Page:History of Art in Persia.djvu/287

 278 monuments are grouped is not large (Fig. 103). Thus the tombs of the oldest necropolis, Naksh-i>Rustem» display their lofty fronts in the face of the rock some two thousand five hundred metres beyond the right bank of the river, and about an equal distance from the left bank rise tin- slender pillars of Persepolis. Between the entombments of the kings and their palaces, at the point where the stream, after leaving the district of Pasai^dse, enters a small plain flanked by abrupt, lofty rocks, the vestibule as it were of the Mervdasht level, artificial hillocks and ruins still apparent mark the site of the town, which from the Sassanid, and perhaps the Achaemenid period, bore the name of Istakhr. It certainly was in existence during the first Persian empire. A borough with shopkeepers and artisans was absolutely necessary near the ro)'al castle, to supply the material needs of the royal household and the numerous retinue of the prince, officials, soldiers, and menials, who accompanied him whenever he moved from one city to another. It is a pleasant plain, fruit- bearing, verdant, and as great a delight to the eye as that of Shiraz ; so that before the decrease of the population and impoverishment of Persia, bnnight about by centuries of misrule, Istakhr, owing to its fine position, the best that could be chosen throughout the district, sheltered too from northern blasts, could not but retain a certain importance and sedentary population. We shall return to Istakhr presently. Many of its monuments present curious features upon which it will be well to dwell at some length, and their interest will be more easily grasped when we have reviewed the more important and varied group com- prising the royal houses. These are sprinkled about in picturcscjue disorder on a vast esplanade overhung by the rocky hill that seems but a prolongation of it. The outline is broken by a number of projections and indentations, distributed on all the faces with utter disregard to regularity. Roughly speaking, the enceinte forms the three sides of a parallelogram, whose length is 473 metres, and the greatest breadth 286 metres (Fig. 143).' The height of the perpendicular wall surrounding the esplanade varies from io to 12 metres, according to the state of the ground. The execution is pretty much the same throughout; the horizon- tality of the courses and polygonal masonry, which occur here and there, may be due, perhaps, to later reconstructions and repairs Digitized by Google
 * I have omitted giving the bearings because obviously wrong. —Trs.