Naqsh-e Rustam, Ancient necropolis near Marvdasht, Iran

Naqsh-e Rustam is an ancient necropolis near Marvdasht in Iran, where four monumental royal tombs are carved into a high cliff face. Each tomb features a cross-shaped facade with detailed stone figures and inscriptions rising about 15 meters above ground level, organized through narrow vertical and horizontal openings.

The tombs were created during Achaemenid rule between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE and house Persian kings including Darius I, Xerxes I, Artaxerxes I and Darius II. Later, Sassanid rulers added their own reliefs in the 3rd century CE, showing military victories and royal ceremonies.

The name Naqsh-e Rostam was given by Iranians who linked the Sasanian royal carvings to Rostam, the hero of the Shahnameh; earlier the place was called Seh Gonbadan, "Three Domes", after the three rocks of Hossein Kuh. The reliefs include Ardashir I receiving the ring of power from Ahura Mazda and Shapur I's triumph over Roman emperors at Edessa in AD 260.

The site lies about 6 kilometers north of Persepolis and is accessible daily between 8 AM and 6 PM. Sturdy footwear helps with walking on uneven ground, and early morning or late afternoon offers more comfortable temperatures and better light for photos.

The tower known as the Ka'ba-ye Zartosht was probably built in the Achaemenid period, and its purpose is still undetermined. On three of its corners Shapur I and the priest Kartir had inscriptions carved, including a Middle Persian version of Shapur's text found during the 1936–1939 excavations led by Erich Friedrich Schmidt of the University of Chicago.