Tomb of Cyrus
"O man, whoever you are and wherever you come from, for I know that you will come--I am Cyrus, son of Cambyses, who founded the Empire of the Persians and was king of the East. Do not grudge me this spot of earth which covers my body."- Cyrus
The Tomb of Cyrus at Pasargadae
This tomb of the great Persian ruler, Cyrus, was discovered in 1951 at the ruins of Pasargadae (south-central Iran). Over 2500 years old, the tomb is in decent condition, made of white limestone and stands a total of 36 feet high. The tomb itself is 18 feet high resting on a 6 level base, also 18 feet high. It was built like a Ziggurat with Ionian and Lydian features. There is a small entrance and double doors leading to a room with no windows which once contained the "golden sarcophagus" of Cyrus, it is now an empty shell. Five huge stones make up its roof, which was slanted (gabled) to shed heavy rains. These Nordic gables were the architectural style of lands far to the north. The inscription was seen and recorded by Plutarch in AD 90.
Pasargadae
Parsagard "camp of
the Persians" was the capital of Persia when Cyrus was ruling.
After Cyrus had died Darius abandoned Pasargadae and made his capital 45
miles northeast at a place which came to be called Persepolis, "the
city of the Persians" and the sacred heart of the Persian Empire.
The ancient capital called Pasargadae by Cyrus was in his day a
magnificent place, and many discoveries have been found including
the four-winged genius, but it was
nothing in comparison to the renowned Persepolis.
Cyrus the Great
Cyrus II, the Great was the founder and ruler of the vast Persian Empire from 539 B.C. until his death in 530 B.C. Once Cyrus had defeated the Median king, Astyages and took Ecbatana he expanded his kingdom defeating Croesus, king of Lydia in 546 BC, and then conquered Babylon in 539 BC, and the Persian Empire was formed. He was a generous ruler allowing various captives to return to their homelands, as recorded on the Cyrus Cylinder. Xenophon, Nabonidus and many others gave Cyrus praise for his generous leadership.
The Decree of Cyrus
Judea had remained a Persian province for the next two hundred years
until the time that the Bible records "the decree of Cyrus"
giving permission to the Hebrew captives to go back to Jerusalem to
rebuild their Temple.
"Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the
word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the
LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made
a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in
writing, saying, 23 Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms
of the earth the LORD God of heaven has given me. And He has
commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judah.
Who is among you of all His people? May the LORD his God be with
him, and let him go up!" - 2 Chron
36:22-23
Cyrus also restored the vessels of the House of the Lord which Nebuchadnezzar had taken to Babylon, and provided the funds to bring cedar trees from Lebanon.
Ezra 1:7-11 "King Cyrus also brought out the articles of the house of the LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem and put in the temple of his gods; and Cyrus king of Persia brought them out by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah. This is the number of them: thirty gold platters, one thousand silver platters, twenty-nine knives, thirty gold basins, four hundred and ten silver basins of a similar kind, and one thousand other articles. All the articles of gold and silver were five thousand four hundred. All these Sheshbazzar took with the captives who were brought from Babylon to Jerusalem."
Cyrus the Chosen Instrument of the Lord
There is no doubt that the Lord had a special purpose for Cyrus and that he would play a big part in the Lord's promise to His Jewish people that He would allow the Jews to return from captivity and rebuild their Temple. The Lord spoke through the prophet Isaiah about Cyrus almost 200 years before he was born:
Isa 44:28 Who says of Cyrus, 'He is My shepherd, And he shall perform all My pleasure, Saying to Jerusalem, "You shall be built," And to the temple, "Your foundation shall be laid." '
Some Biblical Passages
Isa 41:25; 44:28; 45:1-13; Ezra 1:1-8; 4:3-5; 2 Chron 36:22-23; Dan 1:21; 10:1.
The Evidence of Archaeology
The evidence of this archaeological discovery helps gives us:
1. Confidence that the places and people mentioned in the Bible are accurate, even though those places and people existed thousands of years in the past.
2. Confidence that the details of the Biblical accounts have not changed over the centuries since it was written as we have a "fixed fact" in history.
3. Confidence that everything that the Lord speaks will be fulfilled in its time.
Isa 46:8-10 "Remember this, and show yourselves men; Recall to mind, O you transgressors. Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, 'My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure,'
Some Scriptures mentioning the name "Cyrus"
Ezra 5:17 - Now therefore, if [it seem]
good to the king, let there be search made in the
king's treasure house, which [is] there at Babylon,
whether it be [so], that a decree was made of
Cyrus the king to build this house of God at
Jerusalem, and let the king send his pleasure to us
concerning this matter.
Ezra 4:3 - But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua,
and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel,
said unto them, Ye have nothing to do with us to
build an house unto our God; but we ourselves
together will build unto the LORD God of Israel, as
king Cyrus the king of Persia hath
commanded us.
Ezra 5:14 - And the vessels also of gold
and silver of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar
took out of the temple that [was] in Jerusalem, and
brought them into the temple of Babylon, those did
Cyrus the king take out of the temple
of Babylon, and they were delivered unto [one],
whose name [was] Sheshbazzar, whom he had made
governor;
Ezra 6:14 - And the elders of the Jews
builded, and they prospered through the prophesying
of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo.
And they builded, and finished [it], according to
the commandment of the God of Israel, and according
to the commandment of Cyrus, and
Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.
2 Chronicles 36:23 - Thus saith
Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of
the earth hath the LORD God of heaven given me; and
he hath charged me to build him an house in
Jerusalem, which [is] in Judah. Who [is there] among
you of all his people? The LORD his God [be] with
him, and let him go up.
Ezra 1:7 - Also Cyrus the
king brought forth the vessels of the house of the
LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar had brought forth out of
Jerusalem, and had put them in the house of his
gods;
Ezra 4:5 - And hired counsellors against
them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of
Cyrus king of Persia, even until the
reign of Darius king of Persia.
Daniel 10:1 - In the third year of
Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed
unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and
the thing [was] true, but the time appointed [was]
long: and he understood the thing, and had
understanding of the vision.
Isaiah 45:1 - Thus saith the LORD to his
anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I
have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I
will loose the loins of kings, to open before him
the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be
shut;
Ezra 1:2 - Thus saith Cyrus
king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me
all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged
me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which [is] in
Judah.
Ezra 3:7 - They gave money also unto the
masons, and to the carpenters; and meat, and drink,
and oil, unto them of Zidon, and to them of Tyre, to
bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea of Joppa,
according to the grant that they had of Cyrus
king of Persia.
Daniel 6:28 - So this Daniel prospered in
the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus
the Persian.
Isaiah 44:28 - That saith of Cyrus,
[He is] my shepherd, and shall perform all my
pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be
built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be
laid.
Ezra 1:8 - Even those did Cyrus
king of Persia bring forth by the hand of Mithredath
the treasurer, and numbered them unto Sheshbazzar,
the prince of Judah.
Daniel 1:21 - And Daniel continued [even]
unto the first year of king Cyrus.
Ezra 6:3 - In the first year of
Cyrus the king [the same] Cyrus
the king made a decree [concerning] the house of God
at Jerusalem, Let the house be builded, the place
where they offered sacrifices, and let the
foundations thereof be strongly laid; the height
thereof threescore cubits, [and] the breadth thereof
threescore cubits;
Ezra 1:1 - Now in the first year of
Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of
the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be
fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of
Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a
proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and [put
it] also in writing, saying,
2 Chronicles 36:22 - Now in the first
year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the
word of the LORD [spoken] by the mouth of Jeremiah
might be accomplished, the LORD stirred up the
spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that
he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom,
and [put it] also in writing, saying,
Ezra 5:13 - But in the first year of
Cyrus the king of Babylon [the same] king
Cyrus made a decree to build this
house of God.
Some Scriptures mentioning the word "Persia"
Ezra 4:7 - And in the days of Artaxerxes
wrote Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of
their companions, unto Artaxerxes king of
Persia; and the writing of the letter [was]
written in the Syrian tongue, and interpreted in the
Syrian tongue.
Ezra 4:3 - But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua,
and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel,
said unto them, Ye have nothing to do with us to
build an house unto our God; but we ourselves
together will build unto the LORD God of Israel, as
king Cyrus the king of Persia hath
commanded us.
Ezra 9:9 - For we [were] bondmen; yet our
God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath
extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of
Persia, to give us a reviving, to set
up the house of our God, and to repair the
desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah
and in Jerusalem.
Ezra 6:14 - And the elders of the Jews
builded, and they prospered through the prophesying
of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo.
And they builded, and finished [it], according to
the commandment of the God of Israel, and according
to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and
Artaxerxes king of Persia.
2 Chronicles 36:23 - Thus saith Cyrus
king of Persia, All the kingdoms of
the earth hath the LORD God of heaven given me; and
he hath charged me to build him an house in
Jerusalem, which [is] in Judah. Who [is there] among
you of all his people? The LORD his God [be] with
him, and let him go up.
Daniel 10:1 - In the third year of Cyrus
king of Persia a thing was revealed
unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and
the thing [was] true, but the time appointed [was]
long: and he understood the thing, and had
understanding of the vision.
Ezra 1:2 - Thus saith Cyrus king of
Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given
me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath
charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which
[is] in Judah.
Esther 1:3 - In the third year of his
reign, he made a feast unto all his princes and his
servants; the power of Persia and
Media, the nobles and princes of the provinces,
[being] before him:
Ezra 3:7 - They gave money also unto the
masons, and to the carpenters; and meat, and drink,
and oil, unto them of Zidon, and to them of Tyre, to
bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea of Joppa,
according to the grant that they had of Cyrus king
of Persia.
Ezra 4:24 - Then ceased the work of the
house of God which [is] at Jerusalem. So it ceased
unto the second year of the reign of Darius king of
Persia.
Daniel 10:20 - Then said he, Knowest thou
wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to
fight with the prince of Persia: and
when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall
come.
Esther 10:2 - And all the acts of his
power and of his might, and the declaration of the
greatness of Mordecai, whereunto the king advanced
him, [are] they not written in the book of the
chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia?
Daniel 11:2 - And now will I shew thee
the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three
kings in Persia; and the fourth shall
be far richer than [they] all: and by his strength
through his riches he shall stir up all against the
realm of Grecia.
Esther 1:14 - And the next unto him [was]
Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena,
[and] Memucan, the seven princes of Persia
and Media, which saw the king's face, [and] which
sat the first in the kingdom;)
Esther 1:18 - [Likewise] shall the ladies
of Persia and Media say this day unto
all the king's princes, which have heard of the deed
of the queen. Thus [shall there arise] too much
contempt and wrath.
Ezra 1:8 - Even those did Cyrus king of
Persia bring forth by the hand of
Mithredath the treasurer, and numbered them unto
Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah.
2 Chronicles 36:20 - And them that had
escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon;
where they were servants to him and his sons until
the reign of the kingdom of Persia:
Ezra 7:1 - Now after these things, in the
reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia,
Ezra the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son
of Hilkiah,
Ezekiel 27:10 - They of Persia
and of Lud and of Phut were in thine army, thy men
of war: they hanged the shield and helmet in thee;
they set forth thy comeliness.
Daniel 8:20 - The ram which thou sawest
having [two] horns [are] the kings of Media and
Persia.
Ezekiel 38:5 - Persia,
Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with
shield and helmet:
Ezra 1:1 - Now in the first year of Cyrus
king of Persia, that the word of the
LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled,
the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of
Persia, that he made a proclamation
throughout all his kingdom, and [put it] also in
writing, saying,
2 Chronicles 36:22 - Now in the first
year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the
word of the LORD [spoken] by the mouth of Jeremiah
might be accomplished, the LORD stirred up the
spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that
he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom,
and [put it] also in writing, saying,
Ezra 4:5 - And hired counsellors against
them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of
Cyrus king of Persia, even until the
reign of Darius king of Persia.
Daniel 10:13 - But the prince of the
kingdom of Persia withstood me one and
twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief
princes, came to help me; and I remained there with
the kings of Persia.
Persia in Easton's Bible Dictionary
an ancient empire, extending from the Indus to
Thrace, and from the Caspian Sea to the Red Sea and
the Persian Gulf. The Persians were originally a
Medic tribe which settled in Persia, on the eastern
side of the Persian Gulf. They were Aryans, their
language belonging to the eastern division of the
Indo-European group. One of their chiefs, Teispes,
conquered Elam in the time of the decay of the
Assyrian Empire, and established himself in the
district of Anzan. His descendants branched off into
two lines, one line ruling in Anzan, while the other
remained in Persia. Cyrus II., king of Anzan,
finally united the divided power, conquered Media,
Lydia, and Babylonia, and carried his arms into the
far East. His son, Cambyses, added Egypt to the
empire, which, however, fell to pieces after his
death. It was reconquered and thoroughly organized
by Darius, the son of Hystaspes, whose dominions
extended from India to the Danube.
/eastons/P/Persia/
Persia in Fausset's Bible Dictionary
Ezekiel 27:10; Ezekiel 38:5. "Persia proper" was
originally a small territory (Herodot. 9:22). On the
N. and N.E. lay Media, on the S. the Persian gulf,
Elam on the W., on the E. Carmania. Now Furs,
Farsistan. Rugged, with pleasant valleys and plains
in the mid region and mountains in the N. The S.
toward the sea is a hot sandy plain, in places
covered with salt. Persepolis (in the beautiful
valley of the Bendamir), under Darius Hystaspes,
took the place of Pasargadae the ancient capital; of
its palace "Chehl Minar," "forty columns," still
exist. Alexander in a drunken fit, to please a
courtesan, burned the palace. Pasargadae, 40 miles
to the N., was noted for Cyrus' tomb (Arrian) with
the inscription, "I am Cyrus the Achaemenian." (See
CYRUS.) The Persians came originally from the E.,
from the vicinity of the Sutlej (before the first
contact of the Assyrians with Aryan tribes E. of
Mount Zagros, 880 B.C.), down the Oxus, then S. of
the Caspian Sea to India. There were ten castes or
tribes: three noble, three agricultural, four
nomadic; of the last were the "Dehavites" or Dali
(Ezra 4:9). The Pasargadae were the noble tribes, in
which the chief house was that of the Achaemenidae.
Darius on the rock of Behistun inscribed: "from
antiquity our race have been kings. There are eight
of our race who have been kings before me, I am the
ninth." frontELAM on its relation to Persia.) The
Persian empire stretched at one time from India to
Egypt and Thrace, including all western Asia between
the Black Sea, the Caucasus, the Caspian, the
Jaxartes upon the N., the Arabian desert, Persian
gulf, and Indian ocean on the S. Darius in the
inscription on his tomb at Nakhsh- irustam
enumerates thirty countries besides Persia subject
to him, Media, Susiana, Parthia, Aria, Bactria,
Sogdiana, Chorasmia, Zarangia, Arachosia, Sattagydia,
Gaudaria, India, Scythia, Babylonia, Assyria,
Arabia, Egypt, Armenia, Cappadocia, Saparda, Ionia,
the Aegean isles, the country of the Scodrae
(European), Ionia, the Tacabri, Budians, Cushites,
Mardians, and Colchians. The organization of the
Persian kingdom and court as they appear in Ezra,
Nehemiah, and Esther, accords with independent
secular historians. The king, a despot, had a
council, "seven princes of Persia and Media which
see his face and sit the first in the kingdom"
(Esther 1:14; Ezra 7:14). So Herodotus (iii. 70-79)
and Behistun inscription mention seven chiefs who
organized the revolt against Smerdis (the Behistun
rock W. of Media has one inscription in three
languages, Persian, Babylonian, and Stythic, read by
Grotefend). "The law of the Persians and Medes which
alters not" (Esther 1:19) also controlled him in
some measure. In Scripture we read of 127 provinces
(Esther 1:1) with satraps (Esther 3:12; Esther 8:9;
Xerxes in boasting enlarged the list; 60 are the
nations in his armament according to Herodotus)
maintained from the palace (Ezra 4:14), having
charge of the revenue, paid partly in money...
/faussets/P/Persia/
Persia in Hitchcock's Bible Names
that cuts or divides; a nail; a gryphon; a horseman
/hitchcock/P/Persia/
Persia in Naves Topical Bible
An empire which extended from India to Ethiopia,
comprising one-hundred and twenty-seven provinces Es
1:1; Da 6:1 -Government of, restricted by
constitutional limitations Es 8:8; Da 6:8-12
-Municipal governments in, provided with dual
governors Ne 3:9,12,16-18 -The princes were advisors
in matters of administration Da 6:1-7 -Status of
women in; queen sat on the throne with the king Ne
2:6 -Vashti was divorced for refusing to appear
before the king's courtiers Es 1:10-22; 2:4 -Israel
captive in 2Ch 36:20 -Captivity foretold Ho 13:16
-Men of, in the Tyrian army Eze 27:10 -Rulers of
Ahasuerus Es 1:3 -Darius Da 5:31; 6; 9:1 -Artaxerxes
I Ezr 4:7-24 -Artaxerxes II Ezr 7; Ne 2; 5:14 -Cyrus
2Ch 36:22,23; Ezr 1; 3:7; 4:3; 5:13,14,17; 6:3; Isa
41:2,3; 44:28; 45:1-4,13; 46:11; 48:14,15 -Princes
of Es 1:14 -System of justice Ezr 7:25 -Prophecies
concerning Isa 13:17; 21:1-10; Jer 49:34-39;
51:11-64; Eze 32:24,25; 38:5; Da 2:31-45; 5:28; 7;
8; 11:1-4
/naves/P/PERSIA/
Persia in Smiths Bible Dictionary
(pure, splended), Per'sians. Persia proper was a
tract of no very large dimensions on the Persian
Gulf, which is still known as Fars or Farsistan, a
corruption of the ancient appellation. This tract
was bounded on the west by Susiana or Elam, on the
north by Media on the south by the Persian Gulf and
on the east by Carmania. But the name is more
commonly applied, both in Scripture and by profane
authors to the entire tract which came by degrees to
be included within the limits of the Persian empire.
This empire extended at one time from India on the
east to Egypt and Thrace on the west, and included.
besides portions of Europe and Africa, the whole of
western Asia between the Black Sea, the Caucasus,
the Caspian and the Jaxartes on the north, the
Arabian desert the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean
on the south. The only passage in Scripture where
Persia designates the tract which has been called
above "Persia proper" is Eze 38:5 Elsewhere the
empire is intended. The Persians were of the same
race as the Medes, both being branches of the great
Aryan stock. 1. Character of the nation. --The
Persians were a people of lively and impressible
minds, brave and impetuous in war, witty,
passionate, for Orientals truthful, not without some
spirit of generosity: and of more intellectual
capacity than the generality of Asiatics. In the
times anterior to Cyrus they were noted for the
simplicity of their habits, which offered a strong
contrast to the luxuriousness of the Medes; but from
the late of the Median overthrow this simplicity
began to decline. Polygamy was commonly practiced
among them. They were fond of the pleasures of the
table. In war they fought bravely, but without
discipline. 2. Religion. --The religion which the
Persians brought with there into Persia proper seems
to have been of a very simple character, differing
from natural religion in little except that it was
deeply tainted with Dualism. Like the other Aryans,
the Persians worshipped one supreme God. They had
few temples, and no altars or images. 3. Language.
--The Persian language was closely akin to the
Sanskrit, or ancient language of India. Modern
Persian is its degenerate representative, being
largely impregnated with Arabic. 4. History. --The
history of Persia begins with the revolt from the
Medes and the accession of Cyrus the Great, B.C.
558. Cyrus defeated Croesus, and added the Lydian
empire to his dominions. This conquest was followed
closely by the submission of the Greek settlements
on the Asiatic coast, and by the reduction of Caria
and Lycia The empire was soon afterward extended
greatly toward the northeast and east. In B.C. 539
or 538, Babylon was attacked, and after a stout
defence fell into the hands of Cyrus. This victory
first brought the Persians into co...
/smiths/P/Persia/
Persia in the Bible Encyclopedia - ISBE
pur'-sha, (parats; Persia; in Assyrian Parsu, Parsua;
in Achemenian Persian Parsa, modern Fars): In the
Bible (2 Ch 36:20,22,23; Ezr 1:1,8; Est 1:3,14,18;
10:2; Ezek 27:10; 38:5; Dan 8:20; 10:1; 11:2) this
name denotes properly the modern province of Fars,
not the whole Persian empire. The latter was by its
people called Airyaria, the present Iran (from the
Sanskrit word arya, "noble"); and even now the
Persians never call their country anything but Iran,
never "Persia." The province of Persis lay to the
East of Elam (Susiana), and stretched from the
Persian Gulf to the Great Salt Desert, having
Carmania on the Southeast. Its chief cities were
Persepolis and Pasargadae. Along the Persian Gulf
the land is low, hot and unhealthy, but it soon
begins to rise as one travels inland. Most of the
province consists of high and steep mountains and
plateaus, with fertile valleys. The table-lands in
which lie the modern city of Shiraz and the ruins of
Persepolis and Pasargadae are well watered and
productive. Nearer the desert, however, cultivation
grows scanty for want of water. Persia was doubtless
in early times included in Elam, and its population
was then either Semitic or allied to the Accadians,
who founded more than one state in the Babylonian
plain. The Aryan Persians seem to have occupied the
country in the 8th or 9th century BC.
/isbe/P/PERSIA/
PERSEPOLIS, an ancient city of Persia,
situated some 40 m. N.E. of Shiraz, not far from
where the small river Pulwar flows into the Kur (Kyrus).
The site is marked by a large terrace with its east
side leaning on Kuhi Rahmet (" the Mount of Grace
"). The other three sides are formed by a retaining
wall, varying in height with the slope of the ground
from 14 to 41 ft.; on the west side a magnificent
double stair, of very easy steps, leads to the top.
On this terrace are the ruins of a number of
colossal buildings, all constructed of dark-grey
marble from the adjacent mountain. The stones were
laid without mortar, and many of them are still in
situ. Especially striking are the huge pillars, of
which a number still stand erect. Several of the
buildings were never finished. F. Stolze has shown
that in some cases even the mason's rubbish has not
been removed.' These ruins, for which the name Kizil
minare or Chihil menare (" the forty columns or
minarets "), can be traced back to the 13th century,
are now known as Takhti Jamshid (" the throne of
Jamshid "). That they represent the Persepolis
captured and partly destroyed by Alexander the Great
has been beyond dispute at least since the time of
Pietro della Valle.2 Behind Takhti Jamshid are three
sepulchres hewn out of the rock in the hillside, the
facades, one of which is incomplete, being richly
ornamented with reliefs. About 8 m. N.N.E., on the
opposite side of the Pulwar, rises a perpendicular
wall of rock, in which four similar tombs are cut,
at a considerable height from the bottom of the
valley. The modern Persians call this place Nakshi
Rustam (" the picture of Rustam ") from the
Sassanian reliefs beneath the opening, which they
take to be a representation of the mythical hero
Rustam. That the ' Cf. J. Chardin, E. Kaempfer, C.
Niebuhr and W. Ouseley. Niebuhr's drawings, though
good, are, for the purposes of the architectural
student, inferior to the great work of C. Texier,
and still more to that of E. Flandin and P. Coste.
Good sketches, chiefly after Flandin, are given by
C. Kossowicz, Inscriptiones palaeopersicae (St
Petersburg, 1872). In addition to these we have the
photographic plates in F. Stolze's Persepolis (2
vols., Berlin, 1882).
Lettera XV. (ed. 'Brighton, 1843), ii. 246 seq.
occupants of these seven tombs were kings might be
inferred from the sculptures, and one of those at
Nakshi Rustam is expressly declared in its
inscription to be the tomb of Darius Hystaspis,
concerning whom Ctesias relates that his grave was
in the face of a rock, and could only be reached by
means of an apparatus of ropes. Ctesias mentions
further, with regard to a number of Persians kings,
either that their remains were brought " to the
Persians," or that they died there.' Now we know
that Cyrus was buried at Pasargadae and if there is
any truth in the statement that the body of Cambyses
was brought home " to the Persians " his
burying-place must be sought somewhere beside that
of his father. In order to identify the graves of
Persepolis we must bear in mind that Ctesias assumes
that it was the custom for a king to prepare his own
tomb during his lifetime. Hence the kings buried at
Nakshi Rustam are probably, besides Darius, Xerxes
I., Artaxerxes I. and Darius II. Xerxes II., who
reigned for a very short time, could scarcely have
obtained so splendid a monument, and still less
could the usurper Sogdianus (Secydianus). The two
completed graves behind Takhti Jamshid would then
belong to Artaxerxes II. and Artaxerxes III. The
unfinished one is perhaps that of Arses, who reigned
at the longest two years, or, if not his, then that
of Darius III. (Codomannus), who is one of those
whose bodies are said to have been brought " to the
Persians "2 (see Architecture, fig. 12). Another
small group of ruins in the same style is found at
the village of Hajjiabad, on the Pulwar, a good
hour's walk above Takhti Jamshid. These formed a
single building, which was still intact goo years
ago, and was used as the mosque of the then existing
city of Istakhr.
Since Cyrus was buried in Pasargadae, which moreover
is mentioned in Ctesias as his own city,' and since,
to judge from the inscriptions, the buildings of
Persepolis commenced with Darius I., it was probably
under this king, with whom the sceptre passed to a
new branch of the royal house, that Persepolis
became the capital 4 (see Persia: Ancient History,
V. 2) of Persia proper. As a residence, however, for
the rulers of the empire, a remote place in a
difficult alpine region was far from convenient, and
the real capitals were Susa, Babylon and Ecbatana.
This accounts for the fact that the Greeks were not
acquainted with the city until it was taken and
plundered by Alexander the Great. Ctesias must
certainly have known of it, and it is possible that
he may have named it simply IIEpvac, after the
people, as is undoubtedly done by certain writers of
a somewhat later date.' But whether the city really
bore the name of the people and the country is
another question. And it is extremely hazardous to
assume, with Sir H. Rawlinson and J. Oppert, that
the words and Pdrsd, " in this Persia," which occur
in an inscription on the gateway built by Xerxes (D.
1.14), signify " in this city of Parsa," and
consequently prove that the name of the city is
identical with the name of the country. The form
Persepolis (with a play on 71-ports, destruction)
appears first in Cleitarchus, one of the earliest,
but unfortunately one of the most imaginative
annalists of the exploits of Alexander.
It has been universally admitted that " the palaces
" or "the palace " (rd ,3aviXeca) burned down by
Alexander are those now in ruins at Takhti Jamshid.
From Stolze's investigations it appears that at
least one of these, the castle built by Xerxes,
bears evident traces of having been destroyed by
fire. The locality described by Diodorus after
Cleitarchus corresponds in important particulars
with Takhti Jamshid, for example, in being supported
by the ' This statement is not made in Ctesias (or
rather in the extracts of Photius) about Darius II.,
which is probably accidental; in the case of
Sogdianus, who as a usurper was not deemed worthy of
honourable burial, there is a good reason for the
omission.
Arrian, iii. 22, I.
' Cf. also in particular Plutarch, Artax. iii.,
where Pasargadae is distinctly looked on as the
sacred cradle of the dynasty.
4 The story of Aelian (H. A. i. 59), who makes Cyrus
build his royal palace in Persepolis, deserves no
attention.
5 So Arrian (iii. 18, 1, lo), or rather his best
authority, King Ptolemy. So, again, the Babylonian
Berossus, shortly after Alexander. See Clemens
Alex., Admon. ad gentes, c. 5, where, with Georg
Hoffmann (Pers. Martyrer, 137), Kai is to be
inserted before ll paacs, and this to be understood
as the name of the metropolis.
mountain on the east.' There is, however, one
formidable difficulty. Diodorus says that the rock
at the back of the palace containing the royal
sepulchres is so steep that the bodies could be
raised to their last resting-place only by
mechanical appliances. This is not true of the
graves behind Takhti Jamshid, to which, as F. Stolze
expressly observes, one can easily ride up; on the
other hand, it is strictly true of the graves at
Nakshi Rustam. Stolze accordingly started the theory
that the royal castle of Persepolis stood close by
Nakshi Rustam, and has sunk in course of time to
shapeless heaps of earth, under which the remains
may be concealed. The vast ruins, however, of Takhti
Jamshid, and the terrace constructed with so much
labour, can hardly be anything else than the ruins
of palaces; as for temples, the Persians had no such
thing, at least in the time of Darius and Xerxes.
Moreover, Persian tradition at a very remote period
knew of only three architectural wonders in that
region, which it attributed to the fabulous queen
Humai (Khumai) - the grave of Cyrus at. Murgab, the
building at Hajjiabad, and those on the great
terrace.' It is safest therefore to identify these
last with the royal palaces destroyed by Alexander.
Cleitarchus, who can scarcely have visited the place
himself, with his usual recklessness of statement,
confounded the tombs behind the palaces with those
of Nakshi Rustam; indeed he appears to imagine that
all the royal sepulchres were at the same place. In
316 B.C. Persepolis was still the capital of Persis
as a province of the great Macedonian Empire (see
Diod. xix, 21 seq., 46; probably after Hieronymus of
Cardia, who was living about 316). The city must
have gradually declined in the course of time; but
the ruins of the Achaemenidae remained as a witness
to its ancient glory. It is probable that the
principal town of the country, or at least of the
district, was always in this neighbourhood. About
A.D. 200 we find there the city Istakhr (properly
Stakhr) as the seat of the local governors. There
the foundations of the second great Persian Empire
were laid, and Istakhr acquired special importance
as the centre of priestly wisdom and orthodoxy. The
Sassanian kings have covered the face of the rocks
in this neighbourhood, and in part even the
Achaemenian ruins, with their sculptures and
inscriptions, and must themselves have built largely
here, although never on the same scale of
magnificence as their ancient predecessors. The
Romans knew as little about Istakhr as the Greeks
had done about Persepolis - and this in spite of the
fact that for four hundred years the Sassanians
maintained relations, friendly or hostile, with the
empire.
At the time of the Arabian conquest Istakhr offered
a desperate resistance, but the city was still a
place of considerable importance in the 1st century
of Islam (see Caeiphate), although its greatness was
speedily eclipsed by the new metropolis Shiraz. In
the 10th century Istakhr had become an utterly
insignificant place, as may be seen from the
descriptions of Istakhr, a native (c. 950), and of
Mukaddasi (c. 985). During the following centuries
Istakhr gradually declines, until, as a city, it
ceased to exist. This fruitful region, however, was
covered with villages till the frightful
devastations of the 18th century; and even now it
is, comparatively speaking, well cultivated. The "
castle of Istakhr " played a conspicuous part
several times during the Mahommedan period as a
strong fortress. It was the middlemost and the
highest of the three steep crags which rise from the
valley of the Kur, at some distance to the west or
north-west of Nakshi Rustam. We learn from Oriental
writers that one of the Buyid (Buwaihid) sultans in
the 10th century of the Flight constructed the great
cisterns, which may yet be seen, and have been
visited, amongst others, by James Morier and E.
Flandin. W. Ouseley points out that this castle was
still used in the 16th century, at least as a state
prison. But when Pietro della Valle was there in
1621 it was already in ruins. [Encyclopedia
Britannica 1911]
Related Pages:
Free Bible - Cyrus Cylinder (Biblical Archaeology)
Ancient Babylonia - Cyrus Cylinder
Cyrus Captures Babylon Account
Free Bible - Ancient Persians (Biblical Archaeology)
Free Bible - Ancient Persian Soldiers (Biblical Archaeology)
Persia - Ancient Geography, Plans, Maps - Images and Illustrations
Map of the Persian Empire - 550-486 B.C. (Bible History Online)
Free Bible - Ancient Persian King
Free Bible - Ancient Persian Column Capital
Free Bible - Persepolis Lion and Bull Combat (Biblical ...
Free Bible - Persian King Killing Monster
Persian Guard at Darius palace
Ancient Persian Spearman (Free Bible)
Free Bible - Persepolis Lion and Bull Combat
Free Bible - Persepolis Staircase
The Babylonian Captivity - Persepolis
Free Bible - The Buildings at Persepolis
Persepolis - Meaning of Persepolis in Smiths Bible Dictionary
The Hall of a Hundred Columns Relief (Persepolis)
PERSEPOLIS in the Bible Encyclopedia - ISBE
Persepolis Reliefs - Ancient Persian Stone
The Story of the Bible: The Babylonians - The Old Testament
Cyrus Captures Babylon Account
Map of the Kingdom of David and Solomon
Solomon in Smith's Bible Dictionary
Solomon's Temple in Easton's Bible Dictionary
Israel - The Center of the Ancient World
Israel - Archaeology Links and Resources
The Destruction of Israel in the Old Testament
Archaeological Resources - Israel
Free Bible - Fallen Empires (Biblical
Archaeology)
Bible History Links - Ancient Near East : Art &
Images
Free Bible - Ancient Art
The Destruction of Israel - Kings of Israel, Judah and Assyria
Timeline 800 - 700 BC
The Assyrians
The Captivity of Israel
The Impregnable Strength of Jerusalem
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