nationalgeographicscans:

Paying homage to an ancient king, envoys bearing flowers climb a massive staircase amid the ruins of a giant palace at Persepolis. Begun by Darius I in 520 B.C., the city was the ceremonial capital of Persia, now Iran, for two centuries, until Alexander the Great set his victor’s torch to it in 330 B.C. Today, echoing former times, Western nations seek to curry favor with the king of oil-rich Iran through offers of trade and technical assistance. January 1975