Proud and alone on the Morghab Plain, the Tomb of Cyrus is the first of the monuments encountered on entering the site of Pasargadae. The tomb consists of a modest rectangular burial chamber perched on six tiered plinths. Its unique architecture is a totem of conquest, combining elements of all the major civilisations captured by Cyrus.
During the Achaemenid period, the tomb was surrounded by gardens and kept secure but this was no deterrent to the armies of Alexander the Great who plundered the site – an act that greatly distressed the Macedonian conqueror.