Place · Achaemenid imperial capital · Iran
Persepolis
Also known as Takht-i Jamshid, Parsa
Persepolis (Old Persian Pārsa) was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid empire, founded by Darius I in 518 BCE and continued by Xerxes and Artaxerxes. Its Apadana reception hall carries carved tribute reliefs showing representatives of 23 subject nations bringing gifts to the Great King — including a 'Hindush' delegation from Darius’ Indian satrapy of the lower Indus. The Persepolis inscription of Darius names Gandhara and Hindush among the lands under his rule; Herodotus records that India was the richest province in the empire, paying 360 talents of gold-dust annually (a third of total imperial gold revenue). The city was burnt by Alexander in 330 BCE after his defeat of Darius III at Gaugamela.
- Function
- Authority & administration
- Patron dynasty
- Achaemenid
- Confidence
- Established / referenced
- Location
- 29.935, 52.892
Connections (1)
- Ruled fromDarius I
Darius I founded Persepolis in 518 BCE as the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid empire and left there the inscription naming the 23 satrapies including Gandhara and Hindush — the earliest datable Persian record of the subcontinent as an imperial province.
Sources
Standard reference.
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