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Firuzabad (2)
Unless otherwise indicated, pictures on this page © Marco Prins and Jona Lendering. Photos can be downloaded and used for non-commercial purposes, but you have to acknowledge Livius.
The palace of Ardašir, seen from the east, from the road between Qalah-e Dokhtar (the castle) and Ardašir Khureh (the city). As already told, the construction of the palace and the nearby city caused the indignation of the Parthian king Artabanus V, who invaded Persis to teach manners to his vassal, but was defeated (224 CE).
The same monument, seen from the north. It is more than hundred meters long (104, to be precise) and fifty-five meters wide. This is the main entrance, which was flanked by two domes. This façade may have looked like the Parthian palace at Ctesiphon. (The pool in front of it contains a lot of noisy frogs.)
The main entrance again: a large iwan (open hall). The supporting walls are sometimes more than four meters thick. After the iwan, one would have reached three domed halls. The ruin reminds one of the Baths of Caracalla in Rome. (Go here for a satellite photo.)
This is the first room one would have entered after one had passed through the iwam. The decoration of the little alcoves is based on the decoration in Persepolis.
One of the domes. It has been argued that they are among the oldest in Persian architecture. Unlike the Roman domes of this age (e.g., the Pantheon), these domes were made of brick.
The palace of the Sasanian ruler seen from the west. One must imagine the entrance a bit more to the left.
This is the central courtyard, which one would have reached from the entrance through the gate in the center. Surrounding this square were the residential rooms. There was a staircase, so we must imagine a second level on top of what we see here.
And a final view on the alcoves in one of the rooms of the palace.
part 1 (main structures)  :   part 3 (reliefs)
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