Ancient site · City
Persepolis
The ceremonial capital of the Persian (Achaemenid) Empire on the plain of Marvdasht in southern Iran, begun by Darius the Great around 518 BCE. On a great stone terrace stood audience halls with forests of columns.
Staircase reliefs show delegations from across the empire bringing gifts to the king. Alexander the Great captured it in 330 BCE, and soon after the palaces burned. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- Dates
- c. 518–330 BCE
- Still standing
- Yes
- UNESCO World Heritage
- Yes
- Location
- 29.93° N, 52.89° E
How we know
Royal inscriptions on the buildings and thousands of administrative tablets document its construction.
Nearby sites
- Chogha Zanbil c. 1250–645 BCE
- Dilmun Burial Mounds c. 2200–1750 BCE (main period)
- Susa c. 4200 BCE – 1218 CE
- Ur (ziggurat and Royal Cemetery) c. 3800–500 BCE; Royal Cemetery c. 2600 BCE; ziggurat 21st century BCE
- Eridu c. 5400–600 BCE
- Uruk (Eanna and the White Temple) c. 5000 BCE – c. 700 CE; Eanna and White Temple c. 3500–3100 BCE