PERSEPOLIS 



Photogravure from a Painting by Briton Rivi&re 



A picturesque display of most remarkable ruins is all that now remains 

 of Persepolis, the capital of ancient Persia, with which, according to ancient 

 writers, no other city could be compared either in beauty or in wealth, and 

 which was generally designated as the " Glory of the East." Alexander the 

 Great, in his march of conquest, destroyed some of the chief palaces, and the 

 rest gradually fell into decay. The most important of these ruins is the 

 Chehel Minar (Forty Pillars). Massive double flights of steps lead to a 

 platform strewn with ruins, from which still tower some forty colossal marble 

 columns. These steps together with the artificial terraces are a principal 

 feature of the ancient palaces of Persepolis. 



