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50 free Persepolis trivia questions with answers — history quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
Persepolis was the showpiece of the largest empire the world had yet seen, and it burned to the ground during a drunken party. This Persepolis trivia quiz covers the ancient city in depth: who founded it and why, the Apadana with its 72 columns and gold foundation tablets, the Gate of All Nations, the tribute reliefs, the fire of 330 BC and the argument over whether Thaïs really started it, and the centuries of travellers, excavators and shahs who came afterwards. Because many people searching for Persepolis mean Marjane Satrapi's graphic novel and film, the last few questions cover those too, so both audiences get what they came for. Questions run from easy to expert, and every answer is verified and cited to its reference page. If you enjoy this quiz, try our other ancient history and archaeology quizzes.
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Q 01Persepolis was the ceremonial capital of which Persian dynasty?
The Achaemenids
The dynasty ruled from about 550 to 330 BC; the real administrative capitals were Susa, Babylon and Ecbatana.
Q 02In which modern country is Persepolis?
Iran
It lies on the Marvdasht plain in Fars province, ringed by the southern Zagros Mountains.
Q 03To what year do the earliest remains of Persepolis date?
515 BC
Darius I built the terrace and palaces; the site may have been chosen by Cyrus the Great.
Q 04Which conqueror's army took Persepolis in 330 BC?
Alexander the Great
He described it to his Macedonians as 'the most hateful of the cities of Asia' and let them plunder it.
Q 05According to Plutarch and Diodorus, which courtesan urged the burning of Persepolis?
Thaïs
An Athenian and mistress of Ptolemy, she supposedly hurled the first torch after the king during a drunken feast.
Q 06What did the burning of Persepolis supposedly avenge?
The Persian destruction of Athens
Xerxes had burned the Acropolis about 150 years earlier during the second Persian invasion of Greece.
Q 07Which festival do most archaeologists think Persepolis was mainly used to celebrate?
Nowruz, the Persian New Year
The spring-equinox festival is still Iran's big annual holiday; 10,000 people gathered at the site for it in 2024.
Q 08What does the Greek name Persepolis mean?
City of the Persians
The Persians themselves called it Parsa, also their word for the region of Persia.
Q 09Medieval Persians called the site Takht-e Jamshid, meaning what?
Throne of a mythical king
Medieval Persians attributed the ruins to the mythical king Jamshid; another name was Chehel Menar, 'Forty Minarets'.
Q 10What did a Sasanian prince's inscription of AD 311 call the site?
Sad-stun ('Hundred Pillars')
Shapur Sakanshah, son of Hormizd II, left the graffito centuries after the fire.
Q 11Which king built the terrace and palaces of Persepolis?
Darius I
The Palace of Susa served as his model; his son Xerxes finished the Apadana and Council Hall.
Q 12What was the main building material at Persepolis?
Grey limestone
The angled walls of the uneven terrace let defenders cover any part of the outer front like a castle.
Q 13How large is the terrace on which Persepolis stands?
125,000 square metres
It is partly built up and partly cut from Rahmat Mountain, which supports its eastern side.
Q 21Which institution carried out the first scientific excavations at Persepolis from 1930?
The Oriental Institute, University of Chicago
Ernst Herzfeld and Erich Schmidt dug for eight seasons; a colossal bull's head from the site is a Chicago treasure.
Q 22What was found in 2011 at Tol-e Ajori, 3 km west of Persepolis?
A gateway resembling Babylon's Ishtar Gate
Its glazed bricks match the Ishtar Gate's, and it probably predates Darius's Persepolis, built between 539 and 518 BC.
Q 23What was the Apadana used for?
Q 14Which Persian commander ambushed Alexander at the Persian Gates for 31 days?
Ariobarzanes
A captured tribal chief showed the Macedonians a path to outflank him, a reversal of Thermopylae.
Q 15How many mutilated Greek artisans reportedly met Alexander on his way to Persepolis?
800
Diodorus says the Persians had maimed them so they could not escape; Alexander gave them clothing and provisions.
Q 16From which building is the fire believed to have started?
Hadish Palace of Xerxes
The Tachara, Darius's own palace, largely escaped and is the best preserved and oldest structure on the site.
Q 17According to the Zoroastrian Book of Arda Wiraz, what was lost in the fire?
The Avesta written in gold ink on cow-skins
Ironically, the fire may have helped preserve the Fortification Archive tablets by collapsing a wall over them.
Q 18Which nearby city rose after Persepolis declined and was partly built from its rubble?
Estakhr
It resisted the Muslim invasion fiercely but was eclipsed by Shiraz and faded away by the 10th century.
Q 19Who in 1618 first linked the ruins called Chehel Minar with the Persepolis of classical authors?
García de Silva Figueroa
He was Philip III of Spain's ambassador to Shah Abbas I; Barbaro in 1474 had thought the ruins were Jewish.
Q 20How many of the 72 original columns did Pietro Della Valle find standing in 1621?
25
By the early 20th century only 13 Apadana columns stood; a fallen one was re-erected in the 1970s.
Official audiences of the King of Kings
Darius built it on the west side of the platform; it was the greatest palace at Persepolis.
Q 24How many columns supported the Apadana's roof?
72
Each was 24 metres tall; the hall covered 1,000 square metres.
Q 25What was found in the Apadana's foundation deposits?
Gold and silver tablets and a hoard of coins
The DPh inscription describes Darius's empire 'from the Sacae beyond Sogdia to Kush, and from Sind to Lydia'.
Q 26Which coins were notably absent from the Apadana hoard, dating it before their introduction?
Darics and sigloi
The eight fresh gold Croeseids show they were newly minted under Achaemenid rule around 515 BC.
Q 27What do the Apadana staircase reliefs depict?
Peoples of the empire in traditional dress bringing gifts
The processions of tribute-bearers show even the king 'down to the smallest detail'.
Q 28Which king ordered the Gate of All Nations?
Xerxes I
The XPa inscription in the gate names it; the square hall was about 25 metres a side with four columns.
Q 29By what other name is the Throne Hall known?
The Hundred-Columns Palace
Begun by Xerxes and finished by Artaxerxes I, it later served as an imperial museum; two colossal stone bulls flank its portico.
Q 30What does Tachara, the name of the founder's private residence, mean in Old Persian?
Winter palace
Xerxes finished it after Darius died in 486 BC; it survived Alexander's fire better than any other building.