Department of Architecture
College of Environmental Design
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals
Module 3: Architecture of the Ancient Near East
Persian architecture
Introduction
The Persian Empire started around 560 BC. This was when Cyrus the great, the head of a small aristocracy from the province of Fars, swept over the region with his powerful cavalry defeating other city states and bringing them together to form the Persian empire. By the end of the century, Cyrus and his successors, Darius 1 and Xerxes had conquered the entire civilized world from Indus to the Danube River except for Greece. The Persian emperors had a wish to construct great buildings. They were able to do so and to achieve greatness with their architectural solutions. Their architectural solutions were a synthesis of ideas and materials gathered from almost all parts of their empire and also from the Greeks and Egyptians. Their materials of construction included mud-brick from Babylon, roof beams from Lebanon, precious material from India and Egypt, stone columns quarried and carved by Ionic Greeks. Despite sourcing ideas and materials from different areas, their architecture was original and distinctive in style.
Palace at Parsepolis
At Parsepolis, the Persian style achieved its greatest monumentality. Parsepolis was started in 510 BC and finished in 460 BC. It is set along the face of a mountain that was leveled to create a large platform 1800 by 900 ft in extent and surrounded by a fortification wall. The site was more than half covered with buildings. None of the buildings on the site is a temple. The palace consisted of three parts:
1. An approach of monumental staircases, gateways and avenues.
2. Two great state halls towards the center of the platform
3. The palace of Xerxes, the harem and other living quarters at the south end of the site
Structurally, the builders relied on a hypostyle (many columns) scheme throughout, using it to achieve spaces of varying scale. Some of the spaces were very big and generally square in plan enclosed by mud brick wall. Only some monumental doorways and columns are still standing on the site now. The most impressive aspect of Parsepolis was the Royal Audience hall. This was a square 250ft in length, containing 36 slender columns widely spaced and reaching 67ft high with a lower diameter of only 5ft. The centers of the columns were spaced 20ft or 4 diameters apart. Their column was the greatest invention of the Persians. The columns are fluted and stand on inverted bell shaped bases. Their capital combine Greek motifs with the Egyptian palm leaf, topped by an impost of paired Assyrian beast. Another famous aspect of the Parsepolis was the throne room- most commonly known as the hall of 100 columns. The columns here were 37ft high but only 3ft in diameter and spaced 20ft apart or seven diameters from axis to axis. The narrow diameter of the column coupled with the wide spacing creates a roomy and spacious feeling when compared to the massive nature of Egyptian interiors. The monumental gateway to the palace ensured a dramatic entry and was adorned by relief sculptures. The relief sculptures showed delegates from many countries of the Persian Empire bringing precious gifts and rare animals to the king. This was perhaps during the occasion of New Year festivities. Also appearing are soldiers of the royal guards and nobles of the imperial court. Elsewhere, the king is seen in conflict with animals or seated beneath a ceremonial umbrella. Ruins of Parsepolis still exist till today. The ruins however, give a faulty impression of the city’s original appearance. Some of the columns supporting the roofs of its great halls have survived. But the mud brick fabric of the palace and the high wall enclosing the whole terrace have perished completely, leaving only the sculptures which adorned doorways or window openings and the relief ornamenting its monumental stairway. The existing remains seems to suggest a stone construction, rather than the actual stone column with mud walls construction.
