The unpleasant encounter with an Iranian conman didn’t dampen our stay in Shiraz. The next day saw us hiring a cab to Naqsh-e Rustam, an archaeological site located about 12 km northwest of Persepolis, in Fars province, Iran. The place was so called because of a relief of a man with an unusual cap Iranians believed to be a depiction of the mythical hero Rostam, the same Rustum, whom had been killed by his own son I think, whom I had read about during my childhood. One of the highlights there was of course the tombs of the Achaemenid kings which are carved out of the rock face. They are all at a considerable height above the ground and are known locally as the 'Persian crosses', after the shape of the facades of the tombs. The tombs had been identified by an accompanying inscription to be the tomb of Darius I (r. 522-486 BCE). The other three tombs are believed to be those of Xerxes I (r. 486-465 BCE), Artaxerxes I (r. 465-424 BCE), and Darius II (r. 423-404 BCE) respectively while a fifth unfinished one might be that of Artaxerxes III, who reigned at the longest two years or that of the last Achaemenid king, Darius III (r. 336-330 BCE).
Tombs of the Achaemenid Kings...
Ka'ba-ye Zartosht.....
The Sassanid reliefs...
