Behistun Palace

{{Short description|Ruined Sassanid palace in Bisotun, Iran}} thumb|right|280px|A view of the Palace thumb|right|280px|A Picture of Biston inscription

'''Behistun palace''' is a ruined Sassanid palace located in Bisotun, {{convert|20|km|mi}} from Kermanshah, Iran. It faces the cliff with the much older Behistun inscription and rock relief, across the ancient road running between Behistun mountain and Behistun lake. The palace has long been regarded in Persian tradition as a residence of Shirin, queen of Khosrau II, the Sassanid Shah of Persia who reigned from 590 to 628, shortly before the Muslim conquest of Persia. This connection is first documented, in surviving records, by early Islamic geographers,<ref>Baum, W., ''Shirin: Christian Queen Myth of Love: A Woman Of Late Antiquity: Historical Reality And Literary Effect'', pp. 61-62, Gorgias Press LLC, 2004, {{ISBN|1593332823}}, 9781593332822</ref> and is elaborated in various later stories and myths, as a fictionalized Shirin became an important heroine of later Persian literature, such as the ''Shahnameh'' ("Book of Kings").<ref>Baum, later chapters</ref> It is included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Bisotun.

==See also== * Behistun Inscription * Darius I of Persia * Taq-e Bostan (Rock reliefs of various Sassanid kings) * Achaemenid empire * Iran National Heritage List

==References== {{reflist}} {{Kermanshah Province}} {{Palaces in Iran}}

Category:World Heritage Sites in Iran Category:Sasanian architecture Category:Buildings and structures in Kermanshah province Palace