Changes [Dec 03, 2007]
BibliographyThe Circle of Ancient Iranian Studies.
Oriental Institute's Persepolis Historical Photographs
Persepolis world heritage tour. Panoramic views.
3-D Reconstructions of Persepolis:
Margaret Cool Root, 1985. "The Parthenon Frieze and the Apadana Reliefs at Persepolis: Reassessing a Programmatic Relationship." American Journal of Archaeology 89/1: 103-120.
Nicholas Cahill, 1985. "The Treasury at Persepolis: Gift-Giving at the City of the Persians." American Journal of Archaeology 89/3.: 373-389.
PERSIAN EMPIRE AND PERSEPOLIS
Historical introduction
Persians in Southwest Iran, the region of Fars, south of Elam and Media: creation of a territorial state corresponds to the 2nd half of 6th c. BC. The impact and territorrial ambition of this state was imperial from Anatolia to the Levant all the way to Central Asia. For about two hundred years, it distinctively housed a massive variety of linguistic and cultural grous across these regions. The monumental inscriptions put up by the Persian kings were often tri-lingual in Old Persian, Elamite and Akkadian, such as the Behistun rock relief, carved at a location on a Zagros Mountain valley connecting Elam and Babylonia. Aramaic, lingua franca of the Near East written on parchment or papyrus in alphabetic script was used as the administrative language in many regions across the empire. In a variety of these regions they have adopted a variety of forms of the administration of the provinces: such as the satrapal system, a constellation of regional governors in close communication and what seems to be a complex power relationship with local rulers and elites, and these satraps reported to the Persian king. At the time of Darius, this provincial administration system became much more standardized and structured. Straps were Persian elites who were rewarded estates in the provinces, and they coordinated the provincial administration.
The hybridity of the Empire’s populations were welcome to Persians and were treated rather respectfully. Tribute as a socio-symbolic and more importantly material practice that materially linked such variety of regions to the center of the Persian empire. Annual delivery of tribute to the Persian ceremonial capital was crucial. Especially in the imperial building projects, the use of architectural materials form across the empire made these buildings literally material assemblages of the state and its map of political and diplomatic reaches, the geography of its power (timber, gold, lapis lazuli, carnelian, turquoise, silver, ebony, ivory etc). Craftsmen from a variety of regions including Lydia, Ionia and Egypt were brought to Persia for many projects.
The Achaemenid Persian impact in those marginal regions were also substantial: I am more closely familiar with Anatolia at the time period which was inbetween the classical Aegean and the Persians, and a hybrid material culture during the 5th, 4th centuries in Anatolia marks the cultural landscape of Anatolia.
The royal road from the Aegean coast of Anatolia, Ephesus, through Central plateau into Assyria and finally to Elam, Susa.
Cyrus and early Achaemenid architecture
Decline of late Elamite capital city Anshan ca 1000 BC. And Cyrus the Great, Persian king claims heritage of Anshan.
Cyrus’s project at Pasargadae:
ceremonial capital, with massive irrigated formal gardens, paradeisos. In commemoration of his defeat of the Medians under the direction of the Median king Astyages. Very complex layout of palaces and audience halls. The multi columnar hall – known as audience halls or Apadana, are part of the architectural culture of the Early Iran Age in the Iranian plateau, especially known from Hasanlu and other sites. The idea of a ceremonial space with multiple columns was further developed by the Urartians having occupied the Northwestern edges of the Persian highlands. However, Cyrus’s massive project in Pasargadae which shifts the Achaemenid core territorries to the North with this new capital, goes far beyond the existing traditions. He uses craftsmen mainly from Western Anatolia, Lydians and Ionians, as it has been shown by the archaeologists (work of David Stronach and Carl Nylander). Extraordinary stone masonry, but also appearance of Egyptian iconography in the architectural representations. A truly hybrid architecture. These audience halls are also extravert structures, they are open to their urban context with massive columnar facades. Very unlike Assyrian palaces in that respect, which concentrated on ceremonial courtyards. What continues however significantly from the Assyrian past is the use of relief representations and guardian gate sculpture on monumental scales. Remember the discussion of North Syrian bit-hilani, whose monumentality was created by means of a columnar entrance to a gate or a palace structure, and whose architecture the Assyrians have admired and attempted to imitate. Now the Persians adopt the idea of a columnar monumentality on a much grander scale than it ever existed with North Syrian cities. These palatial ceremonial structures open themselves to the urban setting from all sides, they are freestanding sculptural pieces of architecture, which was never the case in the Early Iron age. Elegant and tall columns of the Achamenids made these structures look extraordinarily vertical rather than horizontal, an impression which you might gain just looking at the plans and comparing them to Greek peripteral temples.
Persepolis
Read here Persepolis by David Stronach and Kim Codella.
New capital some 40 km south of Pasargadae, on the eastern edge of the plain of Marv Dasht, on the spur of Kuh-i Rahmat. Darius I the Greeat moves the capital to his newly founded Persepolis. The construction of the capital is continued by successors of Darius, especially Xerxes and Artaxerxes. Lofty stone terrace of 450 by 300 m. which constitutes the ceremonial center of a vast city. This is the only part of the town well excavated, starting in 1924, but more intensely by the Oriental Institute (dir. Erich Schmidt). Current work at the site shows a substantial settlement in the city, unknown until recently.
The site of Naqsh-i Rustam, 6 km north of the site, includes monumental rock cut tombes of Persian kings. Read here Naqsh-e Rustam by Ursula Seidl.
Persepolis and the Persian empire
