PERSIAN ARCHITECTURE

When talking about Persian architecture, I am referring to The Persian Empire from 560 B.C. until 330 B.C. (approximately).

The capital of the empire was Persepolis situated close to the city of Shiraz in modern day Iran.

I visited Persepolis on a beautiful, sunny day, equipped with my camera and loads of questions and curiosity. I was definitely not disappointed by what I saw and learned.

It was fascinating to walk on the same sand, which would have carried the footprints of Alexander the Great and Cyrus the Great.

Persepolis is believed to be the place, where The Cyrus Cylinder was written.

It contains the oldest Declaration of Human Rights we know of and outlines the principles of tolerance and equality for all religions, races and languages.

A copy of the Cyrus Cylinder was found in Babylon, some 150 years ago. It was brought there by the Persians, when they conquered Babylon.

Whenever an empire took over a new territory, they did their best to spread their philosophy and belief, and the presence of The Cyrus Cylinder in Babylon is one such example, albeit a positive one.

The respect for others, and the way Persepolis was able to become and develop itself as a centre of the Persian Empire can also be seen in both the architecture and especially in the Bas-Reliefs on the sides of the walls.

There are many types of script, as well. What I find most interesting is the linguistic fact that Ancient Persian Language is a part of the Indo-European Languages. How did that happen...
Well; when people travel, languages travel as well...

The pictures, I took quite a number of years ago, at Persepolis, tell a story of cultural influence among and from many different groups, which of course often had opposing interests, but tried to live together in peace and harmony, in spite of the differences.

The colours were gone, faded by the Sun; the wood was burned: the interior was empty, but the overall structure and reliefs were there, speaking to me about attempts to keep a dignity towards all human beings as the foundation of the nation.

That might be the most grandiose aspect of The Persian Empire and of Persepolis.

Buildings can deteriorate, but philosophy is rather more resilient...at times...