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Archeologists have discovered quarries mined for stones used in constructing and decorating Persepolis, the splendid capital city of the Achaemenid Empire (550-330 B.C.). Working on the Parse and Pasargadae Project, experts found out stones used in Persepolis had been quarried from some mines located in the Marvdasht plateau. “Over the past year, we have discovered 11 mines in the highland area, all pointing to the fact that they had been the main source for different kinds of stones used in Achaemenids’ palaces,” said Hamid Amanollahi, head of the research team in Marvdasht. He added the archeologists are going to continue...

Cyrus the Great Cylinder, The First Charter of Human Rights By 546 BCE, Cyrus had defeated Croesus, the Lydian king of fabled wealth, and had secured control of the Aegean coast of Asia Minor, Armenia, and the Greek colonies along the Levant. Moving east, he took Parthia (land of the Arsacids, not to be confused with Parsa, which was to the southwest), Chorasmis, and Bactria. He besieged and captured Babylon in 539 and released the Jews who had been held captive there, thus earning his immortalization in the Book of Isaiah. When he died in 529, Cyrus's kingdom extended as...