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Why did Darius I make Persepolis his capital?
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Persepolis
Ruins of the royal Achaemenid residence at Persepolis, Iran.
Darius I founded Persepolis in his native region of Fars to serve as a new royal residence, replacing the earlier capital at Pasargadae.12
While Darius I established Persepolis as a capital, it was not the primary center for the daily administration of the Achaemenid Empire. Because the site was located in a remote, mountainous area, it functioned primarily as a royal residence visited during the spring, while the effective governance of the empire was conducted from cities such as Susa, Babylon, and Ecbatana.2