The capital and last resting place of Cyrus the Great is situated in Dasht-e Morghab, some 140 km north of Shiraz. Here Cyrus fought and won his last battle against his former suzerain, the Median king Astyages, around the year 550 BC, and Pasargadae, named for the chief tribe of the Persians, was built as Strabo relates, as a ’memorial to that epic victory’.

Pasargadae is an extensive site containing the remains of a massive platform, the Tall-e Takhte; the majestic tomb of Cyrus himself, its foundation taking the form of a high plinth of six receding steps, upon which rests a gabled tomb chamber; two palaces; a monumental gate marked by a winged genius, with Egyptian crown; a royal garden, and an enigmatic stone tower known as the Zendan-e Sulaiman, or the Prison of Sulaiman.