Since my minor is Archeology I have decided to use The site of Persepolis as my first culture post. Persepolis is located east of what is today Shiraz, in the Fars province of Iran. In antiquity this city was known as Parsa. The site is a complex set of buildings and palaces which began in 518 BC. The construction of the site was never really completed because Alexander the Great invaded it in 331 BC.
The site includes ruins of the audience hall, the private palace of Darius I, the throne hall, the royal treasury, the gate of all nations, the private palace of Xerxes I, the palace of Artaxerxes III, and the tomb of the kings made of cut-stone. But one of the most impressive features of this site is the 150,000 squares yards terrace made out of a cut mountain. The site is mostly man made and its important because it represent the style of Achaemenid Architecture that is represent in other monuments and tombs as well. This type of architecture remained unchanged for more than two centuries. The columns primarily had the characteristics of the architecture of Persepolis with evidence of grey limestone used extensively in the construction of the site.
This site represents symbolic and ceremonials rites of the Persian civilization as well. Its clear that important religious and cultural events took place in this site and physically ultimately represented the power and supremacy of the empire.
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