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Persepolis

Smith's Bible Dictionary

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Dictionaries
Hastings' BibleDictionary
• Persepolis
Smith Bible Dictionary
• Persepolis
Encyclopedias
1911 Encyclopedia Britannica
• Persepolis
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
• Persepolis
McClintock and Strong's Bible Encyclopedia
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The Nuttall Encyclopedia
• Persepolis

Persep'olis. Mentioned only in 2 Maccabees 9:2, was the capital of Persia proper, and the occasional residence of the Persian court, from the time of Darius Hystaspes, who seems to have been its founder, to the invasion of Alexander. Its wanton destruction by that conqueror is well known. Its site is now called the Chehl-Minar, or Forty Pillars.

Here, on a platform hewn out of the solid rock, the sides of which face the four cardinal points, are the remains of two great palaces, built respectively by Darius Hytaspes and his son Xerxes, besides a number of other edifices, chiefly temples. They are of great extent and magnificence, covering an area of many acres.