I have written this piece out of sincere admiration for the subject matter although I have to a large extent adopted the attitude and reporting position of the UK Media where members of the Royal Family are concerned.
A couple of years ago the Iranian parents of a friend now living in our local area sent to us a beautiful hand made rug in appreciation of our efforts to help him understand the intricacies of permanent settlement in this country.
It is intended to be a wall hanging in the style of a tapestry by virtue of its size, about that of two tea towels edge to edge. The image is very well known and has been used on many fabrics, prints, pottery items and modern packaging.
The colour of the thread is subtle to give it a time aged appearance.
It depicts a loving couple.
He is very regal and stately with a stylised crown, well groomed and braided beard.
She is of large almond shaped eyes, round face and shaped lips so representative of Iranian women.
They are, in modern day parlance, definitely the archetypal Power Couple and their back story confirms this without any doubt.
In the far distance is an image of Persepolis, the seat of dominant authority of Persian Monarchs.
The King is Darius and in his Queen, Atusa Shahbanu he has more than his match in terms of influence, wealth and getting things done in the broad and diverse Archaemenid Empire over which they ruled.
Her own genealogy is impressive.
Her father was Cyrus the Great and amongst her own offspring was Xerxes the Great. Atusa lived from 550BC to 475BC which was quite a long life for the era. The origins of her name means skilled, learned, well trickling and well granting although some sources include the more base "beautiful body".
All of the above may have been the case but Atusa was known for her intuition and reputed sixth sense which helped her to develop and sustain her control of the Palace administration and a sizeable personal army.
It was not all self centred glory as Atusa continued the far sighted work of her father in supporting and perpetuating the culture, language and religions of the nations subdued by successive Archaemenid rulers.
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