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Persepolis ( Parsa), the spiritual center of the first world power in recorded history, was the vision of the emperor Darius (Dariush) the Great who set forth his plan of a multi-cultural state in which a diversity of ideas took precedence over dictatorial oppression.

The spirit of Achemaenid rule from which Cyrus (Kourosh) the Great founded the Persian Empire (from approximately 559 B.C.) is best conveyed through the words of Darius :

“... I will not tolerate that the weak shall suffer injustices brought upon them by the mighty. What is just pleases me. ... You, my subjects , must not assume what the powerful undertake as sublime. What the common man achieves is much more extraordinary.”

The air of tolerance, leniency and dignity of mankind are manifest in the artistic symbolism of the architecture of Persepolis . In 520 B.C., Darius , aware of the moral responsibilities of the state over which he reigned, called upon architects and artisans from every corner of his vast kingdom – from Libya and Egypt to India, from the Danube to the Indus , from the Caucasus Mountains to the Asiatic Steppes and from the Aral Sea to the Persian Gulf to work together with Persian architects to create something never before seen yet unmistakably Persian.

It is only through this type of master planning - born not of any single, preexisting architectural concept or idea - that a architecture could arise whose grandeur leaves little doubt as to its place as one of the greatest wonders of the Ancient world.