Pasargadae; The first capital of the Achaemenid Empire
Pasargadae; The first capital of the Achaemenid Empire
The story of a kingdom
The king was standing tall and staring at the lush green plains. His young empire was fresh and his enemies had failed one by one. He had great dreams, to fill the world with justice and equality. His new empire needed a full-fledged capital.
Now that the boundaries of the empire have advanced to the other side of the sea and mountains, the king had seen magnificent monuments and palaces during his conquests in battles. The plot of a glorious palace was in king's mind. It was time for the best architects from all over the world to come together to build this magnificent building for this vast dynasty. And I am Cyrus, King of kings!
Where is Pasargadae?
Among the legends of mythological stories, this time in this part of our iran travel blog, we headed to the Fars, where the Pasargadae captured Cyrus inside itself forever. If you heard about Pasargadae in Shiraz, and you want to know about its stories and histories and its affection in iran tourism, do not miss this article.
Pasargadae on the slopes of the Zagros mountains is a land that archaeological excavations attribute to the Paleolithic Age. A historic land which, although it has a long history, owes its full reputation to the powerful Achaemenid dynasty.
Let's go back to the 25th century ago, about 550 AD, when the great Cyrus, with the defeat of the last king of the Medes, chose a glorious plain because of its strategic position as the capital. His victory over the Medes was the beginning of a series of victories of Cyrus, the lands were conquered one by one, and Cyrus's reputation and popularity across the sea and lands of the unknown countries and the king's small kingdom was becoming the greatest empire of all world history.
Cyrus palace in Pasargadae
Cyrus saw many palaces and magnificent monuments during his conquests, and it is obvious that he was really attracted to Greek marble buildings. A beautiful garden that everything about it was all new and original.
The method of planting trees and streams in the floors of stone, with several ponds that flows along the entire path of the garden was a characteristic feature of this garden, which was famous for the Cyrus heaven, and adorned with astonishing watermarks.
This beautiful garden in Pesergadae from the moment it was created was the pattern of all the persian gardens after that through history, even among the architectural works from the Islamic era. The palaces were all within this garden in different corners. Solomon tower or prison was set up in the east and a small building in the west.
The south of this beautiful garden was a sanctuary that, a few years later, was the tomb for Cyrus. The Pasargadae was the platform for the launch of the iranian architecture and the beginning of the great Achaemenid era, and of course, the capital of the world first empire.
What you see now in the Pasargadae complex is only part of the drowning civilization beneath the outcrops of the soil of this ancient region.
In this Article we will talk about the Tomb of Cyrus, that is registered in UNESCO world heritage site and after visiting his tomb, you can surf in other parts of this ancient and mythical site.
Tomb of Cyrus
We all know Pasargadae with a picture; Tomb of Cyrus! A stone building with an elevated height of 11 meters with almost white boulders, which has six rows of stairs and a small cobblestone structure, has become a seven-floor building.
A tomb with 25 centuries old, with no mortar between its rocks and its rocks attached to metal fasteners. The seventh floor of the shrine is called the treasury, and it is quoted that the golden coffin containing the King's mummy body, along with many jewels was in this treasury of Pasargadae.
Cyrus was killed in the war with the Scythians and his body was transferred to this tomb in Pasargadae. It might be interesting if you know the design of this tomb belongs to Cyrus himself.
In 1820, during a series of excavations and citing existing evidence, this tomb was attributed to Cyrus. Tomb of Cyrus in Pasargadae has always been respected in history. The Achaemenids did their coronation in this place.
During the devastating attack of Alexander, the Great to Pasargadae, his soldiers do not even have mercy on the Cyrus tomb and plunder its objects, tablets, and inscriptions.
After the looting and destruction of the Macedonian troops into the tomb of Cyrus in Pasargadae, Alexander ordered to repair the tomb and punish the perpetrators. The reason for his order was not because of his love or the philanthropist, that actually was a political movement. By this, he wanted to introduce himself as the legitimate successor of the Achaemenid kings.
For many years, this tomb was famous as Solomon’s mother tomb, because publicly believed that Prophet Solomon ordered to construct such this building. During the Atabakan period, due to the respect of Pasargadae, they carved an altar inside the chamber, while other parts of the Pasargadae were almost destroyed.
More information about Pasargadae:
Address: Pasargadae World Heritage Site - Pasargadae City - Fars Province - Iran
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