Persepolis

Persepolis was an ancient capital of the Persian Achaemenid Empire, situated some 70 km northeast of Shiraz, not far from where the small river Pulwar flows into the Kur (Kyrus). To the ancient Persians, the city was known as Parsa, Persepolis being the Greek interpretation of the name. In modern Iran the site is known as Takht-e Jamshid (Throne of Jamshid).

The largest and most complex building in Persepolis was the audience hall or Apadana with 36 columns, accessible by two monumental stairs.

Site

The site is marked by a large terrace with its east side leaning on Kuh-e Rahmet ("the Mount of Grace"). The other three sides are formed by a retaining wall, varying in height with the slope of the ground from 5 to 13 meters on the west side a magnificent double stair, of very easy steps, which leads to the top. On this terrace are the ruins of a number of colossal buildings, all constructed of dark-grey marble from the adjacent mountain. Especially striking are the huge pillars, of which a number still stand erect. Several of the buildings were never finished. F. Stolze has shown that in some cases even the mason's rubbish has not been removed. These ruins, for which the name Kizil minare or Chihil menare ("the forty columns or minarets"), can be traced back to the 13th century, are now known as Takhti Jamshid ("the throne of Jamshid"). That they represent the Persepolis captured and partly destroyed by (Proskynesis scene)

3D Virtual Reconstruction

There's a web site that has been dedicated to providing accurate 3D virtually reconstructed images of the Persepolis. [, , February 13, 2006.