Eight Thousand Years of History in Fars Province, Iran

Abstract

Fars province is quintessential Persian. Its name is the modern version of ancient Parsa, the homeland, if not the place of origin, of the Persians, one of the great powers of antiquity. From here, the Persian Empire ruled much of Western and Central Asia, receiving ambassadors and messengers at Persepolis. It was here that the Persian kings were buried, both in the mountain behind Persepolis, in the rock face of nearby Naqsh-e Rustam. But Fars was important long before the rise of the Persian Empire. Much earlier, prehistoric cultures had inhabited Neolithic and Chalcolithic sites in Fars like Tal-e Mushki, Tal-e Jarri, and Tal-e Bakun.