in ancient Persian, Ellandish and Babylonian cuneiform: “I am Cyrus, King of Achaemenid, who built this place.”

Audience Hall: It is a rectangular audience hall. It used to be an 18-meter-high multi-column hall surrounded by a circle of small balconies. One of the original eight white limestone columns has been rebuilt and stands again on its rare black limestone base.

The Royal Gate Palace.

The existing stone slab in the temple is engraved with a statue of Ju Lushi the Great.

Stone Tower: 14 meters high, 7 meters wide on each side, with 3 bases and 29 steps. The tower is decorated with shutters. It is a masterpiece of Achaemenid architecture. Its function is to be considered as the tomb of Cambys (son of Cyrus Cyrus) in Cambis, to be considered as the Fire Temple, and to be considered as the place where the king held the coronation ceremony on the third floor.

Royal Garden Fountain: The then Achaemenid King Cyrus built palaces and gardens in this place. These palaces and gardens all use a large number of geometric figures and mesh figures, and this mode of building gardens has become the basis for later people to build gardens. Unfortunately, the garden was destroyed by war and sandstorm, leaving only the outline of sand and gravel on the grassland. It is also a Persian Garden World Heritage (one-ninth) in 2010. 7.

Tall-e Takht: Not far from the mountain, this is a huge fortress covering 6,000 square meters. The outer walls of the fortress were in a state of dilapidation.

Solomon Prison Site: This is a piece of ruins, and the appearance of the prison has long been beyond recognition.

The mausoleum of the Persian Emperor and the relief sculpture of Sassanian, the mausoleum of the four kings of the Persian Empire: the mausoleum itself is called Necropolis. Located on a cliff 12 kilometers northwest of Persepolis. The Persian mausoleum was built on the rock wall of the mountain. The four cross-shaped mausoleums were lined up from right to left, belonging to Xerxes the Great (485-465 BC), Darius I the Great (521-485 BC), Artaxerxes I (465-424 BC) and Darius II (423-404 BC). The empty earth, a towering cliff, four tombs and seven Sassanian reliefs can only be described by visual impact.

Above each mausoleum is carved a statue of Ahura Mazda, the Persian God of Wisdom, representing the divine right of kings.

Among them, the tomb of Darius II is slightly better preserved.

The tomb of Xerxes I under repair.

Directly in front of the tomb is a cube stone building “Ka’ba-ye Zartosht”, which is believed to be a Zoroazdean fire temple.

Under the tomb are seven huge Sassanian reliefs, which mostly show emperors fighting enemies and triumphant victories. The Sassanian Dynasty (224-651 A.D.) was another heyday of the Persian Empire. It fought 400 years of war with Rome and later Byzantium. These relief murals show the historical records of Sassanian emperors in the war. Among them, the relief mural on the lower left cliff of Darius I ‘s mausoleum in the middle is the most famous, showing the captured Roman emperor kneeling down when the second Sassanian emperor Shaple I returned triumphantly from defeating the Romans. This relief makes countless Iranians proud.

Six other Sassanian reliefs carved on the rocks.

Nashlos, the Mausoleum of Persian Emperors

Nashlostan, also known as Rustam Cliff, although it is a low mountain peak, four imperial tombs are dug in the middle of the cliff. This is the resting place of several Persian kings after Cyrus the Great, namely Darius I, II, Altaxerxes I and Xie Xis I.

       

Opposite the mausoleum is a square building, which looks like a shrine or something. About one meter deep underground, most people think that this is a temple of Zoroastrianism and believe that this is why these tombs were built here. Because ancient Persian emperors wanted to sleep around the holy land. Later, some scholars believed that it was not a temple of fire, mainly because its steps were too high and steep to be suitable for sacrifice. The space at the top of the altar is not suitable for enshrining the divine fire. However, most local residents still associate it with Zoroastrianism.

      

The most king-like one in the middle belongs to Darius I, King of Kings. Darius fought countless battles in his life. The birthplace of the five civilizations conquered three (Mesopotamia, Indus River and ancient Egypt) and approached the fourth (Aegean Sea). Before his death, he was “the king of kings and the king of various countries”. He accepted the coming of all nations to Korea. After his death, he would still be buried on the cliff. He would reign in the world forever and accept the eyes and surrender of the world. These Persian tombs were carved in the shape of crosses, with Zoroastrian (Zoroastrian) symbols engraved directly above them, and the guardian of Ahura Mazda, the only god of the religion. The cliff of the tomb is engraved with a large number of wedge-shaped characters recording the life of emperors, which have been weathered for thousands of years and are still faintly visible.

       

The door of the tombs was half open. When the Mongols invaded Persia, they opened the tombs and ransacked them, so the tombs now only have carvings on the outside.

       

There are seven Sassanian reliefs under the Persian Mausoleum.

       

The kings of Darius I were from the Achaemenid period. Later Sassanian kings, in order to publicize their great achievements in the struggle for supremacy with the Roman Empire, carved their own images on the cliff and juxtaposed them with the kings of the ancient Persian Empire to show their greatness. There are a large number of cuneiform characters engraved on the cliff wall. The kings want to use these characters to make themselves immortal. However, due to the loss of language and the weathering and erosion of nature, it is very difficult to interpret these characters. After decades of efforts by experts in language history and culture, most of the content is known to the world. It is said that the same content is written in three different languages-Ellain, ancient Persian and ancient Babylonian.

       

Sassan’s sculpture is most famous for Shapur I’s lofty manner before Roman Emperor Valerian, who knelt down to beg for mercy, which made countless Iranians proud. The characters are vivid and full, and the clothing fully reflects the characteristics of Rome and Persia. Several other statues such as Bahram and Hormuz de Hormuzd are equally vivid. Persian art developed well during the Sassanian period.

       

King Shopper was the second emperor of the Sassanian dynasty. His outstanding feat was to capture the Roman emperor and ensure the stability of the Sassanian dynasty’s regime in the next 400 years. In order to commemorate their victory forever, Sassanian kings left giant bas-reliefs on the rocks.

Pasargarde-Tomb of Ju Lushi

Pasargarde, founded during the reign of King Ju Lushi (558-529 BC), was the first capital of the Persian Ahemenid dynasty. Located roughly 40 kilometers northeast of the ruins in Persepolis, the ruins are scattered in many places, including the tombs of Ju Lushi. It is listed as a world heritage and is one of Iran’s eight current world heritage sites.

      

Ju Lushi II started the construction of the city in 546 years ago (or later), but it was not completed because Ju Lushi II was killed in the war in 530 or 529 years ago. However, Pasalgard was still the capital of the Achaemenid Empire until Darius I planned to establish a capital in Persepolis. Pasargarde’s ruins cover an area of 1.6 square kilometers, including a building widely believed to be the tomb of Ju Lushi II, a fortress located on a nearby hill, and the ruins of two palaces and gardens.

       

The first thing to see when entering the site area is the simple tomb of Ju Lushi.

       

Cyrus II was a military strategist and politician in ancient West Asia and the founder of the Persian Empire. He was of Persian Achaemenid origin. His grandfather and father both served as tribal leaders and surrendered to the kingdom of Medea.

       

Ju Lushi was brave, aggressive and intelligent when he was young. As an adult, he became a heroic knight and made many achievements. In 558 BC, he was recommended as the leader of the Achaemenid people. He led the Persian tribal alliance to challenge Medea’s rule. At the same time, he continuously conquered the surrounding areas and gained great power. In 550 BC, the kingdom of Medea was destroyed and the Achaemenid Dynasty was established. Later, the capital was Persepolis (now Shiraz). Ju Lushi claimed to be Ju Lushi II because he honored his father as Ju Lushi I. Soon, Ju Lushi II unified the whole territory of Persia and became the famous “Persian King” who intimidated the enemy.

       

Ju Lushi Ermin was an ambitious monarch. We set out to establish a national army, bring the tribal armed forces into the national army system under unified command, and implement the policy of foreign aggression and expansion. In 546 BC, Persia destroyed Lydia, a powerful country in Asia Minor, and then conquered Greek city-states along the Aegean Sea. In 545 BC, it marched eastward and occupied Herat (now Afghanistan) and northern Afghanistan. He also crossed the Wuhu River (now Amu Darya River) to Yaoshaushui (now Syr River), which is its northeast border. In 539 BC, Ju Lushi’s Second Army and the Two Rivers destroyed the New Babylonian Kingdom. He made a decision that had a great impact on the historical process of the Jews, ordering the release of the Jews known as “Babylonian prisoners”, allowing these Jewish prisoners to return to Palestinian areas, and allowing the Jews to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple. The Jews were deeply impressed by his grace and called him “the king who anointed with holy oil.” The Syrian states that had previously surrendered to Babylon and the Philippians (who lived in what is now Lebanon along the Mediterranean) were loyal to him. He incorporated Syria, Phoenicia and Palestine into Babylon and became a large province called Babylus. Later, Ju Lushi II sent an expedition to Central Asia and conquered Daxia (Bactria), Sogda, Hualazimo and other regions successively. Finally, he sent troops to Egypt in North Africa. In a short span of more than ten years, Ju Lushi II destroyed the three Western Asian powers of Medea, Lydia and New Babylon and established the Great Persian Empire from the Mediterranean coast in the west to the Syr River in the east, calling himself “the king of the world” and “the king of the four sides”.

       

In 529 BC, Ju Lushi led his army to the East and crossed the medicine and water, which was blocked by the Masagatai tribe. He was seriously injured in the fierce battle and died. He was buried in Persepolis, the old capital of Persia. His mausoleum has become an important historical site in Iran today.

       

The tomb of Ju Lushi II has a total of 6 broad steps on the outside. The tomb is 3.17 meters long, 2.11 meters wide and 2.11 meters high, and has a low and narrow entrance. Although there is no clear evidence to prove that this is the tomb of Cyrus II, according to the records of Greek historians, Alexander the Great regards it as the tomb of Cyrus II. Alexander the Great plundered and destroyed Persepolis and visited the tomb. In Alien’s works, it is recorded that Alexander the Great once ordered a soldier to enter the mausoleum and found a bed made of gold, a table with utensils, a gold coffin, some decorations decorated with precious jewelry and inscriptions on the mausoleum, but these inscriptions have not been preserved to this day.

       

About one kilometer away from the mausoleum, it is the relic of the Achaemenid Empire. The first thing to see is the residence of Ju Lushi, which has a central hall, balcony and garden. A stone pillar in the southeast is engraved with inscriptions written in Persian, Elamian and Babylonian: It’s me, King of Ju Lushi, Achaemenid!

      

There are various ruins of the fortress on the nearby hillside.

      

The most complete is the site of Solomon Prison north of Ju Lushi’s residence.

This article is reprinted from Public Number: History and Order