Persepolis Citadel in Ancient Persia

Persepolis, Iran of the Achaemenid Empire of Persia is one of the most complex and organized cities, resting atop of a very tall plateau as a citadel, with many different royal buildings stood overlooking the land below created in 521-465 BCE. Wide stairways led up to the citadel and opened into a apadana, or a massive royal audience room. Most notably is its sea of thirty-six columns consisting of shafts, or the body of the column, flutes, or the depressed vertical lines running down the column, a tall base surrounded by the leaves of a palm, and large capitals, or the top of the column, with exaggerated volutes that display outrounded circular curvature extending downward towards the shaft.

At the top of the columns stand griffens, or lions with an eagle’s head, lions, bulls, and bulls with a man head (Kleiner 2015, pg. 50), similar to lamassu in Assyria.

Additionally, these columns would have likely supported an enormous roof. Continuing the motif from other citadels and entrances, winged bulls also stood beside the entrance to the citadel, additionally motivated by the Assyrians.

The columns of Persepolis most certainly set this style of architecture apart from any other city reviewed. I can infer that as city population has increased in size over the time from Sumer, more complex architecture was created to enhance organization of people as well as the protection and safety of them. The Palace of Shauper I from the Sasanian Empire, the last civilization of Persia, is another very unique type of architecture that is set apart from other urban organizations.

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What is most apparent to the eye standing 100 feet about ground level is the large vaulted arch that overpowers an iwan, or a large brick audience room, similar to the citadel in Persepolis, along with blind arcades that compose the forefront of the building beside the iwan, acting as a decoration of arches lacking any opening. What is interesting is that this huge vault still stands today. That being said, architecture and engineering has clearly advanced strongly from Sumer to the last civilization of Mesopotamia, going to show that urbanism not only advanced in technology, but in how each culture organizes and decorates to their preferred liking.

By reviewing the evolution of architecture in terms of organization, decoration, and technology in Mesopotamian civilizations such as Sumer, Sumer, Akkad, Babylon, Hittite, Assyrian, Neo-Babylon, Achaemenid, and the Sasanian Empire, it is seen how as different cultures and cities develop and grow in size, the complexion and preciseness of architecture is advanced greatly. From a simple slab of a plateau with a temple on top in Sumer, to a complex, audience-halled and intricate column filled protective citadel and huge 100 foot vaults in Persia show the massive development of architecture and urbanism. Looking onward, this offers insight as to how such smaller cities from long ago have contributed to the organization and architecture of much larger populations of cities today.