An Emperor on Horseback, Looking for a Grave
In the 4th century BCE, Alexander the Great rode into Pasargadae, a quiet green city in what is now Iran. Fresh from victories in India, with much of the known world under his rule, he arrived not to conquer but to find a tomb. The tomb of Cyrus the Great, founder of the Achaemenid Empire, had been vandalized. Furious, Alexander ordered a full investigation.
Trials were held. The tomb was restored with golden furniture, colored fabrics, Babylonian rugs, royal garments, weapons, and jewelry. A coffin was placed in the center. Cyrus had died about 200 years earlier, but Alexander admired him enough to stop his military campaign to honor him.
The Capital That Vanished From Memory
Pasargadae had been built by Cyrus starting around 559 BCE. It became the first capital of a vast empire that stretched from modern-day Afghanistan to Egypt. Cyrus developed systems of taxation, irrigation, and infrastructure. He allowed diverse religions and cultures within his rule.
The Edict of Restoration, which freed the Jews from captivity in Babylon, earned him rare recognition in Jewish scripture. But over time, the city faded. Buildings collapsed, gardens dried up. The tomb remained, but locals eventually forgot who lay inside. They called it the tomb of Solomon’s mother. By the early 1900s, no one was sure where Cyrus had been buried.
A Scholar With a Map and a Mission
In 1928, German archaeologist Ernst Herzfeld arrived in Iran. He began mapping Pasargadae and photographing its ruins. He was the world’s first professor of Middle Eastern archaeology. Herzfeld used a methodical approach. He confirmed that the tomb was indeed Cyrus’.
He sketched its gardens, studied its irrigation canals, and revealed that it had been more than just an administrative center. Buildings had been designed around gardens—integrating nature into architecture. The site mixed Persian, Greek, and Egyptian styles. Herzfeld’s notebooks, drawings, and photographs are preserved in the Smithsonian’s Sackler Gallery.
A Tomb Found, a People Forgotten
After Cyrus died in 530 BCE, the capital shifted to Persepolis. Pasargadae lost political significance. With the Islamic period, attention moved elsewhere. Herzfeld, who had traveled to Iran with a pet boar named Bulbul, faced his own displacement. He was Jewish.
By 1935, the Nazi regime pushed him out of German institutions. He left for the U.S., taught at Princeton alongside Albert Einstein, and later died in Switzerland. The tomb he identified had been looted again. Cyrus’ bones were gone. Alexander, who once honored Cyrus, died young at 32. His own burial site remains unknown.
In 4th century BCE, Alexander the Great entered Pasargadae, not for conquest but to find a tomb.
The city was his, but he sought Cyrus the Great's grave.
When he found it looted, he launched an investigation, held trials, and ordered the tomb restored with royal treasures.🧵 pic.twitter.com/xo9pfVgr7F
— Detective Tiger's Stories (@TigerDetective) May 22, 2025