Persepolis

Timeline

1. -518–-486Persepolis terrace · Fars ProvinceDarius I built the Apadana audience hall and the initial palace complex on the Mardasht terrace, establishing Persepolis as the ceremonial center of the empire's spring tribute ceremonies.
2. c. -486–-465Persepolis · Fars ProvinceXerxes I expanded the Hundred-Column Hall and the harem quarter; reliefs depict envoys from subject lands such as Egypt, Babylon, and India bringing tribute, displaying the political symbolism of the empire's diverse unity.
3. c. -450–-334Persepolis · Fars ProvinceSuccessive Achaemenid kings continued to hold Nowruz tribute ceremonies at Persepolis, and the city's status as the empire's political symbol endured until the eve of Alexander's eastern campaigns.
4. -330Persepolis · Fars ProvinceAfter conquering Persia, Alexander ordered the palace complexes of Persepolis burned; the ceremonial capital was thereby abandoned, leaving only column and relief remains for later archaeological study.