Persepolis; Ancient Persia

Persepolis; Ancient Persia

Persepolis is the Greek name (from perses polis for Persian City) for the ancient city of Parsa, located seventy miles northeast of Shiraz in present-day Iran. The name Parsa meant City of The Persians& and construction began at the site in 518 BCE under the rule of King Darius the Great (who reigned 522-486 BCE). Darius made Parsa the new capital of the Persian Empire, instead of Pasargadae, the old capital and burial place of King Cyrus the Great. Because of its remote location in the mountains, however, travel to Parsa was almost impossible during the rainy season of the Persian winter when paths turned to mud and so the city was used mainly in the spring and summer warmer seasons.