Image Of The Day: Gate of All Nations, Persepolis

The Gate of All Nations or Gate of Xerxes palace is located in the ruins of the ancient city of Persepolis, Iran.

It was ordered by the Achaemenid king Xerxes (486-465), the successor of the founder of Persepolis, Darius I the Great.

The entire monument was a gigantic construction with two large doors in the west and eastand a hall between them.

The gate consisted of a grand hall that was a square of approximately 25 metres (82 ft) in length with four columns and its entrance on the Western Wall. The columns of the central halls were 16 meters high.

There were two more doors, one to the south which opened to the Apadana yard and the other opened onto a long road to the east. Pivoting devices found on the inner corners of all the doors indicate that they were two-leafed doors, probably made of wood and covered with sheets of ornate metal.

A pair of Lamassus, bulls with the heads of bearded men, stand by the western threshold. Another pair, with wings and a Persian head, stands by the eastern entrance, to reflect the Empire’s power.

Xerxes's name was written in three languages and carved on the entrances, informing everyone that he ordered it to be built.

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