Persepolis

Persepolis is situated 70 kilometers northeast of Fars province . This ancient city is related to Achaemenid era . Darius the Great started to build it in 518BC and his son Xerxes and his grandson Artaxerxes expanded it . It was the ceremonical capital of Achaemenid Empire for 50 years . Darius ordered to get many architects, artists, workers, men and women to work and in addition to their wage they have been got insurance too . The whole construction took 120 years.

The first scientific excavations at Persepolis was carried out by Ernest Herzfeld in 1931. His excavations are still kept in Oriental Institute of the Universit of Chicago.

Persepolis has 7 palaces that each palace was for a certain usage . The oldest palace is called Apadana Palace that was a place for guests to visit the king and give their gifts to him . It has a main hall and three porticos and totally has 72 columns. According to Ancietnt texts we found out that how Iranians were living at that time .As an example, one of the texts declares that all workers have had their wage and also women have had their own wage and even they had certain amount for their pregnant period . This ancient huge city looted and destroyed by Alexander in 330BC.