Page:History of Art in Persia.djvu/244

 234 History of Art in ANXiQurrv. the other three tombs at Naksh-i-Rustem, though without epigraphic texts, must belong to the immediate successors of Darius, from the fact that they are exact copies of the older exemplars. With regard to the tower-like tomb, it may have been erected for a personage near the throne, Hystaspes for example, whom his son may have wished to bury in a monument similar to that which had received the mortal remains of the father of Cyrus at Pasargad®. The four hypogeia did not by any means take up the whole cliff, and ample space was left for others. Lack of room, tlien, was not the motive which induced three monarchs to attack the moun- tain that overhung their palaces. One was left unfinished ; ' as to the other two, some idea of their situation will be gained by re- ferring to Nos. ID and 1 1 on plan (Fig. lo). The type and propor- tions of the facade are about the same as at Naksh-i-Rustem (Fig. 1 1 1), but the decoration is more elaborate. Here alone do we find lintels and the side-posts of the doorway covered with rosettes and lion friezes about the entablature (Figs. 58, 70).' Finally, the hill leans towards the plain, instead of shooting up perpen- dicularly as on the otiier side of the Polvar, so that the tombs, in front of which broad steps have been cut in the rock, are more easily approached ; and they constitute a distinct group, which must be younger than that at Naksh-i-Rustem. Art proceeds from the simple to the complex; its votaries, whilst reproducing forms consecrated by tradition, seek, as a rule, to introduce fresh elements so as to outdo their predecessors. Persia counted thirteen sovereigns from Cyrus to Darius Codomanus, including the Magi Smerdis ; but the latter, as a traitor and usurper, can hardly have received the honours of burial beside die descendants of Achaemenes. There are, then, twelve princes and eight tombs, reckoning the Gabre. Out of these, one may with much probability be assigned to Cyrus, whilst there is another upon which Darius has affixed his signature. From this computation, it would appear that four sovereigns had no special monument set up to them in the necropolis. They were in all likelihood such as only flitted across the royal scene ; they had no time given them to see to the execution of a tomb of their looking towaids the centre, occupied by a rosette. Digitized by Google
 * Flahdik and Coste, J^attaamet Plates LXII., LXVII.
 * The firiete consists of eighteen lions, whidi are divided into two equal groups