Takht - e  Jamshid or as the Greeks called it, Persepolis, is a ruined capital of the ancient Iran, about 60 Kms  north-east of Shiraz. It is one of  the greatest artistic legacies of the ancient world, founded by Darius I (550 - 486 B.C. ),an Achaemenid king, in 518 B.C. He intended to build a capital in his homeland unique throughout history. he decided to found the capital on the slope of a mountain now called Rahmat, located in the Marvdasht plain, regarded as a holy place by him.Takht - e-Jamshid was completed by Xerxes and Artaxerxes I who ruled Iran from 486 to 465 B.C. and from  465 to 425 respectively.

The palaces were used by the Achaemenid kings up until they were destroyed by Alexander in 330 B.C.