The Secrets of Engineering and the Splendor of the Achaemenid Empire | How Persepolis Survived 2,500 Years

Nearby was the so-called Harem of Xerxes, an enclosed complex believed to house royal women and their attendants. Today partially restored as a museum, it illustrates the blend of privacy and opulence characteristic of Achaemenid domestic spaces. To the north rose the Hall of a Hundred Columns, completed by Artaxerxes I. Covering nearly 5,000 square meters, it rivaled the Apadana in scale and may have served as a hall of military review or royal banquets.