Persepolis was the capital of the original Iranian empire, known as the Achaemenid Empire. This capital was moved here from Pasgardae. Iran has had four separate empires during it's long history, and this was the first. Persia, the former name of Iran, was a great power, having conquered both Babylon and Egypt.
This is the empire that is described in the Bible as conquering Babylon and allowing the Jews, who had been taken captive and resettled there, to return to Israel and rebuild the Temple, which the Babylonians had destroyed.
Persepolis made history in modern times. In 1971 the Shah of Iran held a lavish party in the ruins of Persepolis. It was to celebrate the 2500th anniversary of the Persian Monarchy. It was possibly the greatest party that the world had ever seen. The guests didn't know it at the time but the Shah would be the final monarch. He would be overthrown, and the monarchy would be abolished, by the Islamic Revolution of 1979.
These fourteen images of the ruins of Persepolis are from Google Street View.
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