Dorrway Relief of the King with Attendants

DOORWAY RELIEF OF THE KING
WITH ATTENDANTS
Central Building
Field Negative P-496 B
Negative N. 37662 B
Schmidt Expedition 1935

The Central Building controlled access between the large ceremonial buildings and spaces to the north, the royal palaces, storage and support buildings to the south. Above the king and attendants in this relief is a winged disc from which a human figure emerges with lotus flower in hand. The winged figure may be interpreted as the king’s glory (khvarnah) or the god Ahuramazda, who is invoked by the Achaemenid kings from the time of Darius onward in their royal inscriptions. The god Ahuramazda is the supreme god in Zoroastrian religion.