Persepolis

Persepolis (which means Persian city in Greek) was the location of a palace that functioned in Persia at the same time as the palace in Shushan did. Both palaces were initially built by King Darius of Persia and expanded upon by Achashveirosh (and other Persian kings) and both were destroyed by Alexander the Great. It has been suggested that Persepolis might have been a summer palace while the palace at Shushan was a winter palace. 

Be that as it may, the ruins at Persepolis have been much better preserved than the ruins of Shushan. This is primarily due to two factors. The first is that unlike Shushan which was rebuilt and destroyed a number of times, the palace at Persepolis was never rebuilt. Also, the palace at Persepolis included a lot more locally available limestone and as such was less prone to destruction. By studying the palace at Persepolis one can better imagine what the grandeur of the palace at Shushan might have looked like and comparisons are appropriate. The video below should give the viewer a tremendous appreciation and understanding of the power and wealth of the Persian empire at the time the story of Purim takes place.

Another interesting series of videos related to Persepolis and the Persian Empire can be seen below: