Maziar is an accountant at the desk of Persepolis archeological site, near Chiraz. He’s talking to a worker in charge of the site preservation down by the 5th-century Achemenides bas-reliefs picturing the dignitaries of the Persian Empire bringing presents to the emperor. Persepolis was destroyed during a night of orgy by his conqueror Alexander the Great in 330 BC. At the end of the 1960s, the last Shah of Iran hastily ordered a few columns to be rebuilt so that the world-renown site could host the outrageous celebrations of his Empire’s 2500th anniversary on October 14, 1971. After the Revolution, the Ayatollah Khomeini logically showed his utter contempt for Persepolis and almost ordered its complete destruction. Today, it has once again become an important part of the Iranian patrimony ; it even is a source of inspiration for the current wave of nationalism in Tehran.

Slideshow of the gaudy celebrations in 1971 held by the Shah. The score is the formal national anthem. The Iranian monarchy celebrates here its 2500th anniversary ignoring it has only eight years left to live. These celebrations, which have been one of the biggest gatherings of heads of state ever, were as well the swansong of the imperial dynasty. On this occasion The Shah appeared more disconnected than ever from the needs of his people.

Link to a French archive with the broadcast of the Persepolis celebrations for the 2500th anniversary of the foundation of the Persian kingdom held the 14th October 1971. The interviews are made by Bernard Gensous, and by Léon Zitrone. For Léon Zitrone, this was “the most difficult assignment [he] ever had”. He points out the massive disorder and the confusion, the absence of Iranian information services and the difficulties created by the police : http://www.ina.fr/economie-et-socie...