Persepolis (Persian: پرسپولیس) was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (ca. 550–330 BC). It is situated 60 km northeast of the city of Shiraz in Fars Province, Iran. The earliest remains of Persepolis date back to 515 BC. UNESCO declared the ruins of Persepolis a World Heritage Site in 1979. The English word Persepolis is derived from Greek Persépolis (Περσέπολις), meaning "the City of the Persians". To the ancient Persians, the city was known as Pārsa. Because Persians of Late Antiquity believed Jamshid, an Iranian mythological figure, built its monuments, since the time of the Sasanian period (224–651 AD) the site has been known as Takht-e-Jamshid (Persian: تخت جمشید, literally "Throne of Jamshid"). (see Wikipedia).
