Learn something new every day More Info... by email Persepolis
is an ancient city located in modern-day Iran. It is a UNESCO
World Heritage Site, and has been since 1979. The ruins of
Persepolis are located a bit less than 40 miles (60km) north of
the city of Shiraz, and are one of the most popular tourist
attractions in Iran. Cyrus the Great, the founder of the immense
Persian Empire, chose the site of Persepolis to serve as the
capital of his newly powerful kingdom, sometime in the 6th
century BCE. It was his son, however, Darius the Great, who
built the mighty city. The city was known simple as Parsa, but
the Greeks would call it Persepolis, meaning simply City of the
Persians. The glory of Persepolis was rather short-lived,
however, much like the Persian Empire itself. In the 4th century
BCE, Alexander the Great pushed his way through the Empire to
the Persian Gates. He seized the city, and held it for months,
before finally allowing his troops to loot the place bare. After
looting it, a massive fire brok