Naqsh-e Rustam — necropolis
Stefan Krasowski from New York, NY, USA · CC BY 2.0

Naqsh-e Rustam

  • 2 min read
  • 29.989° N 52.875° E

Interesting facts

  • The name means 'Mural of Rostam', after the hero of Persian legend.
  • The oldest carving on the cliff is an Elamite relief about 7 by 2.5 metres, later recut into an audience scene of the Sasanian king Bahram II.
  • Seven over-life-size rock reliefs at the site portray Sasanian monarchs.
  • Besides the captive Valerian, Shapur I's triumph relief is thought to show a second Roman emperor, Philip the Arab.
  • Below the tomb attributed to Artaxerxes I, a relief shows Hormizd II unhorsing an enemy, perhaps Papak of Armenia.
  • Bahram II appears in two equestrian combat reliefs and in an audience scene where he holds an oversized sword.
  • The square tower facing the cliff copies a sister building at Pasargadae known as the Prison of Solomon.
  • Darius's tomb inscription, known to scholars as DNa, dates from around 490 BC, the last decade of his reign.
  • In 1923 the archaeologist Ernst Herzfeld made casts of Darius's tomb inscriptions, held since 1946 by the Smithsonian's Freer Gallery of Art.

Why it is worth it

Naqsh-e Rustam is a cliff face north-west of Persepolis in Fars province where the kings of Persia carved their tombs and their victories over more than a thousand years. High in the rock are four identical tombs of Achaemenid kings. Each has a cross-shaped facade: the middle arm imitates a palace portico with bull-headed capitals, the doorway leads into a small burial chamber, and above it the king stands on a platform held up by figures representing the peoples of the empire, facing a fire altar under a winged symbol. Only the tomb of Darius the Great (died 486 BC) is identified for certain, by the long inscription on its facade; the others are usually attributed to Xerxes I, Artaxerxes I and Darius II.

At ground level, the Sasanian kings (3rd–7th centuries AD) added their own reliefs below the Achaemenid tombs, deliberately linking themselves to the older dynasty. The most famous shows Shapur I on horseback with the Roman emperor Valerian kneeling before him. Valerian was captured at the Battle of Edessa in 260, the only Roman emperor ever taken prisoner. Other panels show investiture scenes, such as that of Narseh, horsemen in combat, and royal audiences; one faint relief traces back to the Elamites and was carved over by the Sasanians. Facing the cliff stands the Ka'ba-ye Zartosht, a square stone tower from the Achaemenid period whose purpose — tomb, fire temple or archive — is still argued over.

A few hundred metres away, Naqsh-e Rajab has four more Sasanian reliefs in a small rock bay, and the ruins of Persepolis are about 13 km away. Most visitors combine all three in a day from Shiraz, often adding Pasargadae further north. The site is compact and can be seen in an hour or so.

Getting there

Naqsh-e Rustam is about 15 km from Marvdasht; Persepolis is about 60 km from Shiraz, and Naqsh-e Rustam lies a short drive beyond it; the usual way to go is a hired car with driver or a day tour from Shiraz that also covers Persepolis and Naqsh-e Rajab. Shiraz Shahid Dastghaib International Airport (SYZ) is about 57 km away in a straight line.

Plan your visit

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Nearby places

On these lists

The Most Beautiful Places in Fars 8The Most Beautiful Places in Iran 48The Greatest Archaeological Wonders in Iran 8The Most Remarkable Necropolises 18The Most Mystical Archaeological Wonders 73The Most Mystical Places 138The Greatest Archaeological Wonders 306

From the encyclopaedia

Naqsh-e Rostam is an ancient archeological site and necropolis located about 13 km northwest of Persepolis, in Fars province, Iran. A collection of ancient Iranian rock reliefs are cut into the face of the mountain and the mountain contains the final resting place of four Achaemenid kings, notably king Darius the Great and his son, Xerxes. This site is of great significance to the history of Iran and to Iranians, as it contains various archeological sites carved into the rock wall through time for more than a millennium from the Elamites and Achaemenids to the Sasanians. It lies a few hundred meters from Naqsh-e Rajab, with a further four Sasanian rock reliefs, three celebrating kings and one a high priest.

Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

29.98889, 52.87472per Wikidata