17th April 2025
James Renshaw
The Persian empire exploded into life during the middle of the 6th century BC and was the largest empire in the world for the next two centuries. It stretched from the Mediterranean in the west to the Indus valley in the east, from the Eurasian steppes in the north to Egypt and Arabia in the south. In around 515, its third Great King, Darius I, commissioned the building of a new city, Persepolis, with his palace at its centre. We know a great deal about this palace, and one of its central features, the Apadana Staircase, can be seen in replica in the British Museum. What can this palace and its art tell us about the ideology of this extraordinary and influential empire?
