Archeologists to Explore Buried City of Persepolis (Parseh)

[Cyrus]

http://www.allempires.com/forum/forum_p ... 99&PN=1Did Alexander burn just the Achaemenid Palaces in Persepolis or the whole city?

[jan]

Thanks for this great link. I am sure someone will be able to answer your question, but I do believe that it was the palace.

[jona]

Not even that. Three monuments were destroyed: the Apadana or Audience Hall, the Treasury, and the palace of Xerxes. Other buildings, like the Gate of All Nations, the Palace of Darius, the Hall of 100 Columns, and the so-called Harem were almost intact when the archaeologists found them.In my view, the fire was a calculated act: burning the palace of Xerxes was an act of panhellenistic propaganda, the destruction of the Apadana and Treasury were aimed at the heart of the Achaemenid political system - the redistribution economy. Persepolis once was the place where people brought tribute and received presents, a celebration of the unity of the empire. The destruction of the Apadana and the Treasury was aimed at this symbol.It was the equivalent of destroying the Kaaba in a war against Islam or the Wall Street Stock Exchange in a war against capitalism.Jona

[jona]

"almost intact" is of course exaggerated. But there were less traces of wanton destruction.Jona

[marcus]

Well, according to Arrian (I'm 98% sure it's in Arrian, anyway, but I don't have my copy with me to check) he initially turned the entire city *except* for the palace over to his troops - which almost certainly led to wholesale destruction as well as looting. It was only later that the palace was destroyed - presumably he wanted to live somewhere for the four months or so that the army spent in Persepolis, so he wouldn't destroy it until he was ready to leave.All the bestMarcus

[jona]

Arrian (I'm 98% sure it's in Arrian)- Diodorus, actually... See http://www.livius.org/aj-al/alexander/a ... mlincludes two pictures of wanton destruction.Arrian gives a more rationalistic account.Jona

[marcus]

It's certainly in Diodorus, then - but I'm convinced it's also in Arrian - I'll check tonight.All the bestMarcus

[jan]

Thanks, Jona, for the link and the pictures showing the size of the columns.Cyrus, in Valerio Manfredi's book, he makes the excuse for the burning of the palace as a means to discourage successors who might become tempted to rule as the earlier kings had done. His reasoning is that the lack of temptation that the palace presents will deter future tyrants.I do not buy into that at all, but it is his premise.Despite the fact that this will be met with possible dirision, I will share this experience with you. In a demand for proof, I found myself viewing Persepolis from a great distance, saw it in its entirety, next I found myself entering the first outside gate into the compound, and next after that, the Gates of All Nations. As I am walking along the dusty walkway, I find myself staring at the reliefs which are on the walls, noting the legs specifically (they look like little v's to me), and I am really engrossed in these reliefs, and then am transported onto a huge throne in which I am staring at the columns (room of 100 Columns) and am astounded at how small I seem to be in this huge throne chair, and at the large size of the columns, the immensity, and the number. I actually loved this memory, and am posting it here only because I am convinced that somehow or other the reliefs give me some idea of my height at that moment. And also that I had no hatred of the site itself at all, but actually am very impressed with the reliefs, and the immensity.This memory is still very strong to me, thus, I want to see Persepolis for myself. On a Lonely Planet episode, I did see a piece of it, and it really came alive to me. This is a very important place in the life of Alexander, and I am sure that his regret over destroying it was sincere. I remember a lot of dust, people dressed in Persian attire, as I was dressed in Macedonian attire, as I recall being able to see many things that impressed me as people scurried to get away from me as I am walking through this area. The throne is a very special memory to me. It revealed to me that the Persian kings have a self esteem that is not to be underestimated.I hope you just bear with me as I share this moment.

[dean]

Hello,Yes Marcus, I too recall that the soldiers ransacked the place and that finally the place was torched by Thais? Although I understand that there is some doubt about this story. Must look in Arrian or Plutarch. Best regards,
Dean.

[dean]

Hello,yes just remembered, was it not Parmenion who was against the ransacking of the town and stayed well away as if to say I don't want anything to do with this?I wonder what Sisygambis must have thought of the destruction of the town- was Persepolis not like Aegae the burial area for the kings of Persia?Best regards,
Dean.Please excuse me if I have made an odd blunder or two - I have written it from memory.

[marcus]

Hi Dean (and also Jona),I checked, and am ashamed to say that my memory let me down. The sack of the town isn't in Arrian. It is in Diodorus, as Jona said, but it's treated in some detail in Curtius (V.6.1-8). There's also reference in Plutarch, but it's unclear (in the Penguin translation) whether Alexander's order to massacre the Persians refers to Ariobarzanes' survivors, or the people of Persepolis - so I choose not to take that as evidence until I can secure a less ambiguous translation.Dean - Parmenion definitely objected to the burning of the palace (and that *is* in Arrian ); I don't recall whether he demurred over the sack of the city, though - we'll have to go back and re-research that bit!All the bestMarcus

[dean]

Hello Marcus,
as I recall it- the sacking at Persepolis caused great destruction and could be likened in many senses to the mindless razing of Thebes that took place.Best regards,
Dean.

[marcus]

Hi Dean,I suppose it depends on how 'mindless' the destuction of Thebes really was. It's always seemed to me that it was a deliberate act - just as the sack of Persepolis was (I don't buy the 'drunken accident' theory, as I think few do nowadays). Perhaps the way in which the troops performed the destruction was mindless, but the impetus was coolly calculated!All the bestMarcus