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be reached from the Palace of 100 Columns. The northern panels recount the reception of
the Persians in formal dress and the Medes in tied dress. The three tiers of figures are
amazingly well preserved. Each tier contains representations of the most elite of the Persi-
an nobles, the Imperial Guard and the Immortals. On the upper tier, they are followed by
the royal procession, the royal valets and the horses of the king of chariots, while on the
lower two tiers they precede the Persians with their feather headdresses and the Medes in
their round caps. The stairs themselves are guarded by Persian soldiers. The central panel
of the staircase depicts a ring with wings, flanked by two winged lions with human heads
and guarded by four Persian and Median soldiers; the Persians are the ones carrying the
indented shields. The panels at the southern end are the most interesting, showing 23 del-
egations bringing their gifts to the Achaemenid king. This rich record of the nations of the
time ranges from the Ethiopians in the bottom left corner, through a climbing pantheon of,
among various other peoples, Arabs, Thracians, Kasmiris, Parthians and Cappadocians, up
to the Elamites, Egyptians and Medians at the top right.
Today, the staircase is covered by a permanent shelter and the only direct sunlight is
early in the morning, so it's worth heading straight here when the site opens.
The Tripylon ahead stands at the heart of the city but no one knows what its exact
function was.
Private Palaces
The southwestern corner of the site is dominated by palaces believed to have been con-
structed during the reigns of Darius and Xerxes. The Tachara is easily the most striking,
with many of its monolithic doorjambs still standing and covered in bas-reliefs and cunei-
form inscriptions. The stairs on the southern side bear highly skilled reliefs and are some
of the most photogenic. The palace opens onto a royal courtyard flanked by two palaces.
To the east is the Hadish , a palace completed by Xerxes and reached via another monu-
mental staircase. Some scholars speculate that its wooden columns on stone bases might
have served as kindling for Alexander's great fire - especially as it had been Xerxes who
had put Athens to the torch. To the south of the square are the remains of an unfinished
palace known as Palace H .
PALACES
Persepolis Museum
Scholars can't seem to agree about the original function of the building that now houses
the site's museum (admission US$0.50; 8am-4.30pm Nov-Mar, to 6.30pm Apr-Oct) ,
which is accessed via stairs east of the Tripylon. Some believe it was a harem for the
king's consorts and concubines, but others believe that it was a residence for visiting am-
bassadors (it has the same number of rooms as the number of subject nations). Restored in
MUSEUM
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