When I tried to come up with a BUA for the early Achaemenid Persians a number of possibilities went through my mind. The first that came to mind was a representation of the Ishtar gate. Another was to try to model the "hanging gardens' of Babylon. All worthy possibilities, but they would look inadequate on a legal size BUA base. So I thought that I would model a Zoroastrian fire temple. The basis of this model was a bird feeder that I discovered in a bargain store (for Australians, Crazy Clints) for the princely sum of $7.95. All I had to do was paint and base it. The dome was left as it came, except that the top was painted gold. The steps, pillars and lintels were base coated with Citadel's Vomit Brown, then washed with a thinned Chestnut Ink and finally drybrushed with Bleached Bone. The tiles were base coated with Tamiya's Royal Blue and then drybrushed with Citadel's Ultramarine Blue. The base is a piece of Masonite 200mm square that has been flocked in my usual manner. As the title of this page indicates this BUA is not Persepolis.
As the Persians went in for buildings on a monumental scale, the bird feeder certainly provides that impression. To get an idea of how "monumental" it is, compare it to the LCh element!