Identifier: cu31924028627036 Title: Persia past and present; a book of travel and research, with more than two hundred illustrations and a map Year: 1906 (1900s) Authors: Jackson, A. V. Williams (Abraham Valentine Williams), 1862-1937 Subjects: Zoroastrianism Publisher: New York, The Macmillan Company London, Macmillan & Co., ltd. Contributing Library: Cornell University Library Digitizing Sponsor: MSN

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Text Appearing Before Image: called Pdrsa-Jcarta, City of the Persians, like the older Pasar-gadae, for the Greeks appear simply to be paraphrasing the namewhen they refer to the city as Perse-polis.^ It is not improb-able, moreover, that the name Stakhra, Strong, still preservedamong the natives as Stakhr or Istakhr, and which we can 1 See pp. 26, 180, above. The date 2 xhe earliest occurrence of Ilepir^- of Cambysess death was b.c. 522. iroXis in Greek appears to be in the Herodotus (History, 3. 61-66) states fifth century b.c, after the Persian that it occurred at the Syrian Ecba- War, as we then find the word used tana; Ctesias (Fragments, 4.3-44, ed. by iEschylus, Persians, 65, apparently Gilmore, pp. 144-145) says that the with a, punning allusion to destroy- event occurred at Babylon, and adds ing (ir^pa-is) cities (iriXis). This I that the body was brought back to Per- believe to be the best interpretation of sia. Yet to this day no man knows the passage in question,the place where Cambyses is buried. 294

Text Appearing After Image: M C rt 0 FROM PASARGAB^ TO NAESH~I RUSTAM 295 trace back for centuries, if not to Achaemenian times, may-have designated the city in the plain north and west of theplatform-, that is, the abode of the people in distinction fromthe residence of the kings on the grand terrace.^ Be that asit may, the monuments in this vicinity are the most interestingand historic in all Persia; Susa alone can make any claim tocomparison with them. To reach Persepolis, we strike southward toward the Plainof Mervdasht. The road runs at first through a mountaingorge, picturesque in wild scenery, but dangerous at nightbecause of its rugged track and robbers. The river Polvar,the classic Medus, pushes its way with turbulent streamthrough the craggy defile. A part of the road above its rockybed exhibits one of the most remarkable pieces of ancientengineering in the Orient. For a considerable distance,through the solid limestone rock, a narrow causeway washewn ages ago to afford, as it still does, a passage for

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