The ancient cap­i­tal of the Per­sian Empire, which in 330 BC. was burned by Alexan­der the Great. The ruins of Perse­po­lis are a huge palace com­plex with an area of 135,000 m² on a high plat­form. Dur­ing the con­struc­tion of the cap­i­tal, unlike many ancient cities, the labor of slaves was not used; at the same time, builders and arti­sans came here from all parts of the Per­sian Empire — includ­ing from Baby­lo­nia, Assyr­ia, Egypt and Ionia.