Achaemenid Persia
The tent pictured here is one of about 50 tents that were build to house the foreign dignatories, kings & queens that attended the Shah of Irans lavish celebrations and parade at Persepolis which marked 2,500 years since the founding of the Persian Empire.(1971)
There has been lots of reports and criticisms about the cost of the whole affair, but little has been said, either positively or negatively about the accuracy of the historic research behind the customes, the reenactments or the tents. In time, more people may come to appreciate the Shah's effort to make Persian history come alive.
After his victory at the battle of Issus in 333 B.C. Alexander the Great, entered the royal tent of Darius III and marvelled at what it contained. Its treasures included a golden throne and bath, carpets, jewels, gold and silver drinking cups and more. Alexander, being brought up in more spartan conditions, commented:
"This, it seems, is royalty." (Plutarch's, Life of Alexander the Great)
Unfortunately, historians were more concerned with the contents of the royal tent than with the structure itself. So, with little acheological evidence about its shape or size, we are left with only a few pieces to solve the puzzle ourselves.
Herodutos describes Xerxes' march through northern Greece and makes several references to Xerxes' tent but gives us no description.
On the arrival of the Persians, a tent ready pitched for the purpose received Xerxes, who took his rest therein, while the soldiers remained under the open heaven. When the dinner hour came, great was the toil of those who entertained the army; while the guests ate their fill, and then, after passing the night at the place, tore down the royal tent next morning, and seizing its contents, carried them all off, leaving nothing behind.
This does however raise a number of points.
- There is only mention of the King's tent, the soldiers either slept out in the open or possibily had to wait until their tents and provisions arrived later.
- It is likely to have been more than one tent for the King. Considering it was ready before he arrived and only packed up after he left.
We do know that Achaemenid Persians were initially a collection of nomadic tribes, and their tents would have needed to be transportable by horse or wagon. We know that the Iranian weather can range from bitter cold to extreme heat. We also today have examples of nomadic tents that have changed litle from the Asian / Persian nomadic tents of thousands of years ago. That is, they are made of felt or animal skins, are relatively rather large, with plain exteriers and more decorative interriors.
But these are not the tents of Achaemenid Kings, the Medieval Persian /Moghul would be much closer to the royal tent that Alexander and the earlier Greeks saw if not captured.
The answer to our puzzle, may lie again with the Greeks, their historians and Greek architecture.
Persia, its culture, its colour, its excesses, its trade items and the wars it fought, first with the Ionian Greeks, then later the mainland Greeks, had a great influence on Greek thinking, their culture and also it seems, their architecture.
Greek architecture is characerstically very regular and rectangular in design. This can be seen in well known buildings such as the Parthenon. However there are a number of exceptions which have puzzled students of Greek architecture over the centuries. These exceptions, instead are round in shape and include, the Odeion as well as several tholoi.
The Odeion is a most interesting structure, built in the time of Pericles.
Pausanias, (Guide to Greece), claims that the Odeion was built to resemble Xerxes' tent, while others, consider it a copy of the Hall of the Hundred Columns at Persepolis which was begun by Xerxes and has the same internal measurements and the same number of columns as the Odeion. Greek skilled labour was also used in the construction of both buildings.
Tholoi are also a bit of a mystery, built after 480 BC., there is only a few examples. They are round in shape and are thought to be meeting places rather then temples. Examples still exist in the Agora in Athens and at Delphi.
Janine
Bakker "http://www.livius.org/ia-in/influence/influence04.html#Prytaneum"
discusses the Persian influence on Greek architecture and the link between the tholos at Athens, also called a Skias (the sun-hat), the Persian parasol or umbrella and the Persian tent.
The picture shows an example of a Persian parasol held above the head of Xerxes by an attendant.
If we compare the parasol pictured here with later Persian Medieval tents we can see the similarity. Both have pointed circular roofs with a single central support.
It would seem that the round roof shape only appeared in Greek architecture after 480BC. It is beleived that it was a result of the Greeks victory at Plataea and the capture of Mardonius', if not the royal tent of Xerxes.
After the destruction of Athens by the Persians, any tents that the Athenians could procure would not only serve as a trophy of war but a necessity as the city was in ruins.
Whether or not the Odeon was inspired directly from the royal architecture at Apadana or directly from the royal tent, its shape appeared "Persian" to the Greeks.
