The jewel of Persia
Remembered as the most magnificent of the four capitals of the enormous Persian Empire, Persepolis was a center of trade and imperial administration until Alexander ordered his soldiers to loot it and burned its magnificent royal palace to the ground in 330 BCE.

The exact circumstances are not known, but it is thought that an Athenian courtesan encouraged Alexander to commit this destruction in the name of revenge: an earlier Persian king had dared to invade Greece generations before. Whatever his reasons, the destruction of Persepolis gives us a stark portrait of the historical Alexander's instability and his legendary temper. At his best, he preserved and united; at his worst, he destroyed without pity or mercy.

Persepolis in The Golden Vine
In The Golden Vine, Alexander's arrival at Persepolis represents a key turning point. It is at this event that history is altered in the book, and Alexander proceeds along a different path. In this narrative, Persepolis becomes the center of Alexander's World Empire, a city of such importance as to exceed even the dreams of the Persian Kings who set its foundations.

But what was this place, who built it, and how was it resurrected for The Golden Vine?

A brief history of the city
Construction on Persepolis was begun by the Persian monarch Darius I (522-486 BCE) and each subsequent Persian king continued adding to the palace complex. By Alexander's time, the city had been thriving for more than a century, and was the ceremonial capital of the Persian Empire, the place where the Persian kings celebrated the all-important new year ceremony by receiving tribute from the subjects of their vast lands.

Even when Alexander arrived, there were signs of fresh construction. Persepolis is thought of as the pinnacle of Persian art and architecture.

Rebuilding the dead city
Persepolis figures as a primary location for one of the narratives used in The Golden Vine, so the creative team delved into all available sources, including booklets and maps procured from the Iran Society. Taking examples of Persian art and architecture from surviving cities, memoirs of Persians who lived in Persepolis in its heyday, and the notes of several archeological digs, the city and palace were meticulously reconstructed.

Once Persepolis was restored to its former glory, the city was pushed forward into an alternate future in which it had been established as the capital of Alexander's World Empire. A magnificent lake was situated in the city, the palace expanded, and a marketplace conceived in the northeast quadrant of the city. Alexander's Temple of All Faiths was situated high on the slopes of the Mountain of Mercy behind the royal palace, a gathering spot for pilgrims from all over the world.

The most difficult challenge of rebuilding Persepolis was the Persian King's royal bedchamber, the original site of the legendary golden vine sculpture, and the exact point of Alexander's departure from history in The Golden Vine. Accounts of the actual golden vine and of the chamber were fragmentary, so the vision of the room is almost entirely the artists' conception.