Persepolis · Philanthropist, Environmentalist, Collector: Doris Duke and Her Estates

The group arrived in Persepolis from Baghdad after stopping briefly in Basrah and Bushire. They traveled between Persepolis and Shiraz several times between March 20th and March 22nd before leaving the area for their next destination.

Now an archaeological site in Iran, the ancient city of Persepolis (Persian: Takht-e Jamshid or Takht-i Jamshid, "Throne of Jamshid") was founded by Darius I in 518 BC as the capital of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. The city was later plundered by Alexander the Great in 330 BC, and the city gradually declined in its importance for the region. Today, relatively well-preserved ruins attest to Persepolis' ancient glory. For more information, click here.

Bas Relief (Zoroastrian Nowruz), Persepolis, Iran, 1938

Throne Room, Persepolis, Iran, 1938

Bas Relief on Hadish Palace, Persepolis, Iran, 1938

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Persepolis, Iran, 1938

Handwritten on back: "Note shape of doors in distance."

Stairs to Persepolis, Iran, 1938

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Persepolis, Iran, 1938

Handwritten on back: "House of Darius. Note columns and doors."

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[?] Xerxes, Persepolis, Iran, 1938

Handwritten on back: "Typical Achaeminian top to column - very badly out of proportion. Note door, this is what I was trying to explain in enclosure 'B'."

'Hadish' Palace of Xerxes, Persepolis, Iran, 1938

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Eastern Guardian Bull, Persepolis, Iran, 1938

Handwritten on back: "Close up of bull's head. In proportion this might be an idea for column tops."