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Finally there: pictures of Persepolis
Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2004 7:15 am
by jona
Just a brief notice: I've finally finished my website with pictures of the ruins of Persepolis.
http://www.livius.org/a/iran/persepolis ... .htmlOther pictures of ancient Iran, often Alexander-related:
http://www.livius.org/a/iran.htmlRelate ... a.htmlJona
Re: Finally there: pictures of Persepolis
Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2004 2:21 pm
by jan
Again, thank you so much, Jona, you don't know how much I appreciate this help to me. The picture with the king and his fifty soldiers is very helpful. Just like a page out of the Excalibur to me! Whether you can believe it or not, there is a statue of JFK in Tampa Bay, Florida that is a match for me in a picture of our high school newspaper! It is on page 50. So this door has more value than you can ever realize! To me anyway. I am wondering about its measurements, in height! I do see now that I will enjoy a trip to Persepolis very much. I can hardly wait!
Re: Finally there: pictures of Persepolis
Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2004 2:06 pm
by jan
Hi Jona,I have taken more time to read all the copy and study all the pictures. I noticed that Alexander had also burned the Treasury as well as the palace of Xerxes, and that evidence of the torching is still visible. It appears that, according to your information, this torching was not a drunken accident at all. Thanks for the great work. I have enjoyed viewing it this morning.Jan
Re: Finally there: pictures of Persepolis
Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2004 4:54 pm
by jona
It is actually very interesting to see which buildings were burned and which ones were not.(1)
The palace of Xerxes received a special treatment: the heat was so intense that the columns almost exploded. None of the bases of the 36 columns was found inside the palace. (2)
The Apadana (audience hall) and Treasury were completely destroyed. These buildings represented the power of the Achaemenid king more than anything else. After all, here he received and stored his tribute and the gifts he gave in return. By destroying these buildings, Alexander stabbed into the heart of the reciprocity-economy of the Persian empire.All other buildings were more or less intact. There are no traces of fire inside the Gate of All Nations and the Palace of Darius, although adjacent to the Apadana, has survived. This suggests (in my view) that the fire was a calculated political act. Behind the story about Thais's initiative may be nothing more than something like "let's not put off to tomorrow what we can do tonight".Jona