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Achaemenid Art
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Stone relief from the
Apadana (audience hall) at Persepolis
Achaemenid,
6th-5th century BC
From
Persepolis, south-west Iran
This broken relief from the Persian royal capital Persepolis
depicts a row of so-called Susian guards. They are very similar to figures
formed from moulded glazed bricks from the city of Susa. They may
represent the 'immortals' who made up the king's personal bodyguard
Towards the end of the reign of the Persian king Cambyses (530-522 BC)
a revolt broke out. On his way to deal with the problem,
Cambyses was accidentally killed. The rebellion was eventually crushed by
a group of seven conspirators and one of them, Darius, became the next
king. He was keen to stress his legitimacy and founded Persepolis as a new
royal centre. His successors Xerxes, Artaxerxes I and Artaxerxes III
continued to build at Persepolis.
The most important structures were built on a terrace of natural rock
which rose above the surrounding plain.
Remains of some fifteen major buildings survive, including the Apadana or
audience hall.
This relief comes from the north side of the east wing of the Apadana,
where the figures decorated a staircase.
The reliefs originally showed the enthroned Persian king
in the centre, while towards him moved processions of tribute bearers
representing twenty-three different subject peoples. Persepolis was
destroyed by Alexander the Great in 330 BC.
Length: 102 cm
Width: 60 cm
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