Naqsh-e Rostam
Type:
Tombs,
Sculptures
Date:
ca. 486–330 BCE (Achaemenid tombs) and ca. 225–310 CE (Sasanian reliefs)
Location or Findspot (Modern-Day Country):
Iran
Description:
The rock-cut tombs and funerary reliefs of four Achaemenid rulers were at Naqsh-e Rostam, high cliffs northwest of Persepolis, the Achaemenid capital. The Sasanians added nine rock-cut reliefs of their own, in doing so tying themselves to the Iranian past. The Sasanian rock relief in the east corner was carved around 235 CE shows Zoroastrianism's chief god, Ahura Mazda (or Ohrmazd; with a crenellated mural crown), handing the diadem of royalty to Ardashir I (r. ca. 224–41 CE), the founder of the Sasanian Empire and father of Shapur I. Ardashir's horse tramples the last king of Parthian Empire while Ohrmazd tramples the devil.
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
1
Image Credits:
Wikimedia Commons
