Persepolis was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire. It is situated in the plains of Marvdasht, encircled by southern Zagros mountains, Fars province of Iran. It is one of the key Iranian Cultural heritages. The city of Shiraz is situated 60 km (37 mi) southwest of Persepolis. UNESCO declared the ruins of Persepolis a World Heritage Site in 1979.
Persepolis
As is typical of Achaemenid cities, Persepolis was built on a (partially) artificial platform.
Darius the Great, by Eugène Flandin (1840)
Persepolis in 1920s, photo by Harold Weston
Old Persian is one of two directly attested Old Iranian languages and is the ancestor of Middle Persian. Like other Old Iranian languages, it was known to its native speakers as ariya (Iranian). Old Persian is close to both Avestan and the language of the Rig Veda, the oldest form of the Sanskrit language. All three languages are highly inflected.
Close-up of the Behistun inscription
An Old Persian inscription in Persepolis