Tachara

The Tachara, or the Tachar Château, also referred to as the Palace of Darius the Great, was the exclusive building of Darius I at Persepolis, Iran. It is located 70 km northeast of the modern city of Shiraz in Fars Province.History and constructionThe construction dates back to the time of the Achaemenid Empire (550 BC–330 BC). The building has been attributed to Darius I, but only a small portion of it was finished under his rule. It was completed after the death of Darius I in 486, by his son and successor, Xerxes I, who called it a taçara in Old Persian, translated to "winter palace". It was then used by Artaxerxes I. Its ruins are immediately south of the Apadana.In the 4th century BC, following his invasion of Achaemenid Persia in 330 BC, Alexander the Great allowed his troops to loot Persepolis. This palace was one of the few structures that escaped destruction in the burning of the complex by Alexander the Great's army.StructureThe Tachara stands back to back to the Apadana, and is oriented southward. Measuring 1,160m2, it is the smallest of the palace buildings on the Terrace at Persepolis.