Perse Polis
Persepolis is near the small river Pulwar, which flows into the river Kur (Kyrus). The site includes a 125,000 square meter terrace, partly artificially constructed and partly cut out of a mountain, with its east side leaning on Kuh-e Rahmet ("the Mountain of Mercy"). The other three sides are formed by retaining walls, which vary in height with the slope of the ground. From 5 to 13 meters on the west side there is a double stair, gently sloping, which leads to the top. To create the level terrace, depressions were filled with soil and heavy rocks, which were joined together with metal clips. Around 518 BC, construction of a broad stairway was begun , was planned to be the main entrance to the terrace 20 meters above the ground. The dual stairway, known as the Persepolitan stairway, was built in a symmetrical manner on the western side of the Great Wall. The 111 steps were 6.9 meters wide with treads of 31 centimetres and rises of 10 centimetres. Originally, the steps were believed to have been constructed to allow for nobles and royalty to ascend by horseback. New theories suggest that the purpose was to allow visiting dignitaries to walk up the stairs while keeping a regal appearance due to the small rise between each step. The top of the stairways led to a small yard in the north-eastern side of the terrace, opposite the Gate of Nations.
Gray limestone was the main building material used in Persepolis. After natural rock had been levelled and the depressions filled in, the terrace was prepared. Major tunnels for sewage were dug underground through the rock. A large elevated water storage tank was carved at the eastern foot of the mountain. Professor Olmstead suggested the cistern was constructed at the same time that construction of the towers began.
The uneven plan of the foundation of the terrace acted like a castle whose angled walls enabled its defenders to target any section of the external front. Diodorus writes that Persepolis had three walls with ramparts, which all had towers to provide protection space for the defense personnel. The first wall was 7 meters tall, the second, 14 meters and the third wall, which covered all four sides, was 27 meters in height, though no presence of the wall exists in modern times.
[edit] Ruins
Persepolis aerial view.
Persepolis aerial view.
Ruins of a number of colossal buildings, all constructed of dark-grey marble from the adjacent mountain, exist on the terrace. Fifteen of the pillars remain intact and standing. Three more pillars have been re-erected since 1970. Several of the buildings were never finished. F. Stolze has shown that some of the mason's rubbish has not been removed. These ruins, for which the name Chehel minar ("the forty columns or minarets") can be traced back to the 13th century, are now known as Takht-e Jamshid - تخت جمشید ("the throne of Jamshid"). Since the time of Pietro della Valle, it has been beyond dispute that they represent the Persepolis captured and partly destroyed by Alexander the Great.
Behind Takht-e Jamshid are three sepulchres hewn out of the rock in the hillside. The façades, one of which is incomplete, are richly decorated with reliefs. About 13 km NNE, on the opposite side of the Pulwar, rises a perpendicular wall of rock, in which four similar tombs are cut at a considerable height from the bottom of the valley. The modern Persians call this place Naqsh-e Rustam - نقش رستم or Nakshi Rostam ("the picture of Rostam"), from the Sassanian reliefs beneath the opening, which they take to be a representation of the mythical hero Rostam. It may be inferred from the sculptures that the occupants of these seven tombs were kings. An inscription on one of the tombs declares it to be that of Darius Hystaspis, concerning whom Ctesias relates that his grave was in the face of a rock, and could only be reached by the use of ropes. Ctesias mentions further, with regard to a number of Persian kings, either that their remains were brought "to the Persians," or that they died there.
[edit] The Gate of All Nations
Two Persian Soldiers in Persepolis(R)
Two Persian Soldiers in Persepolis(R)
The Gate of all Nations, referring to subjects of the empire, consisted of a grand hall that was almost 25 square metres, with four columns and its entrance on the Western Wall. There were two more doors, one to the south which opened to the Apadana yard and the other opened onto a long road to the east. Pivoting devices found on the inner corners of all the doors indicate that they were two-leafed doors, probably made of wood and covered with sheets of ornate metal.
A pair of Lamassu's, bulls with the head of a bearded man, stand by the western threshold, and another pair, with wings and a Persian head (Gopät-Shäh), stand by the eastern entrance, to reflect the Empire’s power.
Xerxes' name was written in three languages and carved on the entrances, informing everyone that he ordered it to be built.
[edit] Apadana Palace
The Apadana Palace, northern stairway (detail)
The Apadana Palace, northern stairway (detail)
Darius the Great built the greatest and most glorious palace at Persepolis in the western side. This palace was named Apadana (the root name for modern "ayvan") and was used for the King of Kings' official audiences. The work began in 515 BC and was completed 30 years later, by his son Xerxes I. The palace had a grand hall in the shape of a square, each side 60m long with seventy-two columns, thirteen of which still stand on the enormous platform. Each column is 19m high with a square Taurus and plinth. The columns carried the weight of the vast and heavy ceiling. The tops of the columns were made from animal sculptures such as two headed bulls, lions and eagles. The columns were joined to each other with the help of oak and cedar beams, which were brought from Lebanon. The walls were covered with a layer of mud and stucco to a depth of 5cm, which was used for bonding, and then covered with the greenish stucco which is found throughout the palaces. At the western, northern and eastern sides of the palace there was a rectangular veranda which had twelve columns in two rows of six. At the south of the grand hall a series of rooms were built for storage. Two grand Persepolitan stairways were built, symmetrical to each other and connected to the stone foundations. To avoid the roof being eroded by rain vertical drains were built through the brick walls. In the four corners of Apadana, facing outwards, four towers were built.
The walls were tiled and decorated with pictures of lions, bulls, and flowers. Darius ordered his name and the details of his empire to be written in gold and silver on plates, and to place them in covered stone boxes in the foundations under the Four Corners of the palace. Two Persepolitan style symmetrical stairways were built on the northern and eastern sides of Apadana to compensate for a difference in level. There were also two other stairways in the middle of the building. The external front views of the palace were embossed with pictures of the Immortals, the Kings' elite guards. The northern stairway was completed during Darius' reign, but the other stairway was completed much later.
[edit] The Throne Hall
Ruins of Throne Hall
Ruins of Throne Hall
Next to the Apadana, second largest building of the Terrace and the final edifices, is the Throne Hall or the Imperial Army's hall of honour (also called the "Hundred-Columns Palace). This 70x70 square meter hall was started by Xerxes and completed by his son Artaxerxes I by the end of the fifth century BC. Its eight stone doorways are decorated on the south and north with reliefs of throne scenes and on the east and west with scenes depicting the king in combat with monsters. The northern portico of the building is flanked by two colossal stone bulls.
In the beginning of Xerxes's reign the Throne Hall was used mainly for receptions for military commanders and representatives of all the subject nations of the empire, but later the Throne Hall served as an imperial museum.
[edit] Other palaces and structures
There were other palaces built, these included the Tachara palace which was built under Darius I, the Imperial treasury which was started by Darius in 510 BC and finished by Xerxes in 480 BC. The Hadish palace by Xerxes I, which occupies the highest level of terrace and stand on the living rock. The Council Hall, the Tryplion Hall, The Palaces of D, G, H, Storerooms, Stables and quarters, Unfinished Gateway and a few Miscellaneous Structures at Persepolis near the south-east corner of the Terrace, at the foot of the mountain.
[edit] Tombs of King of Kings
Apadana Hall, Persian and Median soldiers
Apadana Hall, Persian and Median soldiers
It is commonly accepted that Cyrus the Great was buried at Pasargadae. If there is any truth in the statement that the body of Cambyses II was brought home "to the Persians", his burying-place must be sought somewhere beside that of his father. Ctesias assumes that it was the custom for a king to prepare his own tomb during his lifetime. Hence the kings buried at Naghsh-e Rustam are probably Darius the Great, Xerxes I, Artaxerxes I and Darius II. Xerxes II, who reigned for a very short time, could scarcely have obtained so splendid a monument, and still less could the usurper Sogdianus (Secydianus). The two completed graves behind Takhti Jamshid would then belong to Artaxerxes II and Artaxerxes III. The unfinished one is perhaps that of Arses of Persia, who reigned at the longest two years, or, if not his, then that of Darius III (Codomannus), who is one of those whose bodies are said to have been brought "to the Persians."
Another small group of ruins in the same style is found at the village of Hajjiäbäd, on the Pulwar, a good hour's walk above Takhti Jamshid. These formed a single building, which was still intact 900 years ago, and was used as the mosque of the then existing city of Istakhr.
Since Cyrus the great was buried in Pasargadae, which is mentioned by Ctesias as his own city, and since, to judge from the inscriptions, the buildings of Persepolis commenced with Darius I, it was probably under this king, with whom the sceptre passed to a new branch of the royal house, that Persepolis became the capital of Persia proper. As a residence, however, for the rulers of the empire, a remote place in a difficult alpine region was far from convenient, and the real capitals were Susa, Babylon and Ecbatana. This accounts for the fact that the Greeks were not acquainted with the city until it was taken and plundered by Alexander the Great.
It has been universally admitted that "the palaces" or "the palace" burned down by Alexander are those now in ruins at Takhti Jamshid. From Stolze's investigations it appears that at least one of these, the castle built by Xerxes, bears evident traces of having been destroyed by fire. The locality described by Diodorus after Cleitarchus corresponds in important particulars with Takhti Jamshid, for example, in being supported by the mountain on the east.
[edit] Ancient texts
Ancient texts found in Persepolis
Ancient texts found in Persepolis
The relevant passages from ancient scholars on the subject are set out below:
(Diod. 17.70.1-73.2) 17.70 (1) Persepolis was the capital of the Persian kingdom. Alexander described it to the Macedonians as the most hateful of the cities of Asia, and gave it over to his soldiers to plunder, all but the palaces. (2) +It was the richest city under the sun and the private houses had been furnished with every sort of wealth over the years. The Macedonians raced into it slaughtering all the men whom they met and plundering the residences; many of the houses belonged to the common people and were abundantly supplied with furniture and wearing apparel of every kind….
72 (1) Alexander held games in honour of his victories. He performed costly sacrifices to the gods and entertained his friends bountifully. While they were feasting and the drinking was far advanced, as they began to be drunken a madness took possession of the minds of the intoxicated guests. (2) At this point one of the women present, Thais by name and Attic by origin, said that for Alexander it would be the finest of all his feats in Asia if he joined them in a triumphal procession, set fire to the palaces, and permitted women's hands in a minute to extinguish the famed accomplishments of the Persians. (3) This was said to men who were still young and giddy with wine, and so, as would be expected, someone shouted out to form up and to light torches, and urged all to take vengeance for the destruction of the Greek temples. (4) Others took up the cry and said that this was a deed worthy of Alexander alone. When the king had caught fire at their words, all leaped up from their couches and passed the word along to form a victory procession [epinikion komon] in honour of Dionysius.
(5) Promptly many torches were gathered. Female musicians were present at the banquet, so the king led them all out for the komos to the sound of voices and flutes and pipes, Thais the courtesan leading the whole performance. (6) She was the first, after the king, to hurl her blazing torch into the palace. As the others all did the same, immediately the entire palace area was consumed, so great was the conflagration. It was most remarkable that the impious act of Xerxes, king of the Persians, against the acropolis at Athens should have been repaid in kind after many years by one woman, a citizen of the land which had suffered it, and in sport.
(Curt. 5.6.1-7.12) 5.6 (1) On the following day the king called together the leaders of his forces and informed them that "no city was more mischievous to the Greeks than the seat of the ancient kings of Persia . . . by its destruction they ought to offer sacrifice to the spirits of their forefathers."…
7 (1) But Alexander's great mental endowments, that noble disposition, in which he surpassed all kings, that intrepidity in encountering dangers, his promptness in forming and carrying out plans, his good faith towards those who submitted to him, merciful treatment of his prisoners, temperance even in lawful and usual pleasures, were sullied by an excessive love of wine. (2) At the very time when his enemy and his rival for a throne was preparing to renew the war, when those whom he had conquered were but lately subdued and were hostile to the new rule, he took part in prolonged banquets at which women were present, not indeed those whom it would be a crime to violate, but, to be sure, harlots who were accustomed to live with armed men with more licence than was fitting.
(3) One of these, Thais by name, herself also drunken, declared that the king would win most favour among all the Greeks, if he should order the palace of the Persians to be set on fire; that this was expected by those whose cities the barbarians had destroyed. (4) When a drunken strumpet had given her opinion on a matter of such moment, one or two, themselves also loaded with wine, agreed. The king, too, more greedy for wine than able to carry it, cried: "Why do we not, then, avenge Greece and apply torches to the city?" 5) All had become heated with wine, and so thy arose when drunk to fire the city which they had spared when armed. The king was the first to throw a firebrand upon the palace, then the guests and the servants and courtesans. The palace had been built largely of cedar, which quickly took fire and spread the conflagration widely. (6) When the army, which was encamped not far from the city, saw the fire, thinking it accidental, they rushed to bear aid. (7) But when they came to the vestibule of the palace, they saw the king himself piling on firebrands. Therefore, they left the water which they had brought, and they too began to throw dry wood upon the burning building.
(8) Such was the end of the capital of the entire Orient. . . .
(10) The Macedonians were ashamed that so renowned a city had been destroyed by their king in a drunken revel; therefore the act was taken as earnest, and they forced themselves to believe that it was right that it should be wiped out in exactly that manner.
(Cleitarchus, FGrHist. 137, F. 11 (= Athenaeus 13. 576d-e))
And did not Alexander the Great have with him Thais, the Athenian hetaira? Cleitarchus speaks of her as having been the cause for the burning of the palace at Persepolis. After Alexander's death, this same Thais was married to Ptolemy, the first king of Egypt.
There is, however, one formidable difficulty. Diodorus says that the rock at the back of the palace containing the royal sepulchres is so steep that the bodies could be raised to their last resting-place only by mechanical appliances. This is not true of the graves behind Takhti Jamshid, to which, as F. Stolze expressly observes, one can easily ride up; on the other hand, it is strictly true of the graves at Nakshi Rustam. Stolze accordingly started the theory that the royal castle of Persepolis stood close by Nakshi Rustam, and has sunk in course of time to shapeless heaps of earth, under which the remains may be concealed. The vast ruins, however, of Takhti Jamshid, and the terrace constructed with so much labour, can hardly be anything else than the ruins of palaces; as for temples, the Persians had no such thing, at least in the time of Darius and Xerxes. Moreover, Persian tradition at a very remote period knew of only three architectural wonders in that region, which it attributed to the fabulous queen Humgi (Khumái)the grave of Cyrus at Pasargadae, the building at HäjjIãbãd, and those on the great terrace.
It is safest therefore to identify these last with the royal palaces destroyed by Alexander. Cleitarchus, who can scarcely have visited the place himself, with his usual recklessness of statement, confounded the tombs behind the palaces with those of Nakshi Rustam; indeed he appears to imagine that all the royal sepulchres were at the same place.
[edit] Destruction
After invading Persia, Alexander the Great sent the main force of his army to Persepolis in the year 330 BC. By the Royal Road, Alexander stormed the Persian Gates (in the modern Zagros Mountains), then quickly captured Persepolis before its treasury could be looted. After several months Alexander allowed his troops to loot Persepolis. A fire broke out in the eastern palace of Xerxes and spread to the rest of the city. It is not clear if it had been a drunken accident, or a deliberate act of revenge for the burning of the Acropolis of Athens during the Second Hellenic-Persian War. Although many historians argue that while Alexander's army were celebrating with a symposium they decided to take revenge against Persians in which case it would be a combination of the two. The Book of Arda Wiraz, a Zoroastrian work composed in the 3rd or 4th century CE, also describes archives containing "all the Avesta and Zand, written upon prepared cow-skins, and with gold ink" that were destroyed.
[edit] After the fall of the Achaemenid Empire
Persepolis, 1878 engraving by Frederick Stacpoole ARA (1813–1907).
Persepolis, 1878 engraving by Frederick Stacpoole ARA (1813–1907).
Persepolis in 1827
Persepolis in 1827
Graffiti from western visitors.
Graffiti from western visitors.
In 316 BC Persepolis was still the capital of Persia as a province of the great Macedonian Empire (see Diod. xix, 21 seq., 46 ; probably after Hieronymus of Cardia, who was living about 316). The city must have gradually declined in the course of time; but the ruins of the Achaemenidae remained as a witness to its ancient glory. It is probable that the principal town of the country, or at least of the district, was always in this neighborhood.
About 200 CE we find the city Istakhr (properly Stakhr), five kilometers north of Persepolis, as the seat of the local governors. There the foundations of the second great Persian Empire were laid, and Istakhr acquired special importance as the center of priestly wisdom and orthodoxy. The Sassanian kings have covered the face of the rocks in this neighborhood, and in part even the Achaemenian ruins, with their sculptures and inscriptions, and must themselves have built largely here, although never on the same scale of magnificence as their ancient predecessors. The Romans knew as little about Istakhr as the Greeks had done about Persepolis--and this in spite of the fact that for four hundred years the Sassanians maintained relations, friendly or hostile, with the empire.
Persepolis ruins after 2500 years
Persepolis ruins after 2500 years
At the time of the Arabian conquest Istakhr offered a desperate resistance, but the city was still a place of considerable importance in the first century of Islam, although its greatness was speedily eclipsed by the new metropolis Shiraz. In the 10th century Istakhr had become an utterly insignificant place, as may be seen from the descriptions of Istakhri, a native (c. 950), and of Mukaddasi (c. 985). During the following centuries Istakhr gradually declines, until, as a city, it ceased to exist. This fruitful region, however, was covered with villages till the frightful devastations of the 18th century; and even now it is, comparatively speaking, well cultivated. The "castle of Istakhr" played a conspicuous part several times during the Muslim period as a strong fortress. It was the middlemost and the highest of the three steep crags which rise from the valley of the Kur, at some distance to the west or north-west of Nakshi Rustam.
We learn from Asian writers that one of the Buyid (Buwaihid) sultans in the 10th century of the Flight constructed the great cisterns, which may yet be seen, and have been visited, amongst others, by James Morier and E. Flandin. W. Ouseley points out that this castle was still used in the 16th century, at least as a state prison. But when Pietro della Valle was there in 1621 it was already in ruins.
تختجمشيد
پس از برافتادن هخامنشيان خط و زبان آنها نيز بتدريج نامفهوم شد و تاريخ آنان از ياد ايرانيان برفت، و خاطره شان با ياد پادشاهان افسانهاي پيشدادي و نيمه تاريخي كياني درهم آميخت، و بناي شكوهمند پارسه را كار جمشيد پادشاه افسانهاي كه ساختمانهاي پرشكوه و شگرف را به او نسبت ميدادند دانستند و كمكم اين نام افسانهاي را بر آن بنا نهادند. كهنترين منبعي كه اين محل در آن قصر جمشيد ناميده شده عجائبنامه است، كه در حدود 590 (1384م) نوشته شده است. البته در شاهنامة فردوسي هم از «تختجمشيد» يادي رفته است ( در آنجا كه ميگويد ضحاك به هنگام جنگ با جمشيد «سوي تختجمشيد بنهاد روي ـ چو انگشتري كرد گيتي بر اوي» ) اما احتمال ميرود مقصود از تخت، پايتختجمشيد بوده باشد و اصطلاح مزبور در اين مورد نام خاصي را نميرساند . ما نام مشهور اين مكان، يعني تختجمشيد را به كار ميبريم.
تختجمشيد ارگ شهر پارسه به شمار ميرفته است . در جنوب و شما ل صفه، در دو دره، كه از جريان سيلهاي كوهستاني به وجود آمده، خانههاي بزرگان كشوري و سپاهي جاي داشته است و در سمت غرب و جنوب غربي و شما لغربي صفه، شهر «پارسه» واقع بوده. خانههاي ساكنان شهر از خشت خام بنا شده. و از اينرو خيلي زود از ميان رفته است و چون دورة آبادي شهر حدود 200 سال بوده و پس از ويراني به دست اسكندر مقدوني متروك مانده، آثار بناها از بين رفته است و به جز مواردي معدود نشانههايي ديده نميشود به ويژه كه در جاي آنها كشت كردهاند و به مرور بلنديها را پست و پستيها را هموار ساختهاند.
پارْسَهْ
هخامنشيان عادت باستاني كوچ كردن را فراموش نكردند، و معمولاً همه سال را در يك جا به سر نميبردند، بلكه بر حسب اقتضاي آبوهوا، هر فصلي را در يكي از پايتختهاي خود سر ميكردند. در فصل سرما، در بابل و شوش اقامت داشتند، و در فصل خنكي هوا به همدان ميرفتند كه در دامنه كوه الوند افتاده بود و هواي لطيف و تازه و خنك داشت. اين سه شهر «پايتخت» به معني اداري و سياسي و اقتصادي بودند، اما دو شهر ديگر هم بودند كه «پايتخت آئينيِ» هخامنشيان بشمار ميرفتند، يكي پاسارگاد كه در آنجا آيين و تشريفات تاجگذاري شاهان هخامنشي برگزار ميشد، و ديگري «پارْسَهْ» كه براي پارهاي تشريفات ديگر به كار ميآمد. اين دو شهر «زادگاه» و «پرورشگاه» و به اصطلاح «گهواره» پارسيان به شمار ميرفت، و گور بزرگان و نامآوران آنان در آنجا بود و اهميت ويژهاي داشتند؛ به عبارت ديگر، اينها مراكز مذهبي ايرانيان هخامنشي بودند، مانند اورشليم و واتيكان، كه نظر به اهميت آييني خود، مركز ثقل بسياري از حوادث بودهاند. البته از اين دو تختجمشيد بيشتر اهميت داشته است و به همين دليل، اسكندر مقدوني آن را به عمد آتش زد تا گهواره و تكيهگاه دولت هخامنشي را از ميان ببرد و به ايرانيان بفهماند كه ديگر دوره فرمانروايي آنان به سر آمده است.
نام اصلي اين شهر پارْسَهْ بوده است كه از نام قوم پارسي آمده است و آنها ايالت خود را هم به همان نام پارس ميخواندند. پارسه به همين صورت در سنگ نوشته خشيارشا بر جرز درگاهاي «دروازه همه ملل» نوشته شده است، و در لوحههاي عيلامي مكشوفه از خزانه و باروي تختجمشيد هم آمده است. يونانيان از اين شهر بسيار كم آگاهي داشتهاند، به دليل اين كه پايتخت اداري نبوده است، و در جريانهاي تاريخ سياسي، كه مورد نظر يونانيان بوده، قرار نميگرفته. به علاوه، احتمال دارد كه به خاطر احترام ملي و آئيني شهر پارسه، خارجيان مجاز نبودهاند به مكانهاي مذهبي رفت وآمد كنند و در باب آن آگاهيهايي به دست آورند؛ همچنان كه تا پايان دوره قاجار، سياحان اروپايي كمتر ميتوانستند در باب مشاهد و امامزادههاي ايراني تحقيق كنند. بعضي گمان كردهاند كه در برخي از نوشتههاي يوناني از پارسه به صورت پارسيان persai و يا شهر پارسيان Persia نام رفته است، اما اين گمان مبناي استواري ندارد.
پِرْسِهْ پُليْس
نام مشهور غربي تختجمشيد ، يعني پِرْسِهْ پُليْس (Perse Polis) ريشه غريبي دارد. در زبان يوناني، پْرسهْپُليْس و يا صورت شاعرانه آن پِرْسِپْتوُليْس Persep tolis لقبي است براي آِتِنه، الهه خرد و صنعت و جنگ، و «ويرانكننده شهرها» معني مي دهد.اين لقب را آشيل، شاعر يوناني سده پنجم ق.م. در چكامه مربوطه به پارسيان، به حالت تجنيس و بازي با الفاظ، در مورد «شهر پارسيان» به كار برده است (سُوكنامه پارسيان، بيت 65). اين ترجمه نادرست عمدي، به صورت سادهترش، يعني پرسه پليس، در كتب غربي رايج گشته و از آنجا به مردم امروزي رسيده است. خود ايرانيان نام «پارسه» را چند قرن پس از برافتادنش فراموش كردند چون كتيبهها را ديگر نميتوانستند بخوانند و در دوره ساساني آن را «صدستون» ميخواندند. البته مقصود از اين نام، تنها كاخ صدستون نبوده است، بلكه همه بناهاي روي صفه را بدان اسم ميشناختهاند. در دورههاي بعد، در خاطر ه مردم فارس، «صدستون» به «چهلستون» و «چهلمنار» تبديل شد. جُزَفا باربارو، از نخستين اروپايياني كه اين آثار را ديده است (سال 1474 ميلادي)، آن را ِچْلمِنار (چهلمنُار) خوانده است. (3) پس از برافتادن هخامنشيان خط و زبان آنها نيز بتدريج نامفهوم شد و تاريخ آنان از ياد ايرانيان برفت، و خاطره شان با ياد پادشاهان افسانهاي پيشدادي و نيمه تاريخي كياني درهم آميخت، و بناي شكوهمند پارسه را كار جمشيد پادشاه افسانهاي كه ساختمانهاي پرشكوه و شگرف را به او نسبت ميدادند دانستند و كمكم اين نام افسانهاي را بر آن بنا نهادند.
کاربرد بناهای تختجمشيد
تختجمشيد در دل استان فارس، يعني ميهن هخامنشيان، بنا شده است. داريوش بزرگ در حدود 518 ق.م. صخره بزرگي را در حدود شمال غرب كوه مهر (= كوه رحمت) برگزيد تا كوشك شاهانهاي بر روي آن بنا نهد، وي و پسرش خشيارشا، و پسرزادهاش اردشير يكم، بناهاي با شكوه تختجمشيد را بر آنجا بنا كردند. بر اين نكته بايد تأكيد كرد كه هدف داريوش بزرگ از ساختن اين كوشك در سرزمين فارس، ساختن يك پايتخت اداري و سياسي نبوده، زيرا كه اين مكان از مركز دولت دور بوده، بلكه ميخواسته است مركزي براي تشريقات ايراني درست كند. ارنست هرتسفلد Ernst Herzfeld كه در سالهاي 1930 در تختجمشيد حفاري ميكرد، گفته است: «چنان مينمايد كه تختجمشيد جايي بوده است كه به علتهاي تاريخي و علايقي ريشهدار در زادگاه دودمان هخامنشي ساخته شده و نگهباني گشته و تنها در مواقع برگزاري مراسم و تشريفاتي خاص از آن استفاده ميشده است» بسياري از محققان معتقدند كه تختجمشيد تنها براي برگزاري جشن نوروز، كه هم عيدي شاهي و هم جشني ديني و هم آييني ملي بود، به كار ميرفت. استاد و. لنتس W. Lentz استدلال كرده است كه داريوش بزرگ جايگاه و جهات اين كوشك را بر طبق محاسبات نجومي ساخته است و محور تابش خورشيد به هنگام دميدن، در روزهاي معيني از سال با محورهاي عرضي و طولي تختجمشيد رابطه مييابد. از سوي ديگر كارل نيلندر Carl Nylanderمعتقد است كه شواهدي براي برگزاري جشن نوروز در تختجمشيد در دست نيست و كالمير Peter Calmeyer نقوش تختجمشيد و متون يوناني را مقايسه كرده و به همان نتيجه رسيده است. عدهاي هم با توجه به اسناد ديواني و كاربرد برخي از بناها (مثلاً حرمسرا) و وسعت كاخها وهزينه گزافي كه بر سر ساخت آنها به كار رفته است، تختجمشيد را مركزي سياسي و ادراي و بازرگاني ميدانند كه تناسبي با آيينهاي مذهبي نداشته است. اما حقيقت آن است كه اسناد ديواني، هزينههاي كارگري و سازندگي و نقشتراشي و نيز رفتوآمدهاي پيكها و مأموران دولتي در تختجمشيد همه به زماني تعلق دارند كه داريوش و خشيارشا و اردشير آنجا را بنا ميكردهاند يعني فعاليت ساختماني در آنجا زياد بوده است. وجود جشن نوروز در زمان هخامنشي هم از شواهدي ثابت ميشود (مثلاً وجود جشن مهرگان، زيرا كه در نوروز درست آغاز سال و در مهرگان درست ميانه سال را جشن ميگرفتهاند، ايجاد تقويم اوستايي، كه شامل جشنها منجمله نوروز ميبوده ـ در دوره هخامنشي و نيز وجود دعاي مخصوص زرتشتي بسيار كهن براي نوروز، كه با اعتقادات هخامنشيان پيوند ناگسستني دارد). از سوي ديگر در زمان ساساني نيز با آنكه استخرـ جانشين پارسهـ محل اصلي ساسانيان و جايگاه مذهبي و برگزاري آيينهاي دولتي (مثلاً تاجگذاري) بود، هيچ گونه مركزيت سياسي نداشت. با اين دلايل جشن ما هنوز نظريه آييني بودن تختجمشيد را مرجح ميدانيم .
صفّه پارسه
تختجمشيد بر روي صفّهاي بنا شده است كه كمي بيشتر از يكصدوبيست وپنجهزار متر مربع وسعت دارد. خود صفه برفراز و متكي به صخرهاي است كه از سمت شرق پشت به كوه مهر (= كوه رحمت) داده است و از شمال و جنوب و مغرب در درون جلگه مرودشت پيش رفته و شكل آن را ميتوان يك چهار ضلعي دانست كه ابعاد آن تقريباً چنين است: 455 متر در جبهه غربي، 300 متر در طرف شمالي، 430 متر در سوي شرقي و 390 متر در سمت جنوبي كتيبه برزگ داريوش بر ديوار جبهه جنوبي تخت، صريحاً گواهي ميدهد كه در اين مكان هيچ بنايي قبل از وي موجود نبوده است.
كارهاي ساختماني تختجمشيد بفرمان داريوش بزرگ در حدود 518 ق.م آغاز شد. اول از همه ميبايست اين تخت بسيار بزرگ را براي برآوردن كوشك شاهي آماده سازند: بخش بزرگي از يك دامنه نامنظم سنگي را مطابق نقشه معماران، تا ارتفاع معيني كه مورد نظرشان بود، تراشيدند و كوتاه و صاف كردند و گوديها را با خاك و تختهسنگهاي گران انباشتند، و قسمتي از نماي صفه را از صخره طبيعي تراشيدند و بخشي ديگر را با تختهسنگهاي كثيرالاضلاع كوه پيكري كه بدون ملاط بر هم گذاشتند برآوردند و براي آنكه اين سنگهاي بزرگ بر هم استوار بمانند آنها را با بستهاي دم چلچلهاي آهني به هم پيوستند و روي بستها را با سرب پوشانيدند (اين بستهاي فلزي را دزدان و سنگربايان كنده و بردهاند؛ تنها تعداد كمي از آنها را بر جاي ماندهاند). اين تخته سنگها يا از سنگ آهكي خاكستري رنگي است كه از كوه و تپههاي اطراف صفه استخراج ميشده و يا سنگهاي آهكي سياهي شبيه به مرمر است كه از كانهاي مجدآباد در 40 كيلومتري غرب تختجمشيد ميآوردهاند. خرده سنگها و سنگهاي بيمصرف حاصل از تراش و تسطيح صخره را نيز به درون گودها ريختند. شايد در همين زمان بوده است كه با آب انبار بزرگ چاه مانندي در سنگ صخره و در دامنه كوه مهر (= كوه رحمت) به عمق 24 متر كندند.
پس از چند سال، صاف كردن صخره طبيعي و پر كردن گوديها به پايان رسيد و تخت هموار گشت. آنگاه شروع به برآوردن شالوده بناها كردند و در همان زمان دستگاه آب دَركُني تختجمشيد را ساختند بدين معني كه در دامنه آن قسمت از كوه رحمت كه مشرف بر تخت است آبراهههايي كندند و يا درست كردند، و سر اين آبراههها را در يك خندق بزرگ و پهن، كه در پشت ديوار شرقي تخت كنده بودند، گذاشتند تا آب باران كوهستان از راه آن خندق به جويبارهايي در جنوب و شمال صفه راه يابد و به دَر رَوَد. بدينگونه خطر ويراني بناهاي روي تخت ناشي از سيلاب جاري از كوهستان از ميان رفت، اما بعدها كه اين خندق پُر شد آب باران كوهستان قسمت اعظم برج و باروي شرقي را كند و به درون محوطه كاخها ريخت و آنها را انباشت، تا اين كه در هفتاد سال گذشته؛ باستانشناسان اين خاكها را بيرون ريختند و چهره بناها را دوباره روشن ساختند. بر روي خود صفه، آبراهههاي زيرزميني كندهاند كه از ميان حياط و كاخها ميگذشت و آب باران سقفها از راه ناودانهايي كه مانند لوله بخاري و با آجر و ملاط قير در درون ديوارهاي ستبر خشتي تعبيه كرده بودند، وارد آبراهههاي زيرزميني ميشد و از زير ديوار جنوبي به دشت و خندقي در آن جا ميرسيد. هنوز قسمتهايي از اين آبراههاي زيرزميني و ناودانهاي درون ديوارها را در گوشهوكنار تختجمشيد ميتوان يافت. هم اكنون نيز آب بارانهاي شديد زمستاني از اين آبراهها به در ميرود.
