📷 mostafa_meraji · Pixabay

Where in the world

Iran

Pasargadae

Persian (Achaemenid) · Iran

Field notes

civilizations: Persian (Achaemenid)
types: City
built: 546 BCE — 530 BCE
occupied: 546 BCE — 330 BCE
country: Iran

The site

Pasargadae, in the highlands of Fars, Iran, was the first capital of the Achaemenid Empire under Cyrus the Great, founded around 546 BCE. Its most celebrated monument is the Tomb of Cyrus, a spare stepped mausoleum standing alone on the plain, set among the earliest known Persian 'paradise' gardens; Alexander the Great is said to have paused here to pay his respects. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, it marks the birthplace of Persia's first great empire.

Nearby sites