Which ancient Persian king founded Persepolis around 518 BCE?

Darius I founded Persepolis around 518 BCE as a major ceremonial center of the Achaemenid Persian Empire.

The site, known in Old Persian as Parsa, was built on a terrace in what is now southwestern Iran. Darius began the complex, and later kings, especially Xerxes I and Artaxerxes I, expanded it with palaces, audience halls, stairways, and reliefs.

Persepolis was not simply a residential capital. It was especially important for royal ceremonies, including the presentation of tribute by representatives of subject peoples. Its monumental art emphasizes the king, the empire, and orderly cooperation among many nations. The city was burned during Alexander the Great’s campaign in 330 BCE, although historians debate the circumstances and symbolism of the destruction.