Tomb of Cyrus

Top choice in Iran


Proud and alone on the Morghab Plain, the Tomb of Cyrus is the first of the monuments encountered on entering the site of Pasargadae. The tomb consists of a modest rectangular burial chamber perched on six tiered plinths. Its unique architecture is a totem of conquest, combining elements of all the major civilisations captured by Cyrus.

During the Achaemenid period, the tomb was surrounded by gardens and kept secure but this was no deterrent to the armies of Alexander the Great who plundered the site – an act that greatly distressed the Macedonian conqueror.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

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1. Pasargadae

0.22 MILES

Begun under Cyrus the Great in about 546 BC, Pasargadae developed into a city of some significance until it was superseded by Darius I’s magnificent…

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‘I am Cyrus, the Achaemenid King’ reads the cunieform inscription on a pillar of Cyrus' palace complex. The minimal ruins of what must have been a grand…

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5. Naqsh-e Rostam

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7. Tomb of Artaxerxes II

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