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Naqsh-e Rustam Tombs (built 17th-6th c. BCE onward)

Naqsh-e Rustam is a steep cliff to the north of Persepolis, the religious center of the Achaemenid Empire. For thousands of years, the sheer walls of the cliff have provided an ideal natural surface for creating bas reliefs, sculptures, and excavations into the living rock, in the manner of the rock-cut architecture of Petra, Jordan or the Buddhas of Bamiyan, Afghanistan. The oldest identifiable reliefs are from the Old Elamite period (17th century BCE), though these survive in fragmentary form and were mostly effaced by later carvings.

The most dramatic feature of Naqsh-e Rustam are the Achaemenid-era tombs visible from many kilometers away. Carved side-by-side, the facades of the cruciform tombs resemble the living quarters of the palaces at Persepolis. The oldest of the tombs is definitively attributed to Darius I (521-486 BCE) by inscriptions. The three other tombs are attributed to his successors on the basis of indirect stylistic evidence.

One of the mysteries of the site is the purpose of the Kabah-i Zardusht, a rectangular stone tower set roughly in front of tomb number four (the westernmost Achaemenid-era tomb). The tower appears to have been constructed partly underground, but this is a result of modern excavations around the structure that have exposed it from centuries of burial. The tower is mostly solid except for a small room at the top that faces the cliffside. Various interpretations have been proposed for its purpose--it may have been a royal treasury, a tomb, or a fire temple, though the lack of any opening for smoke makes the last interpretation difficult. Curiously, an unfinished tower of similar design may be found in Pasargadae (see the Zendan-i Sulaiman tower on this website).

The Sassanian kings, the last rulers of Iran prior to the coming of Islam, also left their mark on the site in the form of eight rock reliefs and a wall surrounding the old tombs. The rock reliefs range from 226-309 beginning with the investiture of Ardashir I (r. 226-242) and ending with an equestrian relief of Hormizd II (r. 303-309). The earliest relief shows Ardashir I receiving the ring of kingship from the deity Ahura Mazda (the god worshipped since Achaemenid times). The second relief is notable for its portrayal of Shapur I (r. 241-272) triumphing over the Roman emperors Valerian and Philip the Arab. Roman soldiers also feature in several other reliefs from the reign of Bahram II (r. 276-293), in which a Roman soldier is seen being forced from his horse, and another being trampled underfoot.