= Capital = (7)

Discover the five royal capitals of the Persian Empire in Age of Empires IV, from Pasargadae to Persepolis.

During the history of the Persian Empire, five cities served as the royal capital. The first was Pasargadae, built by Cyrus to commemorate his victory over the Medes. It was remote and impractical as an administrative capital. Babylon was rebuilt by Cyrus as a royal capital for his use when affairs brought him to Mesopotamia. Darius moved the empire's administration to Susa, the old Elamite capital, perhaps for efficiency. It was well-located at the hub of a road and water transport network.

The extreme summer heat of Susa drove the Persian court first to the higher altitudes of Ecbatana, the old Median capital in the Zagros Mountains. In 520 B.C., Darius began building the greatest of the Persian capitals at Persepolis. Construction of Persepolis was interrupted for long periods and was not completed nearly 200 years later when the city was sacked and burned to the ground by Alexander.