Persepolis

Persepolis was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire, begun c. 518 BCE by Darius I on an enormous terrace platform of over 125,000 square meters in southwestern Iran. Successive kings Xerxes I and Artaxerxes I expanded the complex, adding palatial buildings including the Apadana hall with its 72 columns standing 19m high, the Gate of All Nations, and the Hundred-Column Hall. Elaborate bas-reliefs depict delegations from 23 subject nations bearing tribute. Alexander the Great sacked and burned the city in 330 BCE. Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979, it remains one of the world's greatest archaeological sites.