Persepolis – Fantastic Site, and don't Forget the Tent City

Van de Ven, Annelies [UCL]

The royal city of the ancient Achaemenid Empire is not the only attraction within the celebrated site of Persepolis. A more modern set of ruins has worked its way into the spotlight: the structural remains of the tent city of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi Shah’s 2500 year anniversary of the Persian Empire. A remnant of the event that cost the Iranian state 20 million USD the tent city is a contested matter. Originally it stood as a symbol for the power and wealth of the regime, a reference to the great Achaemenid shah’s of old. Today its remains stand as a testament to the immensity of the event, but are also a reminder of its decadence, and the revolution that followed. Most recently it has become a tourist destination, and a possible renovation project. This paper will analyse shifting interpretations of the camp by its various audiences, local and international, political and touristic. Starting with its original conception as a reinterpretation of the Persian military camp, I will trace how the camp’s meaning changed within new conceptions of Iranian history, both pre-Islamic and modern. This to uncover the agency of such sites in mediating the relationship between people and their history.