Persepolis: Re-discovering the Lost Capital of The Persian Empire

Filmmaker Gotz Balonier and his team spend most of their time exploring the ruins of Persepolis which was a stunning metropolis under the reign of its founder, Darius I of the Achaemenid dynasty, and his successors. To their credit, Balonier and his collaborators succeed in highlighting some of the key features of the Persian Empire that help their audience better understand the context surrounding the foundation and extension of Persepolis. The Persian Empire, the world's only superpower for two centuries, stood out among other things for the efficiency of its organization and management, its religious and cultural tolerance, and to some extent, its rule of law. Modern day Iranians can look back with both pride and humility at the exploits of their ancestors.

The DVD under review greatly benefits from the computer-generated rebuilding of Persepolis under the direction of architects Wolfgang Gambke and Kourosh Afhami. This stunning animation program is of great help to "reconstruct" the layout and the landmarks of Persepolis that the soldiers of Alexander the Great destroyed in 330 BCE for reasons that are not totally clear to this day. Persepolis still has many secrets to reveal, despite the fact that its scientific restoration started in 1931 CE.

Viewers can use "Persepolis Rediscovering the Lost Capital of the Persian Empire" for planning a future journey to Persepolis or reminiscing about their visit to the ancient imperial capital. Nothing, not even this excellent DVD, can replace the sensorial experience that I gained while I was meandering among the ruins of Persepolis. As a side note, "Engineering an Empire" by The History Channel and "Secrets of Archaeology" by Koch Vision each contains a segment about the Persians and Persepolis.

This video has good photography and great computer animation but it is hard to sit through because of poor narration. I am guessing that it was remastered from a German production. Because of this, the speed which the narrators cover the material does not match up with the footage. So, most scenes have several seconds of silence or the discussion is not perfectly in sync with the video. As others commented there is not much history about the Persian leaders (Darius, Xerxes and Artaxerxes are mentioned but not really discussed) or the Persian empire (but there are a few shots of buildings and art from Susa, Babylon and Chogha Zanbil). So, don't count on this for an introduction to the Persian empire.

In short, this video does give a feel for the grandeur of the site but it could be much better.

This is a German production. The voice-over and the interviews with the German architect, an Iranian archaeologist, a Tehran museum curator and picnickers at Persepolis are dubbed into English.

The DVD was obviously made with the full cooperation of the Iranian government as the "Research Department for Cultural Heritage & Tourism Org", the "Ministry of Cultural & Islamic Guidance", the Ministry of Foreign Affairs", the "Panha Helicopter Org" and "Iran Air" are credited at the end of the DVD.

Although promoted as a digital reconstruction of the Persepolis site, the DVD includes extensive footage of other matters such as the Behistun inscription of Darius I, the Ishtar Gateway from Babylon as reconstructed in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin, the Susa archaeological site and wall reliefs, and the history of deciphering cuneiform inscriptions. In other words, the DVD is padded with material more relevant to "The Persian Empire" than "Persepolis".

The digital reconstructions of Persepolis are few and far between. The internal views of the palace of Darius and the terrace of the Apadana are nicely detailed but the external views of the buildings are rather bland. There are no digital reconstructions of the whole site nor any plans to locate the various buildings on the site.

The aerial shots and ground level panoramic views are the best part of the DVD as they allow the viewer to relate the site to the surrounding plain and nearby hills. This just about obviates a visit to the site in person.

The DVD is little more than a tourist teaser. Better to invest in a good book like "The Persian Empire" aka "The Persians" by J. M. Cook.