(In Pics) Six Palaces from History that Lie in Ruins

For many civilizations the palace is the greatest symbol of a successful culture. Castles may be beautiful but they are built for defense, monasteries are exclusive and (supposedly) humble and cathedrals are for God, not for you.

But the palace is the ultimate luxury built by the wealthy elite for their personal enjoyment. Often such palaces are the finest record of how these elites lived, and equally often how they died. Many edifices bear the scorch marks of violent destruction.

1. The Darul Aman Palace

*The Darul Aman Palace just south of Afghanistan was standing as recently as the 1980s. Following the* *Soviet* withdrawal and the 1990s Afghan Civil War, but in truth it had been gutted by fire three times and rebuilt three times by that point. Originally constructed in the 1920s, it is currently being rebuilt again, a testament to the civil unrest in the country and a testament to their will to rebuild (Carl Montgomery / *CC BY 2.0*)

2. The Sonargaon Palace of Bangladesh

The Sultanate of Sonargaon enjoyed a brief but successful flowering in the 14th century, controlling much of central and eastern Bengal. Fakhruddin Mubarak Shah, armor bearer for the Bahram Khan, declared himself an independent *sultan* *and sponsored many construction projects. These buildings, and the ones that came after, mostly lie in ruin today in the historic city of Songargaon, which means “golden hamlet” (JyotirmoyGolder /* *CC BY-SA 4.0*)

3. Ruzhany Palace in Belarus

*The main ruling seat of the senior line of the House of Sapieha, it replaced an earlier* *castle* *on the site and was a highly visible symbol of the wealth and power of the Sapieha family. Completed in 1602, it would stand for almost a century before being destroyed by the forces of the* *Grand Duchy of Lithuania* *in 1700. Rebuilt again, it would be destroyed in both WW1 and WW2. It has been only partially repaired after its last destruction (Pashuk.Dmitry /* *CC BY-SA 3.0*)

4. Tachara, Mighty Palace of Persepolis

*The Palace of Darius the Great, Tachara (“winter palace”) was the exclusive abode of the great* *Persian* *ruler at Persepolis. Dating back to the Achaemenid Empire, this monumental building of stone was built between 550 and 330 BC and thus predates Darius considerably. The complex escaped looting by* *Alexander the Great’s* *troops and survived the centuries until it is as you see it today. It is the smallest and oldest palace of the Persepolis “Terrace” complex (Diego Delso /* *CC BY-SA 4.0*)

5. The Palace of the Minoans, Knossos, Crete

*The center of the mysterious* *Minoan Civilization*, this palace is almost certainly the source for the myths of the Minotaur. The large, sprawling palace is likely to be the labyrinth, although that word itself comes from “labrys”, a ceremonial axe. Minoan youths would assemble in the courtyard in the center of the palace and compete in tests of strength and dexterity, vaulting bulls who morphed into the Minotaur of myth (Lapplaender / *CC BY-SA 3.0 de*)

6. The Yuanmingyuan, the Old Summer Palace of China

Top Image: Partially reconstructed section of the Minoan Palace ruins at Knossos: a depiction of a bull can be seen. Source: Lucian Bolca / Adobe Stock.

References

Joseph Green

Joseph Green is editor for Historic Mysteries, which combines his background in English Literature with a lifelong fascination for the strange and the unexplained. Read More