Shushandukht ( pal, 𐭱𐭩𐭱𐭩𐭭𐭲𐭥𐭤𐭲 <šyšyntwḥt^,> ''Šīšīntūḥt'';

New Persian New Persian ( fa, فارسی نو), also known as Modern Persian () and Dari (), is the current stage of the Persian language spoken since the 8th to 9th centuries until now in Greater Iran and surroundings. It is conventionally divided into thr ...

: ''Šušanduxt'') was the wife of

Yazdegerd I Yazdegerd I (also spelled Yazdgerd and Yazdgird; pal, 𐭩𐭦𐭣𐭪𐭥𐭲𐭩) was the Sasanian King of Kings () of Iran from 399 to 420. A son of Shapur III (), he succeeded his brother Bahram IV () after the latter's assassination. Yazde ...

and mother of

Bahram V Bahram V (also spelled Wahram V or Warahran V; pal, 𐭥𐭫𐭧𐭫𐭠𐭭), also known as Bahram Gor (New Persian: , "Bahram the onager") was the Sasanian King of Kings ('' shahanshah'') from 420 to 438. The son of the incumbent Sasanian sh ...

. She was the daughter of a Jewish

exilarch The exilarch was the leader of the Jewish community in Persian Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq) during the era of the Parthians, Sasanians and Abbasid Caliphate up until the Mongol invasion of Baghdad in 1258, with intermittent gaps due to ongoing ...

Huna bar Nathan Rav Huna bar Natan ( he, הונא בר נתן, read as Rav Huna bereih deRav Natan (רב הונא בריה דרב נתן) was a Babylonian rabbi and exilarch, of the fifth and sixth generations of amoraim. Biography Huna's father was also a known ...

. She created the Jewish neighborhood in the city of

Isfahan Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Region, Isfahan Province, Iran. It is lo ...

. She also established Jewish colonies in the cities of Shush (

Susa Susa ( ; Middle elx, 𒀸𒋗𒊺𒂗, translit=Šušen; Middle and Neo- elx, 𒋢𒋢𒌦, translit=Šušun; Neo- Elamite and Achaemenid elx, 𒀸𒋗𒐼𒀭, translit=Šušán; Achaemenid elx, 𒀸𒋗𒐼, translit=Šušá; fa, شوش ...

) and Shooshtar. The existence of a Jewish queen enhanced the life of

Persian Jews Persian Jews or Iranian Jews ( fa, یهودیان ایرانی, ''yahudiān-e-Irāni''; he, יהודים פרסים ''Yəhūdīm Parsīm'') are the descendants of Jews who were historically associated with the Persian Empire, whose successor ...

and during this period Jewish exilarchs had regular attendance to the Shah's court. The

Iranologist Iranian studies ( fa, ايران‌شناسی '), also referred to as Iranology and Iranistics, is an interdisciplinary field dealing with the research and study of the civilization, history, literature, art and culture of Iranian peoples. It ...

Ernst Herzfeld Ernst Emil Herzfeld (23 July 1879 – 20 January 1948) was a German archaeologist and Iranologist. Life Herzfeld was born in Celle, Province of Hanover. He studied architecture in Munich and Berlin, while also taking classes in Assyriology, a ...

(1879–1948) speculated that the

tomb of Esther and Mordechai The Tomb of Esther and Mordechai ( fa, ''Buqʿah Ester w Murduxay'', he, קבר אסתר ומרדכי ''Qever Estēr v'Mórdǝḵay'') is a tomb located in Hamadan, Iran. Iranian Jews believe it houses the remains of the biblical Queen Esther a ...

in the city of

Hamedan Hamadan () or Hamedan ( fa, همدان, ''Hamedān'') (Old Persian: Haŋgmetana, Ecbatana) is the capital city of Hamadan Province of Iran. At the 2019 census, its population was 783,300 in 230,775 families. The majority of people living in Ham ...

might be the tomb of Shushandukht.

In ''The Provincial Capitals of The Iranian Empire''

The ''Provincial Capitals of The Iranian Empire'' (Middle Persian: ''Šahrestānīhā ī Ērānšahr'') is a late 8th century Middle Persian book that mentions Shushandukht as founder of Shush (Susa) and Shooshtar: The book also mentions Narseh the son of the Jewish woman (who was probably Shushandukht) who founded

Khwarezm Khwarazm (; Old Persian: ''Hwârazmiya''; fa, خوارزم, ''Xwârazm'' or ''Xârazm'') or Chorasmia () is a large oasis region on the Amu Darya river delta in western Central Asia, bordered on the north by the (former) Aral Sea, on the ...

In ''The Provincial Capitals of The Iranian Empire''

References

Further reading