It was probably the greatest construction project of Antiquity: in 520 B.C. King Darius I of the Achaemenids had a 15-hectare terrace piled up at the foot of the Kuh-e-Rahmat - the Mount of Mercy - in the central Persian plateau. Here the new capital of the Persian Empire was to arise: Parsa - Persepolis. Architects, craftsmen and artists from all the landscapes of a world empire, that extended over three continents, from Indus
...moreto the Black Sea, from the Caspian Sea to Ethiopia, were mobilised to construct a magnificent city. The documentary "Persepolis - Insight into a World Empire" reconstructs this imposing site. The architects Wolfgang Gambke and Kourosh Afhami rebuilt Persepolis, virtually of course, with an animation programme also used by architects and urban planners. Working on this project for several years, they produced several thousand outlines, details, structures. Not only does the documentary breathe life into the splendour of Persepolis, it also recreates a picture of a world empire, which was exemplary in its organisation and administration. And, what was perhaps its most important feature, a realm whose inhabitants, even in the conquered regions, could rely on tolerance in questions of faith and, to a certain extent, on the rule of law. After his soldiers had pillaged the terrace of Persepolis and burnt it to the ground, Alexander visited the ruins and is said to have shown repentance.
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