ANTIQUITY OF THE TOMBS. 
527 
of heaven, must rise in the respect of its ancient possessors, in 
proportion to the incense which smoked to him from his altars 
on earth. Hence arose successive sacrifices to these demi-deities, 
to propitiate their intercession with the higher powers, and, by 
such honours to the new god, to incline those higher powers 
more readily to yield to his mediation. Something of this, we 
must understand, in the monthly immolation of a horse to the 
shade of Cyrus ; which was duly sent for that purpose to the 
priestly guardians of his tomb, by his son and successor 
Cambyses. (Arrian, lv. c. 29.) These ideas, which both princes 
and people generally entertained of the destined apotheosis of 
great men, would naturally add another stimulus to kings, to 
prepare and adorn the tombs that were likely to become their 
temples. From these reflections, we may fairly infer that some 
of the tombs at Nakshi-Roustam, and others at Persepolis, are 
quite as ancient, if not anterior, to the age of the great founder 
of the Persian empire. Persepolis, by whatever name it was 
then known, may reasonably be supposed to have existed many 
generations before the son of Cambyses and Mandana became 
its sovereign. According to the most ancient native accounts 
extant, Persia was governed from a very remote period by a 
race of kings, called the Paishdadian line (meaning the distributors 
of justice ,) amongst whom was the renowned Jemsheed; and from 
whom, these authors relate, Cyrus was descended. The founding 
of Persepolis is attributed to this race of kings, and hence its 
name in the country is Tackt-i-Jemsheed, or the throne of 
Jemsheed. Why then may we not ascribe the first design of 
these sepulchral caves to some of the very ancient princes of 
that line ? Professor Heeren, in his Notice on Persepolis, observes, 
while classing the monuments of antiquity in and near that 
