The modern country containing the ruins of Persepolis is Iran.
Persepolis was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid, or First Persian, Empire. Its monumental terrace stands near Marvdasht in Fars province, in southwestern Iran, surrounded by the southern Zagros Mountains. Darius I began major construction around 515 BC, and Xerxes I and Artaxerxes I continued expanding the palace complex.
Persepolis was not the empire’s only important capital. Susa, Babylon and Ecbatana also served major administrative or royal roles, while Persepolis was especially associated with ceremony, royal display and festivals such as Nowruz. Its carved reliefs show delegations from across the empire bringing gifts to the Persian king.
Alexander the Great captured Persepolis in 330 BC. A subsequent fire damaged much of the complex, although historians still debate whether it was deliberate retaliation, an accidental blaze or both. The ruins are often confused with Pasargadae, the nearby royal center associated with Cyrus the Great.