189-350. The walls were tiled and decorated with pictures of lions, bulls, and flowers. The site continues to be one of the most popular tourist attraction
When Cyrus rebelled against the Medes to establish the Persian state, his opponent was King Astyages. Hist. These ambassadors are depicted in detailed bas-reliefs that still survive today. By the Royal Road, Alexander stormed and captured the Persian Gates (in the modern Zagros Mountains), then took Persepolis before its treasury could be looted. 29-62. Cyrus and Darius authorized grand building projects in Babylon, particularly favoring the powerful priesthood of Marduk, the patron god of the city. Persepolis was generally unknown to the Greeks before Alexander plundered and burned it (Schmidt, passim; Shahbazi, 1976, pp. After several months Alexander allowed the troops to loot Persepolis. To mark his great victory, Cyrus began the construction of a palace-city fit for a King. Thus Solnya, which is situated on an elevated plain with abundant pasture called by the Mongols Qongqur-leng (Qnqr-lng, Brown Meadows), was begun as his capital by the Il-khan Arn (q.v.) Momen, p. 179). Curzon, Persian Question II, pp. Nder Shah at first resided at Isfahan, but when he assumed the throne of Iran in 1148/1736 he moved his capital to Mahad in the far northeast of the country (see below). Qazvn constituted an important stage along the vital road connecting Azerbaijan with Khorasan, and it also occupied a strategic situation along the overland trade route from Anatolia, Russia, and the West into Iran. But when Babylon rebelled against the heavy taxes of Xerxess rule, he punished the city harshly, allegedly destroying a sacred statue of Marduk. of the fifth century B.C.E. R. Sharp, 2nd ed., Shiraz, 1955. Chaumont, 1973, pp. H. P. Francfort, Central Asia and Eastern Iran, in CAH2 IV, 1985, pp. Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo, Embassy to Tamerlane 1403-1406, tr. Under the Qajars and Pahlavis. decorated on the south and north with reliefs of throne scenes and on Hist. Tyre had grown rich and prominent through its trade in purple dyes made from Murex sea snails as well as other commodities such as silver. 409-67. 583-93. 125-53.
When Darius came to the throne, Susa remained Dariuss preferred royal retreat.
199-201). In the middle years of the 4th/10th century the rise of the Deylamite Buyids led to the foundation of something like a family confederation with provincial capitals at Ray, Shiraz, and Baghdad, together with ancillary courts at Isfahan and, in the 5th/11th century under the Buyids Deylamite vassals the Kakuyids, at Isfahan, Hamadn, and Yazd. The administrative and political center of the Sasanian empire remained at Ctesiphon, which was also the metropolitan see of the Persian Christians (Macomber) and the seat of the chief rabbi of Iran. Pre-Achaemenid period. Next to the Apadana, second largest building of the Terrace and the This garden drew influences from other prominent Middle Eastern empires, such as the Assyrians, but it also established its own traditions. It was built by Darius the Great, beginning around 518 B.C.E. Darius ordered the construction of Apadana Palace and the Debating hall (Tripylon or the three-gated hall), the main imperial Treasury and its surroundings, which were completed at the time of the reign of his son, King Xerxes I. But during Xerxes reign, Egypt rebelled again. 728-58. Xerxes name was written in three languages and carved on the entrances, informing everyone that he ordered this to be built. While Babylon celebrated an important festival, the Persians diverted the Euphrates to allow them to breach the walls. Morony). This decentralization of power within Iran was not altered by the advent of the Mongols in the 7th/13th century, who were accustomed to extreme mobility and suspected fixed residences, even after their conversion to Islam with its urban bias and outlook. Several of the buildings were never finished. In 539 BC, Cyrus the Great entered Babylon as a peaceful conqueror. Darius quelled the uprising by demonstrating favor to the native Egyptian priesthoods. Cyrus captured Tyre in 539 BC, and initially, the Phoenician city-states were permitted to retain their native kings. BA Professional Writing, member Canterbury Archaeological Trust, Brilliant seafarers and successful merchants, 8 Philosophers of Stoicism You Should Know, King Xerxes I: 9 Facts About His Life And Rule, Roman Trade with India and China: The Lure of the East, Darius the Great: 9 Facts About The King Of Kings, Fascinating Facts from the Bas-Reliefs of Persepolis. ; Shahbazi, 1977, pp. There is no comprehensive work on capital cities in the Islamic period (see, e.g., Aubin, p. 65).
The practice of shifting residences was in accord with the tribal history of the Persians. After subjugating Ecbatana, Cyrus continued to increase Persian influence throughout the region. Miletus fell under the command of Persia when Cyrus defeated King Croesus of Lydia in 546 BC. This 7070 square meter hall Two grand Persepolitan stairways were built, symmetrical to each other and connected to the stone foundations. It was taken over in the mid-6th/12th century as a local capital and springboard for further Muslim conquests in India by a branch of the Ghurid dynasty, whose principal center was at Frzkh in Gr, but never succeeded in supplanting or even being added to the three historic capitals of Afghanistan, Kabul, Qandahr, and Herat, and subsequently lapsed into second-rank political significance. (Optional) Enter email address if you would like feedback about your tag. It served as home base, a symbolic center of dynastic ceremonial.
Further construction of the buildings at the terrace continued until the downfall of the Achaemenid dynasty. osrow II Parvz (591-628) established his permanent residence at Dastgerd (Ar. In about 333 B.C.E. 152, 227). ; Markwart, Provincial Capitals, pp. These formed a single building, which was still intact 900 years ago, and was used as the mosque of the then existing city of Istakhr. There the foundations of the second great Persian Empire were laid, and Istakhr acquired special importance as the center of priestly wisdom and orthodoxy. During the 3rd/8th century Abbasid control over Iran relaxed, and the Taherid governors of Khorasan preferred to make their capital at Npr rather than in the unhealthy and febrile Marv oasis, located in the Qara Qum desert and open to attacks from the steppes. Idem, Persia. His son, Xerxes I, built his own palace at the site, much larger than his fathers. 218ff.). However, for two reasons in particular these provincial centers of power must be considered as capital cities: they normally possessed an administrative complex (dr al-emra) containing the personal residence of the local governor or ruler, usually in a fortified or otherwise defensible building or site, and the dvns with the organs of administration were located there whenever they did not accompany the holder of power on campaigns or travels. The location of Tehran was not particularly well-favored by nature, and a critical factor in its choice as a capital was its being within easy reach of the Qajar Turkmens tribal pastures in the Astarbd-Gorgn area (cf. The Sassanian kings covered the faces of the rocks in this neighborhood, and in part even the Achaemenian ruins, with their sculptures and inscriptions, and must themselves have built largely here, although never on the same scale of magnificence as their ancient predecessors. W. Barthold, An Historical Geography of Iran, tr. Finally, after the decline of the Safavids Herat passed into the orbit of the Dorrn Afghan rulers, still retaining its ancient commercial importance and eventually becoming one of the strategic centers of modern Afghanistan. A. In the middle and later decades of the 8th/14th century the small town of Sabzavr to the west of Npr achieved momentary fame as the capital of the local Shiite dynasty of the Sarbadarids. Pivoting devices found on the inner corners of all the doors indicate that they were two-leafed doors, probably made of wood and covered with sheets of ornate metal. At the time of the Arabian conquest Istakhr offered a desperate resistance, but the city was still a place of considerable importance in the first century of Islam, although its greatness was speedily eclipsed by the new metropolis Shiraz. by two colossal stone bulls. Beitrge zur alten Geschichte 8, 1908, pp. The site is maintained by the Iranian Cultural Heritage Foundation. M. G. Morony, Conquerors and Conquered Iran, in G. H. A. Juynboll, ed., Studies in the First Century of Islamic Society, Carbondale and Edwardsville, Ill., 1982, pp. In 1934, Erich F. Schmidt took over the expedition and cleared out larger sections of the complex.[5]. 165ff. Darius the Great built the greatest and most glorious palace at Persepolis in the western side. 316-31. Hagmatna, Gk. Religion and History, in Iranica. Hist. It appears to be a grand ceremonial complex that was occupied seasonally, especially during summer as winter rains made it inaccessible. 316-31), and Lockhart (1960) contains sections on many of the cities and towns mentioned in the article. In local tradition a huge lion carved in stone (probably in the early Hellenistic period) was identified as the guardian figure of the city; although the lion was damaged in a.d. 319/911, when the army of Mardvj, founder of the Ziyarid dynasty of Gorgn and abarestn, stormed Hamadn (Masd, Morj IX, p. 21; cf. Ekbatana or Agmatana) at the foot of Mount Alvand (for Hamadn, see Schmidt, I, pp. The Saljuq Turks, who overran Iran during some three or four middle decades of the 5th/11th century, retained their steppe nomadic traditions and even after they had left Central Asia behind never developed any strong need for a permanent, fixed capital, which would comprise the sultans family and personal guard, the court circle, and the divans of the administration. 65-75. But Harpagus, in command of half of the army, defected to Cyrus and handed the Astyages over.
Under later Persian rulers Tyre revolted several times, including in 392 BC at the urging of Athens and Egypt.
Iran V, 1968, pp. Savory, pp. These provinces were home to some of the greatest cities in the Middle East. [3] A fire broke out in the eastern palace of Xerxes and spread to the rest of the city. In the 6th/12th century the Saljuq sultanate was virtually divided into two parts: the administration of the western half was based in Hamadn or Isfahan and, at times, in Baghdad, nominally shared with the Abbasid caliphs, while that of the eastern half was based in Marv, which under Sultan Sanjar (q.v.) Abd-Allh Bal, Fael-e Bal, tr. Shah ahmsb (q.v. 609-14. Xerxess successors would each add their own monuments to the city. The city must have gradually declined in the course of time; but the ruins of the Achaemenidae remained as a witness to its ancient glory. Shahbazi, The "One Year" of Darius Reexamined, BSOAS 35, 1972, pp. It was the middlemost and the highest of the three steep crags which rise from the valley of the Kur, at some distance to the west or north-west of Nakshi Rustam. L. Oppenheim, in Camb. In 316 B.C.E. p. 80), and the city continued to flourish in the 8th/14th and 9th/15th centuries as the capital of the Turkman dynasties of the Jalayerids, the Qara Qoyunl, and finally, after 873/1468, under Uzun asan (q.v. Behind Takht-e Jamshid are three sepulchers hewn out of the rock in the hillside. ), and local tradition identified a sepulcher (sar-e tall) in the main square as that of Kay Gotsp (Bal, p. 17, cf. At its height, the Persian Empire spanned an area from the Hindu Kush to Asia Minor. ; cf. 
But only with zn Khanwas a regular capital begun at Tabrz, the traditional center of Azerbaijan, eventually contributing to the eclipse of Solnya. 114-15), and in the Sasanian period it enjoyed great prestige as the holy land of the Mazdeans (Barthold, p. 6; Lukonin, p. 698). pp. Cyrus The Great: Fascinating Facts & Accomplishments. South of Seleucia King Vologases (most probably Vologases I; see bal i) founded a new commercial center known as Vologasias (Valpt, later Sabt); it, too, was eventually incorporated into the capital complex (for problems of location, see Frye, 1984, p. 227). pp. On the west bank there were Seleucia, partially rebuilt by Ardar and called Weh-Ardar (Ar. amzn_assoc_region = "US"; At the height of its powers, the Persian Empire stretched from the Hindu Kush in the East to the coast of Asia Minor in the West. Other dynasties that formed the Persian Empire include the Parthian Empire and the Safavid Empire. 197-222. Despite Tehrans strategic situation on the highway to Khorasan, however, there was an element of the fortuitous in its rise to fame and fortune. The other three sides are formed by a retaining wall, which varies in height with the slope of the ground. amzn_assoc_marketplace = "amazon"; ; see Boyle and Petrushevsky, pp. Drwas a stronghold on Mount Apaortenon built by Tiridates I (Debevoise, p. 15; Justin, 41.5.1-4; cf. However, it is not clear whether the fire was a deliberate act of ravage or it was just an accident. pp. The terraces were filled with heavy rocks and soil and fastened with metal clips to create a level terrace. Darius retaliated by suppressing the rebellion and razing the Greek city-states of Eretria and Athens. Under the Safavids, when access to the atabtof Iraq was generally impeded by the hostile Ottomans, its shrine of Imam Al al-Re was especially favored. Modern day Iranians view the ruins of Persepolis in a fashion similar to how modern Egyptians view the pyramids: symbols of national pride. 201-06). Babylonian bricks, cedar timber from Lebanon, gold from Sardis, and ebony, ivory, and silver from Egypt and Nubia were all used. The modern Persians call this place Naqsh-e Rustam or Nakshi Rostam (the picture of Rostam), from the Sassanian reliefs beneath the opening, which they take to be a representation of the mythical hero Rostam. When organizing an expedition to capture Carthage, King Cambyses called on the services of Tyre. 1. amzn_assoc_title = ""; ), and has in the present century so far overtaken in population growth and urban sprawl the other cities of Iran as to enjoy what would appear to be an unassailable position as the countrys capital for the foreseeable future. Bowman, Aramaic Ritual Texts from Persepolis, Chicago, 1970.
445ff.). M. L. Chaumont, Le culte dAnhita Stakhr, in RHR, 1958, pp. The unfinished one is perhaps that of Arses of Persia, who reigned at the longest two years, or, if not his, then that of Darius III (Codomannus), who is one of those whose bodies are said to have been brought to the Persians.. V. Minorsky, Tabrz, in EI1 IV, 1934, pp. *Sata-dwra hundred gates, cf. See also EIr. Tehran nevertheless grew inexorably, probably trebling its population in the century or so between 1222/1807 and 1328/1910 (cf.
Studies Presented to Professor L. P. Elwell-Sutton, Edinburgh, 1983, pp. Pasargadae is the resting place of Cyrus himself, and his simple but imposing tomb continues to be one of Irans most cherished monuments. Hist. ), and the Arabs captured it only a few years later. 1-41. W. Dastgerd, Tehran, 1314 ./1935. Book of Judith 1:2-4, where the Median king is called Arphaxad).
Papers in Honour of Prof. J. Asmussen, Acta Iranica 28, 1988, pp. When Cyrus was conquering lands for his nascent Persian Empire, the Phoenician city-states along the coast of Lebanon were rapidly annexed. This fruitful region, however, was covered with villages until the frightful devastations of the eighteenth century; and even now it is, comparatively speaking, well cultivated. Xerxes ruthlessly crushed the revolt, but his successors would continue to experience difficulties. This article is available in print.Vol. During the Greco-Persian Wars, the Phoenicians formed the bulk of the naval forces deployed by Darius and Xerxes. The city of Prsa, also in Frs, was built by Darius the Great and his two successors (Schmidt, passim) at the foot of Kh-e Mehr (Arabicized Kh-e Ramat; Shahbazi, 1977, pp. It was here that Arab immigrants settled and became assimilated to the indigenous Iranian population of the Marv oasis, producing one of the social elements which seem to have favored the progress of the Abbasid dawa there (see abbasid caliphate), and it was here that Hrn al-Rads son al-Mamn established his court while viceroy of the East for his father, governing the whole caliphate from there in the first years of his reign until conditions in Iraq had become quiet enough for him to move to Baghdad in 204/819. Tmrs descendants in the 9th/15th century from hro (q.v.) Across this vast landscape, the Achaemenid Empire boasted several great cities like Persepolis. Sardis was rebuilt and remained part of the Achaemenid Empire until surrendering to Alexander in 334 BC. R. A.
Tmr, even though frequently campaigning, made Samarkand his capital, adjacent to the Central Asian steppes from which he drew much of his fighting manpower, and enriched it with fine buildings, as attested by the Spanish envoy Clavijo (pp. R. M. Savory, Iran under the Safavids, Cambridge, 1980. Like many cities of the Achaemenid Empire, Ecbatana fell to Alexander the Great in 330 BC. On the terrace are the ruins of a number of colossal buildings, all constructed of dark-grey marble from the adjacent mountain. ; Boyce, Zoroastrianism II, p. 219). The designers were greatly influenced by the Mesopotamians in their construction, and when a significant portion of the city was completed, Darius declared it the new capital of Persia, replacing Pasargadae. 417-39. Xerxes also raised the Gate of All Nations and finished the Royal Treasury. To prevent that from happening, Astyages ordered his daughters baby to be killed. Western and central Iran fell away from caliphal control less than a century after the east.
Iran VI, 1986, pp. According to Xenophon (Cyropaedia 8.6.22), in winter Cyrus spent seven months in Babylon, the three months of spring at Susa, and the two summer months in Ecbatana. From Saljuq times onwards the availability of lush spring pasture for herds became a prime factor for tribal and nomadic peoples in the choice of favored areas for concentration or of the location of their administrative and cultural centers. Egypt proved troublesome time and time again for the Persian Empire, with two distinct periods of Achaemenid rule. To create the level terrace, any depressions that were present were filled up with soil and heavy rocks. European visitors were more impressed by Isfahan and the splendor of its court life than by any other Middle Eastern city, and Chardin believed that it was as populous as the London of his time, perhaps with 600,000 to 700,000 people (cf. [4], The first scientific excavation at Persepolis was carried out by Ernst Herzfeld in 1931, commissioned by the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. marched from Drbgerd, captured the Parthian provincial capital of Staxr, and in 227 took Ctesiphon. The 27th Dynasty was overthrown in 405 BC during the reign of Artaxerxes II by an Egyptian called Nectanebo II, who declared himself Pharaoh. L. Oppenheim, pp. 1, 1968, pp. In its external appearance and the absence of most of the amenities normally associated with capital cities, it remained essentially a provincial town until the rebuilding and expansionary measures of Ner-al-Dn Shah (q.v. 72, 80-81) and the seven palaces of Bahrm V Gr (cf. decidedly a ruin, yet it remains impressive: Even today, those who step up to its gigantic terrace of 125,000 square meters and see its majestic columns are filled with a sense of awe drifting into a dream-like trance. Two Persepolitan style symmetrical stairways were built on the northern and eastern sides of Apadana to compensate for a difference in level. Ettehadieh, pp. This would become Pasargadae. 205-06), beginning about 520 b.c. 531-33, 580), but after his death Seleucus I established Seleucia, on the west bank of the Tigris, as the capital (Frye, 1984, pp. Daskara), originally a caravan post on the Dla river about 64 miles east of the eventual site of Baghdad, and built there a large palace surrounded by a high wall (Nldeke, Geschichte der Perser, p. 295 n. 1; Sarre and Herzfeld, 1920, pp. 199ff. Xerxes II, who reigned for a very short time, could scarcely have obtained so splendid a monument, and still less could the usurper Sogdianus (Secydianus). W. W. Tarn, The Greeks in Bactria and India, 2nd rev. Just as the renaissance of Isfahan was bound up with the maturation of Safavid political and military power and the burgeoning of Safavid culture, so was the passing of its glory bound up with the fall of the dynasty after the sacking of the city by the Afghans in 1134/1722.
It was here that Alexander ordered the assassination of one of his generals, Parmenion, on suspicion of treason. 454ff. Idem, A Sasanian Repository at Shahr- Qmis, JRAS, 1970b, pp.
In contemporary Iran the site is known as Takht-e Jamshid (Throne of Jamshid). Bxtri, Av. Sasanian period. There was a sanctuary of Anhit (Boyce, Zoroastrianism II, p. 217; cf. There are some general remarks in Roemer (1974, esp. S. Soucek, ed. 59-75), and it was there that the body of the last Sasanian king was sent from Marv. 154-76, who compares the planning and reconstruction of Isfahan by Shah Abbs with that of Baghdad in the 2nd/8th century by the caliph al-Manr).
Throughout Cyruss 30 year reign, Pasargadae became the religious and royal center of his growing Achaemenid Empire. amzn_assoc_tracking_id = "brewminate-20"; The columns were joined to each other with the help of oak and cedar beams, which were brought from Lebanon. 97-105. There were also two other stairways in the middle of the building. 1:7-11); a treasury, which was later plundered by Alexander (Schmidt, I, p. 156); and a temple of Anhit, which was ransacked by Antiochus III (q.v. To avoid the roof being eroded by rain vertical drains were built through the brick walls. However, there were some incidents. These centers played important diplomatic and administrative roles in Iranian history, closely linked to the fortunes of the ruling families. Nem, Haft peykar, ed. Persepolis was the greatest of all the Persian capital. From there military operations, both defensive and aggressive, against western powers were conducted from 539 b.c. J. Rypka, Poets and Prose Writers of the Late Saljuq and Mongol Periods, in Camb. ; Herzfeld, 1910, pp. (also called the Hundred-Columns Palace). R. Pinder-Wilson, Timurid Architecture, in Camb. Bx, Bactria), according to Iranian legend the capital of the Kayanids (Christensen, p. 118), may have been the earliest center of Iranian governmental structure (Barthold, p. 6). Many believe the fire was an act of revenge as King Xerxes has set on fire the Greek city of Athens about 150 years ago. Both Cyrus and Darius respected Babylons prestige, allowing the city to retain its culture and customs. 319-20, who favors a date of spring 1006/1598). For three years Hezfelds team worked to uncover the Eastern stairwell of the Apadana, the main terrace, the stairs of the council hall and the harem of Xerxes. Idem, Archaeological History of Iran, London, 1935. Darius had a mighty palace and grand apadana constructed at Persepolis.
When Cyrus rebelled against the Medes to establish the Persian state, his opponent was King Astyages. Hist. These ambassadors are depicted in detailed bas-reliefs that still survive today. By the Royal Road, Alexander stormed and captured the Persian Gates (in the modern Zagros Mountains), then took Persepolis before its treasury could be looted. 29-62. Cyrus and Darius authorized grand building projects in Babylon, particularly favoring the powerful priesthood of Marduk, the patron god of the city. Persepolis was generally unknown to the Greeks before Alexander plundered and burned it (Schmidt, passim; Shahbazi, 1976, pp. After several months Alexander allowed the troops to loot Persepolis. To mark his great victory, Cyrus began the construction of a palace-city fit for a King. Thus Solnya, which is situated on an elevated plain with abundant pasture called by the Mongols Qongqur-leng (Qnqr-lng, Brown Meadows), was begun as his capital by the Il-khan Arn (q.v.) Momen, p. 179). Curzon, Persian Question II, pp. Nder Shah at first resided at Isfahan, but when he assumed the throne of Iran in 1148/1736 he moved his capital to Mahad in the far northeast of the country (see below). Qazvn constituted an important stage along the vital road connecting Azerbaijan with Khorasan, and it also occupied a strategic situation along the overland trade route from Anatolia, Russia, and the West into Iran. But when Babylon rebelled against the heavy taxes of Xerxess rule, he punished the city harshly, allegedly destroying a sacred statue of Marduk. of the fifth century B.C.E. R. Sharp, 2nd ed., Shiraz, 1955. Chaumont, 1973, pp. H. P. Francfort, Central Asia and Eastern Iran, in CAH2 IV, 1985, pp. Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo, Embassy to Tamerlane 1403-1406, tr. Under the Qajars and Pahlavis. decorated on the south and north with reliefs of throne scenes and on Hist. Tyre had grown rich and prominent through its trade in purple dyes made from Murex sea snails as well as other commodities such as silver. 409-67. 583-93. 125-53.
When Darius came to the throne, Susa remained Dariuss preferred royal retreat.
199-201). In the middle years of the 4th/10th century the rise of the Deylamite Buyids led to the foundation of something like a family confederation with provincial capitals at Ray, Shiraz, and Baghdad, together with ancillary courts at Isfahan and, in the 5th/11th century under the Buyids Deylamite vassals the Kakuyids, at Isfahan, Hamadn, and Yazd. The administrative and political center of the Sasanian empire remained at Ctesiphon, which was also the metropolitan see of the Persian Christians (Macomber) and the seat of the chief rabbi of Iran. Pre-Achaemenid period. Next to the Apadana, second largest building of the Terrace and the This garden drew influences from other prominent Middle Eastern empires, such as the Assyrians, but it also established its own traditions. It was built by Darius the Great, beginning around 518 B.C.E. Darius ordered the construction of Apadana Palace and the Debating hall (Tripylon or the three-gated hall), the main imperial Treasury and its surroundings, which were completed at the time of the reign of his son, King Xerxes I. But during Xerxes reign, Egypt rebelled again. 728-58. Xerxes name was written in three languages and carved on the entrances, informing everyone that he ordered this to be built. While Babylon celebrated an important festival, the Persians diverted the Euphrates to allow them to breach the walls. Morony). This decentralization of power within Iran was not altered by the advent of the Mongols in the 7th/13th century, who were accustomed to extreme mobility and suspected fixed residences, even after their conversion to Islam with its urban bias and outlook. Several of the buildings were never finished. In 539 BC, Cyrus the Great entered Babylon as a peaceful conqueror. Darius quelled the uprising by demonstrating favor to the native Egyptian priesthoods. Cyrus captured Tyre in 539 BC, and initially, the Phoenician city-states were permitted to retain their native kings. BA Professional Writing, member Canterbury Archaeological Trust, Brilliant seafarers and successful merchants, 8 Philosophers of Stoicism You Should Know, King Xerxes I: 9 Facts About His Life And Rule, Roman Trade with India and China: The Lure of the East, Darius the Great: 9 Facts About The King Of Kings, Fascinating Facts from the Bas-Reliefs of Persepolis. ; Shahbazi, 1977, pp. There is no comprehensive work on capital cities in the Islamic period (see, e.g., Aubin, p. 65).
The practice of shifting residences was in accord with the tribal history of the Persians. After subjugating Ecbatana, Cyrus continued to increase Persian influence throughout the region. Miletus fell under the command of Persia when Cyrus defeated King Croesus of Lydia in 546 BC. This 7070 square meter hall Two grand Persepolitan stairways were built, symmetrical to each other and connected to the stone foundations. It was taken over in the mid-6th/12th century as a local capital and springboard for further Muslim conquests in India by a branch of the Ghurid dynasty, whose principal center was at Frzkh in Gr, but never succeeded in supplanting or even being added to the three historic capitals of Afghanistan, Kabul, Qandahr, and Herat, and subsequently lapsed into second-rank political significance. (Optional) Enter email address if you would like feedback about your tag. It served as home base, a symbolic center of dynastic ceremonial.
Further construction of the buildings at the terrace continued until the downfall of the Achaemenid dynasty. osrow II Parvz (591-628) established his permanent residence at Dastgerd (Ar. In about 333 B.C.E. 152, 227). ; Markwart, Provincial Capitals, pp. These formed a single building, which was still intact 900 years ago, and was used as the mosque of the then existing city of Istakhr. There the foundations of the second great Persian Empire were laid, and Istakhr acquired special importance as the center of priestly wisdom and orthodoxy. During the 3rd/8th century Abbasid control over Iran relaxed, and the Taherid governors of Khorasan preferred to make their capital at Npr rather than in the unhealthy and febrile Marv oasis, located in the Qara Qum desert and open to attacks from the steppes. Idem, Persia. His son, Xerxes I, built his own palace at the site, much larger than his fathers. 218ff.). However, for two reasons in particular these provincial centers of power must be considered as capital cities: they normally possessed an administrative complex (dr al-emra) containing the personal residence of the local governor or ruler, usually in a fortified or otherwise defensible building or site, and the dvns with the organs of administration were located there whenever they did not accompany the holder of power on campaigns or travels. The location of Tehran was not particularly well-favored by nature, and a critical factor in its choice as a capital was its being within easy reach of the Qajar Turkmens tribal pastures in the Astarbd-Gorgn area (cf. The Sassanian kings covered the faces of the rocks in this neighborhood, and in part even the Achaemenian ruins, with their sculptures and inscriptions, and must themselves have built largely here, although never on the same scale of magnificence as their ancient predecessors. W. Barthold, An Historical Geography of Iran, tr. Finally, after the decline of the Safavids Herat passed into the orbit of the Dorrn Afghan rulers, still retaining its ancient commercial importance and eventually becoming one of the strategic centers of modern Afghanistan. A. In the middle and later decades of the 8th/14th century the small town of Sabzavr to the west of Npr achieved momentary fame as the capital of the local Shiite dynasty of the Sarbadarids. Pivoting devices found on the inner corners of all the doors indicate that they were two-leafed doors, probably made of wood and covered with sheets of ornate metal. At the time of the Arabian conquest Istakhr offered a desperate resistance, but the city was still a place of considerable importance in the first century of Islam, although its greatness was speedily eclipsed by the new metropolis Shiraz. by two colossal stone bulls. Beitrge zur alten Geschichte 8, 1908, pp. The site is maintained by the Iranian Cultural Heritage Foundation. M. G. Morony, Conquerors and Conquered Iran, in G. H. A. Juynboll, ed., Studies in the First Century of Islamic Society, Carbondale and Edwardsville, Ill., 1982, pp. In 1934, Erich F. Schmidt took over the expedition and cleared out larger sections of the complex.[5]. 165ff. Darius the Great built the greatest and most glorious palace at Persepolis in the western side. 316-31. Hagmatna, Gk. Religion and History, in Iranica. Hist. It appears to be a grand ceremonial complex that was occupied seasonally, especially during summer as winter rains made it inaccessible. 316-31), and Lockhart (1960) contains sections on many of the cities and towns mentioned in the article. In local tradition a huge lion carved in stone (probably in the early Hellenistic period) was identified as the guardian figure of the city; although the lion was damaged in a.d. 319/911, when the army of Mardvj, founder of the Ziyarid dynasty of Gorgn and abarestn, stormed Hamadn (Masd, Morj IX, p. 21; cf. Ekbatana or Agmatana) at the foot of Mount Alvand (for Hamadn, see Schmidt, I, pp. The Saljuq Turks, who overran Iran during some three or four middle decades of the 5th/11th century, retained their steppe nomadic traditions and even after they had left Central Asia behind never developed any strong need for a permanent, fixed capital, which would comprise the sultans family and personal guard, the court circle, and the divans of the administration. 65-75. But Harpagus, in command of half of the army, defected to Cyrus and handed the Astyages over.
Under later Persian rulers Tyre revolted several times, including in 392 BC at the urging of Athens and Egypt.
Iran V, 1968, pp. Savory, pp. These provinces were home to some of the greatest cities in the Middle East. [3] A fire broke out in the eastern palace of Xerxes and spread to the rest of the city. In the 6th/12th century the Saljuq sultanate was virtually divided into two parts: the administration of the western half was based in Hamadn or Isfahan and, at times, in Baghdad, nominally shared with the Abbasid caliphs, while that of the eastern half was based in Marv, which under Sultan Sanjar (q.v.) Abd-Allh Bal, Fael-e Bal, tr. Shah ahmsb (q.v. 609-14. Xerxess successors would each add their own monuments to the city. The city must have gradually declined in the course of time; but the ruins of the Achaemenidae remained as a witness to its ancient glory. Shahbazi, The "One Year" of Darius Reexamined, BSOAS 35, 1972, pp. It was the middlemost and the highest of the three steep crags which rise from the valley of the Kur, at some distance to the west or north-west of Nakshi Rustam. L. Oppenheim, in Camb. In 316 B.C.E. p. 80), and the city continued to flourish in the 8th/14th and 9th/15th centuries as the capital of the Turkman dynasties of the Jalayerids, the Qara Qoyunl, and finally, after 873/1468, under Uzun asan (q.v. Behind Takht-e Jamshid are three sepulchers hewn out of the rock in the hillside. ), and local tradition identified a sepulcher (sar-e tall) in the main square as that of Kay Gotsp (Bal, p. 17, cf. At its height, the Persian Empire spanned an area from the Hindu Kush to Asia Minor. ; cf. But only with zn Khanwas a regular capital begun at Tabrz, the traditional center of Azerbaijan, eventually contributing to the eclipse of Solnya. 114-15), and in the Sasanian period it enjoyed great prestige as the holy land of the Mazdeans (Barthold, p. 6; Lukonin, p. 698). pp. Cyrus The Great: Fascinating Facts & Accomplishments. South of Seleucia King Vologases (most probably Vologases I; see bal i) founded a new commercial center known as Vologasias (Valpt, later Sabt); it, too, was eventually incorporated into the capital complex (for problems of location, see Frye, 1984, p. 227). pp. On the west bank there were Seleucia, partially rebuilt by Ardar and called Weh-Ardar (Ar. amzn_assoc_region = "US"; At the height of its powers, the Persian Empire stretched from the Hindu Kush in the East to the coast of Asia Minor in the West. Other dynasties that formed the Persian Empire include the Parthian Empire and the Safavid Empire. 197-222. Despite Tehrans strategic situation on the highway to Khorasan, however, there was an element of the fortuitous in its rise to fame and fortune. The other three sides are formed by a retaining wall, which varies in height with the slope of the ground. amzn_assoc_marketplace = "amazon"; ; see Boyle and Petrushevsky, pp. Drwas a stronghold on Mount Apaortenon built by Tiridates I (Debevoise, p. 15; Justin, 41.5.1-4; cf. However, it is not clear whether the fire was a deliberate act of ravage or it was just an accident. pp. The terraces were filled with heavy rocks and soil and fastened with metal clips to create a level terrace. Darius retaliated by suppressing the rebellion and razing the Greek city-states of Eretria and Athens. Under the Safavids, when access to the atabtof Iraq was generally impeded by the hostile Ottomans, its shrine of Imam Al al-Re was especially favored. Modern day Iranians view the ruins of Persepolis in a fashion similar to how modern Egyptians view the pyramids: symbols of national pride. 201-06). Babylonian bricks, cedar timber from Lebanon, gold from Sardis, and ebony, ivory, and silver from Egypt and Nubia were all used. The modern Persians call this place Naqsh-e Rustam or Nakshi Rostam (the picture of Rostam), from the Sassanian reliefs beneath the opening, which they take to be a representation of the mythical hero Rostam. When organizing an expedition to capture Carthage, King Cambyses called on the services of Tyre. 1. amzn_assoc_title = ""; ), and has in the present century so far overtaken in population growth and urban sprawl the other cities of Iran as to enjoy what would appear to be an unassailable position as the countrys capital for the foreseeable future. Bowman, Aramaic Ritual Texts from Persepolis, Chicago, 1970. 445ff.). M. L. Chaumont, Le culte dAnhita Stakhr, in RHR, 1958, pp. The unfinished one is perhaps that of Arses of Persia, who reigned at the longest two years, or, if not his, then that of Darius III (Codomannus), who is one of those whose bodies are said to have been brought to the Persians.. V. Minorsky, Tabrz, in EI1 IV, 1934, pp. *Sata-dwra hundred gates, cf. See also EIr. Tehran nevertheless grew inexorably, probably trebling its population in the century or so between 1222/1807 and 1328/1910 (cf.
Studies Presented to Professor L. P. Elwell-Sutton, Edinburgh, 1983, pp. Pasargadae is the resting place of Cyrus himself, and his simple but imposing tomb continues to be one of Irans most cherished monuments. Hist. ), and the Arabs captured it only a few years later. 1-41. W. Dastgerd, Tehran, 1314 ./1935. Book of Judith 1:2-4, where the Median king is called Arphaxad).
Papers in Honour of Prof. J. Asmussen, Acta Iranica 28, 1988, pp. When Cyrus was conquering lands for his nascent Persian Empire, the Phoenician city-states along the coast of Lebanon were rapidly annexed. This fruitful region, however, was covered with villages until the frightful devastations of the eighteenth century; and even now it is, comparatively speaking, well cultivated. Xerxes ruthlessly crushed the revolt, but his successors would continue to experience difficulties. This article is available in print.Vol. During the Greco-Persian Wars, the Phoenicians formed the bulk of the naval forces deployed by Darius and Xerxes. The city of Prsa, also in Frs, was built by Darius the Great and his two successors (Schmidt, passim) at the foot of Kh-e Mehr (Arabicized Kh-e Ramat; Shahbazi, 1977, pp. It was here that Arab immigrants settled and became assimilated to the indigenous Iranian population of the Marv oasis, producing one of the social elements which seem to have favored the progress of the Abbasid dawa there (see abbasid caliphate), and it was here that Hrn al-Rads son al-Mamn established his court while viceroy of the East for his father, governing the whole caliphate from there in the first years of his reign until conditions in Iraq had become quiet enough for him to move to Baghdad in 204/819. Tmrs descendants in the 9th/15th century from hro (q.v.) Across this vast landscape, the Achaemenid Empire boasted several great cities like Persepolis. Sardis was rebuilt and remained part of the Achaemenid Empire until surrendering to Alexander in 334 BC. R. A.
Tmr, even though frequently campaigning, made Samarkand his capital, adjacent to the Central Asian steppes from which he drew much of his fighting manpower, and enriched it with fine buildings, as attested by the Spanish envoy Clavijo (pp. R. M. Savory, Iran under the Safavids, Cambridge, 1980. Like many cities of the Achaemenid Empire, Ecbatana fell to Alexander the Great in 330 BC. On the terrace are the ruins of a number of colossal buildings, all constructed of dark-grey marble from the adjacent mountain. ; Boyce, Zoroastrianism II, p. 219). The designers were greatly influenced by the Mesopotamians in their construction, and when a significant portion of the city was completed, Darius declared it the new capital of Persia, replacing Pasargadae. 417-39. Xerxes also raised the Gate of All Nations and finished the Royal Treasury. To prevent that from happening, Astyages ordered his daughters baby to be killed. Western and central Iran fell away from caliphal control less than a century after the east.
Iran VI, 1986, pp. According to Xenophon (Cyropaedia 8.6.22), in winter Cyrus spent seven months in Babylon, the three months of spring at Susa, and the two summer months in Ecbatana. From Saljuq times onwards the availability of lush spring pasture for herds became a prime factor for tribal and nomadic peoples in the choice of favored areas for concentration or of the location of their administrative and cultural centers. Egypt proved troublesome time and time again for the Persian Empire, with two distinct periods of Achaemenid rule. To create the level terrace, any depressions that were present were filled up with soil and heavy rocks. European visitors were more impressed by Isfahan and the splendor of its court life than by any other Middle Eastern city, and Chardin believed that it was as populous as the London of his time, perhaps with 600,000 to 700,000 people (cf. [4], The first scientific excavation at Persepolis was carried out by Ernst Herzfeld in 1931, commissioned by the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. marched from Drbgerd, captured the Parthian provincial capital of Staxr, and in 227 took Ctesiphon. The 27th Dynasty was overthrown in 405 BC during the reign of Artaxerxes II by an Egyptian called Nectanebo II, who declared himself Pharaoh. L. Oppenheim, pp. 1, 1968, pp. In its external appearance and the absence of most of the amenities normally associated with capital cities, it remained essentially a provincial town until the rebuilding and expansionary measures of Ner-al-Dn Shah (q.v. 72, 80-81) and the seven palaces of Bahrm V Gr (cf. decidedly a ruin, yet it remains impressive: Even today, those who step up to its gigantic terrace of 125,000 square meters and see its majestic columns are filled with a sense of awe drifting into a dream-like trance. Two Persepolitan style symmetrical stairways were built on the northern and eastern sides of Apadana to compensate for a difference in level. Ettehadieh, pp. This would become Pasargadae. 205-06), beginning about 520 b.c. 531-33, 580), but after his death Seleucus I established Seleucia, on the west bank of the Tigris, as the capital (Frye, 1984, pp. Daskara), originally a caravan post on the Dla river about 64 miles east of the eventual site of Baghdad, and built there a large palace surrounded by a high wall (Nldeke, Geschichte der Perser, p. 295 n. 1; Sarre and Herzfeld, 1920, pp. 199ff. Xerxes II, who reigned for a very short time, could scarcely have obtained so splendid a monument, and still less could the usurper Sogdianus (Secydianus). W. W. Tarn, The Greeks in Bactria and India, 2nd rev. Just as the renaissance of Isfahan was bound up with the maturation of Safavid political and military power and the burgeoning of Safavid culture, so was the passing of its glory bound up with the fall of the dynasty after the sacking of the city by the Afghans in 1134/1722.
It was here that Alexander ordered the assassination of one of his generals, Parmenion, on suspicion of treason. 454ff. Idem, A Sasanian Repository at Shahr- Qmis, JRAS, 1970b, pp.
In contemporary Iran the site is known as Takht-e Jamshid (Throne of Jamshid). Bxtri, Av. Sasanian period. There was a sanctuary of Anhit (Boyce, Zoroastrianism II, p. 217; cf. There are some general remarks in Roemer (1974, esp. S. Soucek, ed. 59-75), and it was there that the body of the last Sasanian king was sent from Marv. 154-76, who compares the planning and reconstruction of Isfahan by Shah Abbs with that of Baghdad in the 2nd/8th century by the caliph al-Manr).
Throughout Cyruss 30 year reign, Pasargadae became the religious and royal center of his growing Achaemenid Empire. amzn_assoc_tracking_id = "brewminate-20"; The columns were joined to each other with the help of oak and cedar beams, which were brought from Lebanon. 97-105. There were also two other stairways in the middle of the building. 1:7-11); a treasury, which was later plundered by Alexander (Schmidt, I, p. 156); and a temple of Anhit, which was ransacked by Antiochus III (q.v. To avoid the roof being eroded by rain vertical drains were built through the brick walls. However, there were some incidents. These centers played important diplomatic and administrative roles in Iranian history, closely linked to the fortunes of the ruling families. Nem, Haft peykar, ed. Persepolis was the greatest of all the Persian capital. From there military operations, both defensive and aggressive, against western powers were conducted from 539 b.c. J. Rypka, Poets and Prose Writers of the Late Saljuq and Mongol Periods, in Camb. ; Herzfeld, 1910, pp. (also called the Hundred-Columns Palace). R. Pinder-Wilson, Timurid Architecture, in Camb. Bx, Bactria), according to Iranian legend the capital of the Kayanids (Christensen, p. 118), may have been the earliest center of Iranian governmental structure (Barthold, p. 6). Many believe the fire was an act of revenge as King Xerxes has set on fire the Greek city of Athens about 150 years ago. Both Cyrus and Darius respected Babylons prestige, allowing the city to retain its culture and customs. 319-20, who favors a date of spring 1006/1598). For three years Hezfelds team worked to uncover the Eastern stairwell of the Apadana, the main terrace, the stairs of the council hall and the harem of Xerxes. Idem, Archaeological History of Iran, London, 1935. Darius had a mighty palace and grand apadana constructed at Persepolis.