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| Naghsh-e Rostam 2008 نقش رستم |
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Naghsh-e Rostam is situated some five kilometers north of Persepolis, the capital of the ancient Achaemenid empire. It was already a place of some importance when king Darius I the Great (522-486) ordered his monumental tomb to be carved into the cliff.
Later, three Achaemenid tombs and eight Sasanian reliefs were added, seven of them are recognizable.
The oldest monument at Naghsh-e Rostam ("the carvings by [the legendary hero] Rostam") is not fully understood but believed to be Elamite in origin - about 1000 BCE. The original relief was considerably larger but a very large part of it was later removed when the Sasanian king Bahram II ordered an audience relief. This figure with his remarable cap is the only one that survives of the earlier carvings. It proves that Naghsh-e Rostam was already an important place when the Achaemenid rulers started to build their tombs.
The fagade of Darius' tomb has the shape of a cross with, in its center, the access to a small chamber, where the king's body was buried. There was room for other people's sarcophaguses. According to the Greek historian Ctesias of Cnidus, Darius' father Hystaspes died during the construction works. In fact, the existence of this tomb is a bit problematic, because many ancient Iranians were Zoroastrians, who did expose their dead to the dogs and vultures. This practice is known from the Achaemenid age, but perhaps not widespread. Alternatively, perhaps the Achaemenid kings were no Zoroastrians at all.
In the upper arm of the cross is a relief, which shows Darius in front of an altar, praying to the supreme god Ahuramazda (who is shown as a winged disk) and sacrificing to the holy fire. Twenty-eight people, representing the subject nations, are carrying the platform on which Darius is standing
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