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View ofPasargad from Toll-e Takht hill. The closest building to the tomb attributed toCambyses II and the farthest building that can be seen in the center of the upper part of the image is theTomb of Cyrus the Great. Between these two buildings, the ruins of Achaemenid palaces can be seen.
The archaeological site covers 1.6 square kilometres (0.62 sq mi) and includes a structure commonly believed to be themausoleum of Cyrus, the fortress of Toll-e Takht sitting on top of a nearby hill, and the remains of two royal palaces and gardens. Pasargadae Persian Gardens provide the earliest known example of the Persianchahar bagh, or fourfold garden design (seePersian Gardens).
The remains of thetomb of Cyrus' son and successorCambyses II have been found in Pasargadae, near the fortress of Toll-e Takht, and identified in 2006.[5]
The Gate R, located at the eastern edge of the palace area, is the oldest known freestandingpropylaeum. It may have been the architectural predecessor of theGate of All Nations atPersepolis.[6]
The most important monument in Pasargadae is the tomb of Cyrus the Great. It has six broad steps leading to the sepulchre, the chamber of which measures 3.17 metres (10.4 ft) long by 2.11 metres (6 ft 11 in) wide by 2.11 metres (6 ft 11 in) high and has a low and narrow entrance. Though there is no firm evidence identifying the tomb as that of Cyrus, Greek historians say thatAlexander believed it was. When Alexander looted and destroyed Persepolis, he paid a visit to the tomb of Cyrus.Arrian recorded in the second century CE that Alexander commanded Aristobulus, one of his warriors, to enter the monument. Inside he found a golden bed, a table set with drinking vessels, a gold coffin, some ornaments studded with precious stones and an inscription on the tomb. No trace of any such inscription survives, and there is considerable disagreement about the exact wording of the text. According toStrabo and Arrian report it said:[7]
Passer-by, I am Cyrus, who gave the Persians an empire, and was king of Asia. Grudge me not therefore this monument.
The design of Cyrus' tomb is credited to Mesopotamian or Elamiteziggurats, but thecella is usually attributed toUrartu tombs of an earlier period.[8] In particular, the tomb at Pasargadae has almost exactly the same dimensions as the tomb ofAlyattes, father of the Lydian KingCroesus; however, some have refused the claim (according toHerodotus, Croesus was spared by Cyrus during the conquest of Lydia, and became a member of Cyrus' court). The main decoration on the tomb is arosette design over the door within the gable.[9] In general, the art and architecture found at Pasargadae exemplified the Persian synthesis of various traditions, drawing on precedents fromElam,Babylon,Assyria, andancient Egypt, with the addition of some Anatolian influences.
The first capital of theAchaemenid Empire, Pasargadae lies in ruins 40 kilometers fromPersepolis, in present-dayFars province ofIran.[10] Gardens were of great significance in Persian culture, and the palace complex was constituted by an extensive pattern of gardens stretching from the Tomb of Cyrus to a fortress known as the Tall-i Takht, about three kilometres away, and containing various palaces and other buildings. The architecture showed elements of Elamite and Egyptian or Phoenician decoration as well asIonian Greek building techniques, suggesting a desire by Cyrus to reflect his imperial rather than simply national kingship.[11]
Pasargadae was first archaeologically explored by the German archaeologistErnst Herzfeld in 1905, and in one excavation season in 1928, together with his assistantFriedrich Krefter [de].[12] Since 1946, the original documents, notebooks, photographs, fragments of wall paintings and pottery from the early excavations are preserved in theFreer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, in Washington, DC. After Herzfeld,Sir Aurel Stein completed a site plan for Pasargadae in 1934.[13] In 1935, Erich F. Schmidt produced a series of aerial photographs of the entire complex.[14]
From 1949 to 1955, an Iranian team led by Ali Sami worked there.[15] A British Institute of Persian Studies team led byDavid Stronach resumed excavation from 1961 to 1963.[16][17][18] It was during the 1960s that a pot-hoard known as thePasargadae Treasure was excavated near the foundations of 'Pavilion B' at the site. Dating to the 5th-4th centuries BC, the treasure consists of ornateAchaemenid jewellery made from gold and precious gems and is now housed in theNational Museum of Iran and theBritish Museum.[19] It has been suggested that the treasure was buried as a subsequent action onceAlexander the Great approached with his army, then remained buried, hinting at violence.[20]
There has been growing concern regarding the proposedSivand Dam, named after the nearby town ofSivand. Despite planning that has stretched over 10 years, Iran's ownIranian Cultural Heritage Organization was not aware of the broader areas of flooding during much of this time.
Its placement between both the ruins of Pasargadae and Persepolis has many archaeologists and Iranians worried that the dam will flood these UNESCO World Heritage sites, although scientists involved with the construction say this is not obvious because the sites sit above the planned waterline. Of the two sites, Pasargadae is the one considered to be more threatened. Experts agree that the planning of future dam projects in Iran will merit an earlier examination of the risks to cultural resource properties.[24]
Of broadly shared concern to archaeologists is the effect of the increase in humidity caused by the lake.[25] All agree that the humidity created by it will speed up the destruction of Pasargadae, yet experts from the Ministry of Energy believe it could be partially compensated for by controlling the water level of the reservoir.
Construction of the dam began on 19 April 2007, with the height of the waterline limited so as to mitigate damage to the ruins.[26]
In 1930, theBrazilian poetManuel Bandeira published a poem called "Vou-me embora pra Pasárgada" ("I'm off to Pasargadae" inPortuguese), in a book entitledLibertinagem.[27] It tells the story of a man who wants to go to Pasargadae, described in the poem as autopian city, having the children learned in the school about this "utopic city created by Manuel Bandeira". Manuel Bandeira heard the name Pasargadae for the first time when he was 16 years old, reading a book by a Greek author. The name of the field of the Persians reminded him of good things, of a place of tranquillity and beauties. Years later, in his apartment, during a moment of sadness and anxiety, he had the idea of "vou-me embora pra Pasárgada" (I'm off to Pasargadae) and then created the poem, which surrounds the great part of the Brazilian population's imagination to this day.[28]
^Boucharlat, Rémy (2002),Pasargadae, Iran, vol. 40, pp. 279–82.
^[1] Sébastien Gondet et al, Field Report on the 2015 Current Archaeological Works of the Joint Iran-French Project on Pasargadae and its Territory, International Journal of Iranian Heritage Studies, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 60-87, 2018
^Butler, Richard; O'Gorman, Kevin D.; Prentice, Richard (2012-07-01). "Destination Appraisal for European Cultural Tourism to Iran".International Journal of Tourism Research.14 (4):323–338.doi:10.1002/jtr.862.ISSN1522-1970.
^Bandeira, Manuel (2009). "Libertinagem" [Salacity]. In Seffrin, André (organizer) (ed.).Manuel Bandeira: poesia completa e prosa, volume único [Manuel Bandeira: complete poetry and prose, unique volume] (in Portuguese). Rio de Janeiro [(City) "River of January"], RJ [(State) "River of January"], Brasil [Brazil]: Editora Nova Aguilar [New Aguilar Press]. pp. XXIII,118–119.
Fathi, Nazila (November 27, 2005), "A Rush to Excavate Ancient Iranian Sites",The New York Times; fully accessible atFathi, Nazila (27 November 2005),"SF Gate",San Francisco Chronicle.
Ali Mousavi (September 16, 2005), "Cyrus can rest in peace: Pasargadae and rumors about the dangers of Sivand Dam",History, Iranian, archived fromthe original on May 23, 2010.
Matheson, Sylvia A,Persia: An Archaeological Guide.
Seffrin, André (2009),Manuel Bandeira: poesia completa e prosa, volume único [Manuel Bandeira: complete poetry and prose, unique volume], Rio de Janeiro: Editora Nova Aguilar,ISBN978-85-210-0108-9.
Stronach, David (1978),Pasargadae: A Report on the Excavations Conducted by the British Institute of Persian Studies from 1961–63, Oxford University Press,ISBN978-0-19-813190-8.
Ali Mozaffari, World Heritage in Iran: Perspectives on Pasargadae, Routledge, 2016,ISBN978-1409448440
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