Pasargadae

Pasargadae was the capital of the Achaemenid Empire under Cyrus the Great (559–530 BC), located just north of the town of Madar-e-Soleyman and about 90 kilometres to the northeast of the city of Shiraz [1]. Pasargadae was founded in the 6th century BCE as the first capital of the Achaemenid Empire by Cyrus the Great, near the site of his victory over the Median king Astyages in 550 BCE [1]. The city is named after his own royal clan [1]. It remained the Achaemenid capital until Darius moved it to Persepolis [1]. The archaeological site covers 1.6 square kilometres and includes a structure commonly believed to be the mausoleum of Cyrus, the fortress of Toll-e Takht sitting on top of a nearby hill, and the remains of two royal palaces and gardens [1]. Pasargadae Persian Gardens provide the earliest known example of the Persian chahar bagh, or fourfold garden design [1]. Pasargadae was first archaeologically explored by the German archaeologist Ernst Herzfeld in 1905, and in one excavation season in 1928 [1].