One of the ancient Iranian traditional arts, before emergence of Islam in Iran, was stone carving and the rock faces. These works share historical information of Iranian civilization, culture and art and remind us the royal ceremonies, wars and religious traditions of ancient Persian civilizations.

To make a low-relief, the choice of location is the first step. Factors of a perfect location are:  availability of water, being on the way of caravans and passengers, having a good view and sometimes the sacredness of the place. Iranians engraved the rocks using hammers, scissors, etc. Most rock low-reliefs were created on limestone.

Iranians who forgot their pre-Islamic history due to loss of language and written text, invented the stories based on the poems of Ferdowsi, the one who tells the story of the pre-Islamic kings of the Persians in the form of epic poems. The Elamites engraved low reliefs, the Achaemenid kings make their necropolis, and in the Sassanid era, several royal low reliefs were engraved there. A few kilometers from Persepolis, Naqsh-e Rostam is one of the most important Achaemenes and Sassanian sites in Iran. This sacred place built in pre-Islamic Iran was later named “the image of Rostam” according to the popular and poetic tradition of Iranian literature.

Darius first the great king, and three of his successors chose to dig their tombs in the shape of a cross in the cliffs of Kuh-e Hossein. All four tombs look alike having three different parts. The lower part of the tomb remains without ornamentation, while the middle horizontal section is decorated with columns with capitals and the upper part represents the figuration of the king in front of a fire altar, supported by the defeated nations, the deputies of all the nations that lived under the Persian Empire. These buildings are an impressive reminder of the once glorious Achaemenid Persian Empire (around 550-330 BC).

The Achaemenes tombs belong to Darius I, Xerxes I, Artaxerxes I and Darius II. Opposite the tomb of Darius II, stands a square tower, called Kaabah-e Zardusht (Kaaba of Zoroaster). This cube has a door which gives access to the only room of the tower and the three other sides have niches of black colors which resemble windows. The function of this Achaemenes tower is the subject of several hypotheses. “It has been considered as a temple of fire, a library of sacred books, a royal tomb of an Achaemenes king prior to Darius I, a temple of a Mazdean deity or Anahita, an observation tower for the guards and priests or an astronomical observatory”. The building may have played different roles over time. These are the hypotheses written in the book of the culture guide, by Patrick Ringgenberg.

The Sassanids who governed Persia a thousand years after the Achaemenids benefited from this holy and sacred place to sculpt eight Sassanid low-reliefs. These reliefs represent the investiture, equestrian battles, and commemoration of the victories of the Sassanid kings. The Sassanid kings would like to evoke the glory of the Achaemenid kings; maybe that’s why they created huge reliefs at the bottom of the tombs.

The artists of the Achaemenid Empire were inspired by previous civilizations such as The Lullubis, Elamites, Medes, Egyptians and Assyrians who belonged in the 6th century BC, to the first empire in the world, the Achaemenids. Besides, the Persian artist can create not only a sublime work thanks to ancient experiences and the most beautiful aspects of other peoples but also seek an original and harmonious creation. This is why the sculpture on stone is exemplary in Naqghsh-e Rostam and Persepolis.

The history of this ancient necropolis is not limited to the Achaemenid and Sassanid periods. There is evidence that the site dates back to the Elamite period. An ancient rock relief dating from the Elamite period indicates that Naqsh-e Rustam had been a sacred place during ancient times. This is perhaps the reason why Darius I ordered to dig his monumental tomb in the cliff at the foot of the mount. His rock tomb is famous for its two inscriptions known as the king’s autobiography. The inscriptions indicate that Darius the Great had been the king who ruled according to justice.

Travel to Iran and enjoy visiting so many great cultural attractions, especially the great ones inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Pasargades, Persepolis, Naqsh-e Rajab which is a few hundred meters from Naqsh-e Rustam, the ancient necropolis of the powerful Persian kings are the best cultural attractions of Iran located in Shiraz, in the province of Fars.