Pasargadae Palaces, Citadel and Tomb of Cyrus
History of Pasargadae
Pasargadae was an old capital of the Persian Empire under Cyrus the Great. The king started his project on 1.6sq kilometers area where he built palaces and buildings of interest to royalty. However, his projects never finished because king died in a battle some 15 or 16 years later in 530BC.
Citadel is perched on a small hill and it overlooks the surround areas, locally it is known as Tall-i Takht (the Throne Hill). This building is considered one of the oldest at Pasargade, probably dates back even before the Cyrus the Great (559-530BC).
Citadel
The walls of this citadel are made with the carved stone. Interestingly, no mortar was used to hold the stones together. One theory suggests that this site was used to monitor the surrounding areas by the soldiers. Coins have been found by the archaeologists at this site, that gives an indication that local populace inhabited this citadel as well (may be in need of a shelter).
Prison of Solomon & Palace P
The Prison of Solomon (Zinada-e Suliman) is a Zoroastrian shrine which resemble to that one in Naqshe Rustam. The name of the building refers to the Islamic conquest when Arabs tried to destroy it, the keeper of this building said that this building was the Prison of Prophet Suliman (Solomon). Another theory is that this building was used to keep holy fire or to store the books.
Columns at the site of the Palace P are lying around. This place was used by king Cyrus as his private palace. Five rows of six pillars were created to build this palace.
Palace S
Ruins of the Reception Hall (also known as Palace S) was decorated with the animal figures in the past. On the site, there was a stone slab in front of the round columns has Arabic written on it. It points out that at one stage this stone was used in the construction of a mosque.
One stone relief depicts a bullman and a fishman, these mythical creatures were created to decorate the buildings in those days. The Palace S (Audience Hall) was 32x22m and it’s roof was resting on tall columns. Gate R refers to an entrance hall at Pasargadae – this building was measured around 28x25m.
Tomb of Cyrus the Great
The Tomb of Cyrus the Great is about 1km southwest to the Palaces of Pasargadae. King Cyrus died in 530BC and he was buried close to his capital. The tomb of Cyrus is about eleven meters high and lower part is platform, about five meters high.
It is said that Alexander the Great visited the tomb of Cyrus the Great and carried out some restoration work. The tour guide pointed out that Arabic inscriptions was written at the entrance (bottom right corner, very faint).
