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Pasargadae is the ruins of an ancient Persian city that is recognized by as a World Heritage Site. It is located in Fars Province, Iran, about 43 km from Persepolis. The city of Pasargadae was the first dynastic capital of the Achaemenid Empire in the 6th century BC. It was founded by Cyrus the Great (559-530 BC). Among the structures still standing is the Tomb of Cyrus the Great, identified in 2006. It is located near the Toll-e Takht fortress. The tomb of Cyrus' son and successor, Cambyses II, was also discovered.
Tomb of Cyrus the Great, Pasargadae, Iran
Author: Truth Seeker (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported)
The construction of Pasargadae began in 546 BC. After Cyrus the Great died in the battlefield, around 530 or 529 BC, work on the city appeared to have come to a stop.
The Tomb of Cyrus the Great remains the most important monument at Pasargadae. It is 3.17 meters long, 2.11 meters wide and 2.11 meters high. Our understanding that the structure was Cyrus's tomb stems from ancient writings attributed to Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) who visited the tomb after looting and destroying Persepolis.
During the Islamic conquest of Persian, Cyrus's Tomb was nearly destroyed by the Arab armies, as they felt it to be in violation of the tenets of Islam. However the caretakers of the tomb managed to convince the Arab command that the tomb was that of King Solomon's mother, thus sparing it from destruction. The original inscription on the tomb was also replaced with a verse from the Quran, and the tomb became known as Qabr-e Madar-e Sulaiman, or Solomon's Mother's Tomb, a name still in popular use today.
Palace of Cyrus the Great, Pasargadae, Iran
Author: dynamosquito (Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic)
Presently Pasargadae is again under threat, this time from the proposed construction of the Sivand Dam, which may cause the site to be flooded, even though scientists working on the dam project have stated that the site is above the planned waterline. Nonetheless archaeologists are concerned that the dam will increase humidity that will cause deterioration of Pasargadae.
Pasargadae was inscribed as a World Heritage Site during the 28th session of the World Heritage Committee in Suzhou, China, 28 June - 7 July, 2004.
World Heritage Site Inscription Details
Location: N30 11 37.788 E53 10 2.244 in Fars province, Iran.Inscription Year: 2004
Type of Site: Cultural
Inscription Criteria: I, II, III, IV
Return to Iran's World Heritage Sites
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