IntroductionPersia, a mysterious but familiar name, a name we may have only heard about in the Bible or in movies, but we don't know what it really is. In this article, I would like to write a guide to unveil the mysteries of this Asian civilization by carefully choosing three historical and archaeological sites: tomb of Cyrus the Great, Apadana palace and Chogha Zanbil Ziggurats. From these sites we could get a brief idea of the ancient Persian civilization. Tomb of Cyrus the Great, Pasargadae The tomb of Cyrus the Great, located in Pasargadae, the capital of the Achaemenid Empire. It is on the World Heritage List of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The tomb is very simple in design and easy to access. Above the six steps of the lower staircase are the three main parts of the tomb, a raised podium, a small chamber and a roof. From these simple structures we could tell about the culture, politics and technology of the Achaemenid Empire. In terms of culture, we could see that the mausoleum of Cyrus the Great is a mixture of different cultures such as Elamite and Urartian. For example, the small chamber of the tomb is believed to be influenced by the Urartian, which is found in Armenia today. Furthermore, the tomb's design is based on the Elamite zigguarts. From these perspectives, we could appreciate the intelligence of the Persians in combining different cultures in architecture. As for technology, we might see the use of Ionian and Lydian archaeological techniques. The basic unit of the tomb are blocks that are almost the same size and, interestingly, are assembled without cement but with a system of special clamps. This technology originates in Ionia......middle of paper......mb-of-cyrus/ (accessed December 3, 2013).Lendering, Jona. LIVIO. June 14, 2010. http://www.livius.org/pen-pg/persepolis/persepolis_apadana.html (accessed December 4, 2013).Root, Margaret Cool. "The Parthenon frieze and the Apadana reliefs at Persepolis: re-evaluating a programmatic relationship". American Journal of Archeology (Archaeological Institute of America) 89, no. 1 (January 1985): 103-120.Schmandt-Besserat, Denise. "Visiting archaeological sites in Iran." Near Eastern Archeology (The American Schools of Oriental Research) 68, n. 3 (September 2005): 139-144. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. World Heritage List. http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1106 (accessed 4 December 2013). United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. World Heritage List. http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/113 (accessed December 4, 2013).
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