Iran was once the heart of the enormous Achaemenid Persian Empire, founded by Cyrus the Great more than 2,500 years ago. At its height, the empire stretched from parts of southeastern Europe and North Africa across the Middle East and into Central and South Asia, bringing many of the ancient world’s great civilizations under Persian rule.
Cyrus is remembered not only as a conqueror but also for the way he governed such a diverse empire. The famous Cyrus Cylinder records his restoration of temples and return of displaced peoples after his conquest of Babylon. It has sometimes been described as an early declaration of human rights, although historians debate that modern interpretation. My journey into ancient Persia began at Pasargadae, where the remarkably simple tomb of Cyrus the Great still stands.
From Pasargadae I continued to Persepolis, one of the great ceremonial centers of the Persian Empire. Construction began during the reign of Darius I around 518 BCE and continued under later Persian kings. Even after more than 2,500 years, enormous pieces of the ancient city remain standing.
One of the first things I encountered was the monumental entrance complex. The surviving stone figures and carvings give you some idea of the scale visitors would have experienced when arriving here during the height of the empire.
Looking toward the entrance from farther away made the size of Persepolis even easier to appreciate. Much of the original city is gone, but the surviving gateways, columns, staircases, walls, and foundations still reveal how enormous the complex once was.
From some angles, Persepolis looks surprisingly intact considering its age. Standing here, I kept thinking about how advanced and organized a civilization had to be to build something on this scale more than two millennia ago. The ruins also make it possible to visualize the layout of the city rather than seeing only isolated pieces of stone.
Past the monumental entrance, ancient visitors would have continued farther into the complex along routes like this one. Walking the same paths made Persepolis feel much more tangible to me than simply reading about the Persian Empire in a history book.
My favorite parts of Persepolis were the ancient reliefs. Many have survived in remarkable condition and depict soldiers, officials, animals, and delegations representing the many peoples who lived within or interacted with the Persian Empire.
The diversity represented in these carvings was particularly interesting. The Achaemenid Empire ruled people from many different cultures, languages, and religions. Even the monumental entrance to the complex became known as the Gate of All Nations, a fitting name for the center of such a vast empire.
I liked the reliefs enough that I photographed quite a few of them. For me, there’s a big difference between reading a description of ancient people and actually seeing how they portrayed themselves. These figures give a remarkably detailed look at clothing, weapons, hairstyles, and other aspects of life in the Persian Empire.
Other carvings show people alongside animals and gifts being brought to the Persian court. After thousands of years, the details are still clear enough that you can stand in front of them and study individual faces, clothing, and animals carved into the stone.
One image I saw repeatedly was a lion attacking a bull. I initially thought it was strange that such a violent scene appeared so often around the complex. There are several interpretations of its meaning, including theories connecting it with seasonal renewal or astronomical symbolism, but its exact meaning remains debated. Whatever the explanation, it became one of the most recognizable images of Persepolis for me.
A short drive northwest of Persepolis is Naqsh-e Rustam, where enormous royal tombs were carved directly into a cliff. Several Achaemenid kings were buried here, making it one of the most important archaeological sites connected with ancient Persia.
Among the rulers associated with these tombs is Xerxes I, probably one of the best-known Persian kings in the Western world. He continued the Persian wars against the Greek city-states and is famously portrayed as the enemy of the Spartans in the story of Thermopylae. Modern movies such as 300 turned him into an almost fantasy-like villain, so seeing the actual burial place of the historical Persian king was a very different experience. Unfortunately, some ugly scaffolding was competing with the ancient scenery when I visited!
The tomb of Darius I is particularly important because an inscription identifies him, helping archaeologists determine the identities of the other royal tombs at Naqsh-e Rustam. Other Achaemenid rulers buried at the site are generally identified as Xerxes I, Artaxerxes I, and Darius II.
A local Iranian traveling with me jokingly referred to Alexander the Great as “Alexander the Not-So-Great.” Considering where we were standing, I could understand his perspective. Alexander defeated the Achaemenid Empire and conquered Persepolis during his campaign through Persia.
Seeing the tombs from farther away really shows their scale. Rather than being constructed as separate buildings, the monumental façades were carved high into the rock itself. Standing beneath them, it was hard not to imagine how impressive this place must have appeared during the Persian Empire.
Naqsh-e Rustam also contains rock reliefs created centuries after the Achaemenid kings were buried here. One of the most famous is the Investiture of Ardashir I, founder of the Sasanian Empire. The relief shows Ardashir receiving a ring of kingship from Ahura Mazda, the supreme deity of Zoroastrianism.
This site therefore preserves history from very different eras of ancient Iran in the same place. The Achaemenid royal tombs were already centuries old when the Sasanians added their own enormous carvings to the cliffs.
One of the most mysterious structures at Naqsh-e Rustam is the Ka’ba-ye Zartosht. It looks completely different from the cliff tombs and reliefs surrounding it, and inscriptions added to the structure provide valuable information about later Persian history. What the building was originally constructed for, however, remains uncertain.
Several purposes have been proposed over the years, including religious or ceremonial uses. I was especially interested in the possibility that it had some connection to Zoroastrianism because I had visited Zoroastrian sites elsewhere in Iran and Azerbaijan. Whatever its original purpose, ending my visit with something historians still don’t completely understand seemed appropriate. Persepolis and Naqsh-e Rustam reveal an incredible amount about ancient Persia, but after more than 2,000 years there are still mysteries left behind.
