Persepolis and Naqsh-e Rustam

Persepolis, literally meaning "city of Persians", was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (ca. 550–330 BCE). Persepolis is situated 60 km northeast of city of Shiraz in Fars Province in Iran. The earliest remains of Persepolis date back to 515 BCE. It exemplifies the Achaemenid style of architecture. UNESCO declared the ruins of Persepolis a World Heritage Site in 1979.

Naqsh-e Rustam is an ancient necropolis located about 12 km northwest of Persepolis. The oldest relief at Naqsh-i Rustam dates to c. 1000 BC. Four tombs belonging to Achaemenid kings are carved out of the rock face at a considerable height above the ground. The tombs are known locally as the 'Persian crosses', after the shape of the facades of the tombs. The entrance to each tomb is at the center of each cross, which opens onto to a small chamber, where the king lay in a sarcophagus. The horizontal beam of each of the tomb's facades is believed to be a replica of the entrance of the palace at Persepolis. The order of the tombs in Naqshe-e Rustam, from left to right is: Darius II, Artaxerxes I, Darius I, Xerxes I.