PERSEPOLIS ; Persepolis). This city is only mentioned once, and in 2 Maccab. ix. 2, where it is said that Antiochus Epiphanes en tered [a city] called Persepolis, and went about to rob the temple and to hold the city ;' but the inhabitants defending themselves, Antiochus was ignominiously put to flight. Persepolis was the capital of Persia at the time of the invasion of Alexander the Great, who, as is well known, wantonly burnt it, as has been supposed at the suggestion of the courtezan Thais, to revenge the taking of Athens by Xerxes, but this story pro bably rests on the sole authority of Cleitarchus (Cleitarch. ap. Athen., xiii. p. 576 e ; Diod. Sic., xvii. 71. 2, 3 ; 72. 6 ; Plut. in Alex., 38 ; Quint. Curt., v. 7. 3). According to some authors, the whole city, as well as the magnificent palace, suf fered in the general conflagration (Diod. Sic., l.c. ; Arrian, iii. 18. n ; Pliny, N. H., vi. 26) ; but according to others it was only the palace (rd fko-tNetov) that was destroyed (Strabo, xv. p. 730 ; Plut. in Alex., 38). Quintus Curtius (v. 7. 5) mentions that the palace was built with a great quantity of cedar, which increased the ardour of the flames. It is probable that the temples, which were of stone, escaped. That it could have been entirely destroyed seems hardly credible, for not only was it existing in the time of Antigonus, king of Asia (B.0. 3o6), who visited the palace him self (Diod. Sic., xix. 46. 6), but at the same period Peucestas and Eumenes, formerly generals of Alex ander, and now antagonists of Antigonus, both visited Persepolis, and the latter moved his camp there and held it as the seat of government (rpoiryop Ti3511cpcaos els Ilepo-broXtv Td pacriXetov, Diod. Sic., xix. 21. 2; 22. I). From this it would appear as if the city itself was called .r.; pao-1XeLov. Moreover, at the time of Antiochus Epiphanes, as recorded above (2 Maccab. ix. 2), it seemed to have still been a repository of treasure ; and Ptolemy (Geog., vi. 44 ; viii. 5. 13) mentions it as existing in his time. The extensive ruins now remaining would prove that it must either have been rebuilt or not totally destroyed by Alexander.
Persepolis has been considered by many as iden tical with Pasargadee (Niebuhr, Led. on Ant. Hist., i. 115; Ousely, Travels, ii. 6, 18), and in one pas sage of an ancient author there is some obscurity (Arrian, iii. 18. It), but the two cities are after wards distinguished (vii. t. 1). All other ancient authors, however, carefully distinguish the position of the two cities (Strabo, xv. p. 729 ; Plin., vi. 26 ; Ptol., vi. 4), and it is now ascertained that the ruins of these two cities are more than 40 miles apart. Persepolis was situated near the plains of Merdusht, near the junction of two streams, the Araxes (Ben damir) and the Medus (Pulwan), whilst Pasargadx was about 49 miles from Persepolis on the plain of Ilfurghab, where even now exist the ruins of the tomb of Cyrus (Arrian, vi. 29). The ruins of Persepolis, which are very extensive, bear the name of Chel Mina,- or Forty Pillars, the remains of the palaces built by Dareius, son of Hystaspes, and his son Xerxes. Great light has been thrown upon these ruins by the interpretation of the cuneiform writing, commenced by Grotefend, and they have been so frequently described, and are of such ex tent, that it will be sufficient to refer to the various writers who have described them. (Le Bruyn, Voy. an Levant. iv. p. 301 ; Chardin, ii. p. 140 ; Niebuhr, Reise Izach Arabien, etc., ii. p. 121 ; Sir R. K. Porter, Travels, i. 576 ; Heeren, Asiatic Nations, i. 91 ; Fergusson, Palaces of Nineveh and Persepolis Restored, p. 89 ; Vaux, Nineveh and Persepolis, p. 360 ; Ussher, A Tourney from London to Persepolis, p. 532, etc.) Persepolis is about four miles from Istakhr, the earliest occurrence of which name appears on a coin of the Mohammedan con querors of Persia, struck at this place A.H. 94= A.D. 712 ; and as, according to Mr. Fergusson, Pasargadx had been the royal residence of the Achmmenidm [pacriNewv dpxclov, Strabo, xv. 3. 7], so Persepolis became the new town when Dareius removed to Istakhr—the latter having been, in all ages subsequent, the city par excellence' (Fergusson, P. 92 ; Vaux. Nin. and Pers., pp. 397, 401).