Naqsh-e Rostam
necropolis in Fars Province, Iranian national heritage site
Naqsh-e Rostam (Persian: نقش رستم, lit. 'Mural of Rostam', Persian: [ˌnæɣʃeɾosˈtæm]) is an ancient archeological site and necropolis located about 13 km northwest of Persepolis, in Fars province, Iran. A collection of ancient Iranian rock reliefs are cut into the face of the mountain and the mountain contains the final resting place of four Achaemenid kings, notably king Darius the Great and his son, Xerxes. This site is of great significance to the history of Iran and to Iranians, as it contains various archeological sites carved into the rock wall through time for more than a millennium from the Elamites and Achaemenids to the Sasanians. It lies a few hundred meters from Naqsh-e Rajab, with a further four Sasanian rock reliefs, three celebrating kings and one a high priest.
Naqsh-e Rostam is the necropolis of the Achaemenid dynasty (c. 550–330 BC), with four large tombs cut high into the cliff face. These have mainly architectural decoration, but the facades include large panels over the doorways, each very similar in content, with figures of the king being invested by a god, above a zone with rows of smaller figures bearing tribute, with soldiers and officials. The three classes of figures are sharply differentiated in size. The entrance to each tomb is at the center of each cross, which opens onto a small chamber, where the king lay in a sarcophagus.
Well below the Achaemenid tombs, near ground level, are rock reliefs with large figures of Sasanian kings, some meeting gods, others in combat.
“Naqsh-e Rostam” enters the record as necropolis in Fars Province, Iranian national heritage site. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Naqsh-e, Rostam and necropolis can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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“Naqsh-e Rostam” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Naqsh-e, Rostam and necropolis provides the most credible route into that argument.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q648705. VIAF identifies the subject as 156145253. The Library of Congress control number is n2004154378. Authority coordinates are 29.989, 52.875. 1 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
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This entry incorporates text from “Naqsh-e Rostam” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.