A magnificent city founded by Darius I in 518 BC, Persepolis was the center and ceremonial capital of the mighty Persian Empire. It was a beautiful city, adorned with precious artworks of which unfortunately very little survives today. In 331 BC, Alexander the Great, in the process of conquering the Persian Empire, burnt Persepolis to the ground as a revenge for the burning of the Acropolis of Athens. Persepolis remained the capital of Persia as a province of the great Macedonian Empire but gradually declined in the course of time. After centuries in the sand, the delicate carvings, inscriptions and palaces of Persepolis were excavated in the 20th century.