Largest selection of original Biblical stock illustrations

"Darius the great king, king of kings, king of countries, son of Hystaspes, an Achaemenid. King Darius says, This is the kingdom which I hold: from the Sacae which is beyond Sogdia to Nubia and from Sind to Lydia. This is what Ahuramazda the greatest of gods bestowed upon me. May Ahuramazda protect me and my royal family." (The text of one of two gold foundation plaques deposited under the northeast corner of the Apadana inscribed in cuneiform in three different languages) Persepolis was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Persian Empire in southern Iran from 550 to 330 BC. Only the remains of the vast palace complex survive. Illustration based on the excavation records of Persepolis published by the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. Elevation of the facade was reconstructed using the Achaemenid royal tombs at Naqsh-i Rustam depicting palace facades of the same period. The color scheme of glazed brick work was referenced from surviving examples of royal palace architecture of the same period unearthed at nearby Susa and now exhibited in the Louvre. Please read blog for extensive explanatory notes.