Called Parsa by the Persians, it was used as a residence by the Achaemenid kings, beg inning with Darius I in the late 6th century BC. The site consists of the remains of several monumental buildings on a vast stone terrace surrounded by a brick wall. The palace and audience hall (Apadana) of Darius I contain sculptured reliefs depicting A chaemenid court ceremonies. Thirteen of the Apadana's massive stone columns are still standing, and its broad double staircase has been restored by archaeologists.

At Naksh-e Rustam, some 6 km (about 4 mi) northwest of Persepolis are the Achaemenid royal tombs. Plundered and burned by Alexander the Great in 330 BC, Persepolis was eventually abandoned. Excavation of the site began in 1931, supervised by James Henry Breasted of the University of Chicago's Oriental Institute.