Another remarkable construction, which must belong to a very ancient period in the history of the country, is a gateway composed of enormous stones, which forms a portion of the ruins of Istakr. [PLATE LIV., Fig. 2.] It has generally been regarded as one of the old gates of the city; but its position in the gorge between the town wall and the opposite mountain, and the fact that it lies directly across the road from Pasargadae into the plain of Merdasht, seem rather to imply that it was one of those fortified “gates,” which we know to have been maintained by the Persians, at narrow points along their great routes, for the purpose of securing them, and stopping the advance of an enemy.  On either side were walls of vast thickness, on the one hand abutting upon the mountain, on the other probably connected with the wall of the town, while between them were three massive pillars, once, no doubt, the supports of a tower, from which the defenders of the gate would engage its assailants at a great advantage.

We have now described (so far as our data have rendered it possible) all the more important of the ancient edifices of the Persians, and may proceed to consider the next branch of the present inquiry, namely, their skill in the mimetic arts.  Before, however, the subject of their architecture is wholly dismissed, a few words seem to be required on its general character and chief peculiarities.

First, then, the simplicity and regularity of the style are worthy of remark.  In the ground-plans of buildings the straight line only is used; all the angles are right angles; all the pillars fall into line; the intervals between pillar and pillar are regular, and generally equal; doorways are commonly placed opposite intercolumniations; where there is but one doorway, it is in the middle of the wall which it pierces; where there are two, they correspond to one another.  Correspondence is the general law.  Not only does door correspond to door, and pillar to pillar, but room to room, window to window, and even niche to niche.  Most of the buildings are so contrived that one half is the exact duplicate of the other; and where this is not the case, the irregularity is generally either slight, or the result of an alteration, made probably for convenience sake.  Travellers are impressed with the Grecian character of what they behold, though there is an almost entire absence of Greek forms.  The regularity is not confined to single buildings, but extends to the relations of different edifices one to another.  The sides of buildings standing on one platform, at whatever distance they may be, are parallel.  There is, however, less consideration paid than we should have expected to the exact position, with respect to a main building, in which a subordinate one shall be placed.  Propylaea, for instance, are not opposite the centre of the edifice to which they conduct, but slightly on one side of the centre.  And generally, excepting in the parallelism of their sides, buildings seem placed with but slight regard to neighboring ones.