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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 ; he, שׁוּשָׁן ; grc-gre, Σοῦσα ; syr, ܫܘܫ ; pal, 𐭮𐭥𐭱𐭩 or ; peo, 𐏂𐎢𐏁𐎠 ) was an ancient city in the lower Zagros Mountains about east of the Tigris, between the Karkheh and Dez Rivers in Iran. One of the most important cities of the Ancient Near East, Susa served as the capital of
Elam Elam (; Linear Elamite: ''hatamti''; Cuneiform Elamite: ; Sumerian: ; Akkadian: ; he, עֵילָם ''ʿēlām''; peo, 𐎢𐎺𐎩 ''hūja'') was an ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of modern-day Iran, stretc ...
and the
Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest em ...
, and remained a strategic centre during the
Parthian Parthian may be: Historical * A demonym "of Parthia", a region of north-eastern of Greater Iran * Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD) * Parthian language, a now-extinct Middle Iranian language * Parthian shot, an archery skill famously employed by ...
and Sasanian periods. The site currently consists of three archaeological mounds, covering an area of around one square kilometre. The modern Iranian town of Shush is located on the site of ancient Susa. Shush is identified as Shushan, mentioned in the
Book of Esther The Book of Esther ( he, מְגִלַּת אֶסְתֵּר, Megillat Esther), also known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as "the Scroll" ("the wikt:מגילה, Megillah"), is a book in the third section (, "Writings") of the Judaism, Jewish ''Tanak ...
and other Biblical books.


Name

The English name is derived from Ancient Greek (), which is ultimately derived from an original Elamite name, which was written as () in its Middle Elamite form, () in its Middle and Neo-Elamite forms, () in its Neo- Elamite and Achaemenid forms, and () in its Achaemenid Elamite form.


Literary references

Susa was one of the most important cities of the Ancient Near East. In historic literature, Susa appears in the very earliest Sumerian records: for example, it is described as one of the places obedient to
Inanna Inanna, also sux, 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒀭𒈾, nin-an-na, label=none is an List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility. She is also associated with beauty, sex, Divine law, divine justice, and political p ...
, patron deity of Uruk, in '' Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta''.


Biblical texts

Susa is also mentioned in the Ketuvim of the Hebrew Bible by the name Shushan, mainly in the
Book of Esther The Book of Esther ( he, מְגִלַּת אֶסְתֵּר, Megillat Esther), also known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as "the Scroll" ("the wikt:מגילה, Megillah"), is a book in the third section (, "Writings") of the Judaism, Jewish ''Tanak ...
, but also once each in the Books of Nehemiah and
Daniel Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength" ...
. According to these texts, Nehemiah also lived in Susa during the
Babylonian captivity The Babylonian captivity or Babylonian exile is the period in Jewish history during which a large number of Judeans from the ancient Kingdom of Judah were captives in Babylon, the capital city of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, following their defeat ...
of the 6th century BC (Daniel mentions it in a prophetic vision), while Esther became queen there, married to King Ahasuerus, and saved the Jews from genocide. A tomb presumed to be that of Daniel is located in the area, known as ''Shush-Daniel''. However, a large portion of the current structure is actually a much later construction dated to the late nineteenth century, ca. 1871.


Other religious texts

Susa is further mentioned in the '' Book of Jubilees'' (8:21 & 9:2) as one of the places within the inheritance of Shem and his eldest son
Elam Elam (; Linear Elamite: ''hatamti''; Cuneiform Elamite: ; Sumerian: ; Akkadian: ; he, עֵילָם ''ʿēlām''; peo, 𐎢𐎺𐎩 ''hūja'') was an ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of modern-day Iran, stretc ...
; and in 8:1, "Susan" is also named as the son (or daughter, in some translations) of Elam.


Excavation history

The site was examined in 1836 by Henry Rawlinson and then by A. H. Layard. In 1851, some modest excavation was done by
William Loftus William Loftus may refer to: * William Loftus (archaeologist), British geologist, naturalist, explorer and archaeological excavator * William Loftus (British Army officer), British Army officer and Member of Parliament * William Loftus (Canadian foo ...
, accompanied by
Fenwick Williams General Sir William Fenwick Williams, 1st Baronet (4 December 180026 July 1883) was a Nova Scotian military leader for the British during the Victorian era. Williams is remembered for his defence of the town of Kars during the Crimean War. He ...
, who identified it as Susa. Among his finds was a jar containing a around 110 coins, the earliest of which was dated to 697-98 AD. In 1885 and 1886 Marcel-Auguste Dieulafoy and Jane Dieulafoy began the first French excavations, discovering glazed bricks, column bases, and capitals from the palace of the Achaemenid kings. However, they failed to identify mudbrick walls, which were then destroyed in the course of excavation. Almost all of the excavations at Susa, post-1885, were organized and authorized by the French government. In two treaties in 1894 and 1899, the French gained a monopoly on all archaeological excavations in Iran indefinitely.
Jacques de Morgan Jean-Jacques de Morgan (3 June 1857, Huisseau-sur-Cosson, Loir-et-Cher – 14 June 1924) was a French people, French mining engineer, geologist, and archaeologist. He was the director of antiquities in Khedivate of Egypt, Egypt during the 19th ...
, after visiting the site in 1891, conducted major excavations from 1897 until 1911. The excavations that were conducted in Susa brought many artistic and historical artifacts back to France. These artifacts filled multiple halls in the Museum of the Louvre throughout the late 1890s and early 1900s. De Morgan's most important work was the excavation of the Grande Tranchée in the Acropole mound, where he found the stele of Naram-Sin, a collection of Babylonian
kudurru A kudurru was a type of stone document used as a boundary stone and as a record of land grants to vassals by the Kassites and later dynasties in ancient Babylonia between the 16th and 7th centuries BC. The original kudurru would typically be stor ...
s (boundary stones), the stele bearing the
Code of Hammurabi The Code of Hammurabi is a Babylonian legal text composed 1755–1750 BC. It is the longest, best-organised, and best-preserved legal text from the ancient Near East. It is written in the Old Babylonian dialect of Akkadian, purportedly by Hamm ...
, an ornamented bronze table of snakes, the bronze statue of Queen Napir-Asu, and thousands of inscribed bricks. His finds showed Susa to be the most important center of Elamite civilization, which was effectively discovered by the French mission at Susa. Excavation efforts continued under Roland De Mecquenem until 1914, at the beginning of World War I. French work at Susa resumed after the war, led by De Mecquenem, continuing until World War II in 1940. To supplement the original publications of De Mecquenem the archives of his excavation have now been put online thanks to a grant from the Shelby White Levy Program. Roman Ghirshman took over direction of the French efforts in 1946, after the end of the war. Together with his wife Tania Ghirshman, he continued there until 1967. The Ghirshmans concentrated on excavating a single part of the site, the hectare sized Ville Royale, taking it all the way down to bare earth. The pottery found at the various levels enabled a stratigraphy to be developed for Susa. From 1969 until 1979 excavations were conducted under
Jean Perrot Jean Perrot (1920 – 24 December 2012) was a French archaeologist who specialised in the late prehistory of the Middle East and Near East. Biography Perrot was a graduate of the Ecole du Louvre where he studied under two experts in Syrian arc ...
. In 2019 the Susa salvage project was launched to counter the construction of a transportation underpass in the vicinity of the site.


History


Early settlement

In urban history, Susa is one of the oldest-known settlements of the region. Based on C14 dating, the foundation of a settlement there occurred as early as 4395 BC(a calibrated radio-carbon date). In the region around Susa were a number of towns (with their own platforms) and villages that maintained a trading relationship with the city, especially those along the Zagro frontier. The founding of Susa corresponded with the abandonment of nearby villages. Potts suggests that the settlement may have been founded to try to reestablish the previously destroyed settlement at
Chogha Mish Tappeh-ye Choghā Mīsh (Persian language; چغامیش ''čoġā mīš'') dating back to 6800 BC, is the site of a Chalcolithic settlement in Western Iran, located in the Khuzistan Province on the Susiana Plain. It was occupied at the beginni ...
, about 25 km to the west.Potts: ''Elam''. Previously, Chogha Mish was also a very large settlement, and it featured a similar massive platform that was later built at Susa. Another important settlement in the area is
Chogha Bonut Chogha Bonut (Persian ''Choghā bonut'') is an archaeological site in south-western Iran, located in the Khuzistan Province. The site is about 20km southeast of Dezful, and 5km west of Chogha Mish, another ancient site. It is believed that the s ...
, that was discovered in 1976.


Susa I period (4200–3800 BC)

Shortly after Susa was first settled over 6000 years ago, its inhabitants erected a monumental platform that rose over the flat surrounding landscape. The exceptional nature of the site is still recognizable today in the artistry of the ceramic vessels that were placed as offerings in a thousand or more graves near the base of the temple platform. Susa's earliest settlement is known as the ''Susa I'' period (c. 4200–3900 BC). Two settlements named by archaeologists the ''Acropolis'' (7 ha) and the ''Apadana'' (6.3 ha), would later merge to form Susa proper (18 ha). The ''Apadana'' was enclosed by 6 metre thick walls of rammed earth (this particular place is named Apadana because it also contains a late Achaemenid structure of this type). Nearly two thousand pots of ''Susa I'' style were recovered from the cemetery, most of them now in the Louvre. The vessels found are eloquent testimony to the artistic and technical achievements of their makers, and they hold clues about the organization of the society that commissioned them. Painted ceramic vessels from Susa in the earliest first style are a late, regional version of the Mesopotamian Ubaid ceramic tradition that spread across the Near East during the fifth millennium BC. Susa I style was very much a product of the past and of influences from contemporary ceramic industries in the mountains of western Iran. The recurrence in close association of vessels of three types—a drinking goblet or beaker, a serving dish, and a small jar—implies the consumption of three types of food, apparently thought to be as necessary for life in the afterworld as it is in this one. Ceramics of these shapes, which were painted, constitute a large proportion of the vessels from the cemetery. Others are coarse cooking-type jars and bowls with simple bands painted on them and were probably the grave goods of the sites of humbler citizens as well as adolescents and, perhaps, children. The pottery is carefully made by hand. Although a slow wheel may have been employed, the asymmetry of the vessels and the irregularity of the drawing of encircling lines and bands indicate that most of the work was done freehand. Copper metallurgy is also attested during this period, which was contemporary with metalwork at some highland Iranian sites such as Tepe Sialk. Louvre Suse I Boisseau décor géométrique 1 14012018.jpg Louvre Suse I Nécropole du tell de l'Acropole Coupe décor géométrique 1 14012018.jpg File:Master of animals, Susa I.jpg,
Master of animals The Master of Animals, Lord of Animals, or Mistress of the Animals is a motif in ancient art showing a human between and grasping two confronted animals. The motif is very widespread in the art of the Ancient Near East and Egypt. The figure may ...
, Susa I, Louvre Sb 2246. File:Sun and deities, Susa I.jpg, Sun and deities, Susa I, Louvre


Susa II and Uruk influence (3800–3100 BC)

Susa came within the Uruk cultural sphere during the Uruk period. An imitation of the entire state apparatus of Uruk, proto-writing, cylinder seals with Sumerian motifs, and monumental architecture is found at Susa. According to some scholars, Susa may have been a colony of Uruk. There is some dispute about the comparative periodization of Susa and Uruk at this time, as well as about the extent of Uruk influence in Susa. Recent research indicates that Early Uruk period corresponds to Susa II period. Daniel T. Potts, argues that the influence from the highland Iranian
Khuzestan Khuzestan Province (also spelled Xuzestan; fa, استان خوزستان ''Ostān-e Xūzestān'') is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It is in the southwest of the country, bordering Iraq and the Persian Gulf. Its capital is Ahvaz and it covers ...
area in Susa was more significant at the early period, and also continued later on. Thus, Susa combined the influence of two cultures, from the highland area and from the
alluvial plains An alluvial plain is a largely flat landform created by the deposition of sediment over a long period of time by one or more rivers coming from highland regions, from which alluvial soil forms. A floodplain is part of the process, being the smal ...
. Potts also stresses the fact that the writing and numerical systems of Uruk were not simply borrowed in Susa wholesale. Rather, only partial and selective borrowing took place, that was adapted to Susa's needs. Despite the fact that Uruk was far larger than Susa at the time, Susa was not its colony, but still maintained some independence for a long time, according to Potts. An architectural link has also been suggested between Susa, Tal-i Malyan, and Godin Tepe at this time, in support of the idea of the parallel development of the Proto-Cuneiform and proto-elamite scripts. Some scholars believe that Susa was part of the greater Uruk culture. Holly Pittman, an art historian at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia says, "they Susanians are participating entirely in an Uruk way of life. They are not culturally distinct; the material culture of Susa is a regional variation of that on the Mesopotamian plain". Gilbert Stein, director of the University of Chicago's Oriental Institute, says that "An expansion once thought to have lasted less than 200 years now apparently went on for 700 years. It is hard to think of any colonial system lasting that long. The spread of Uruk material is not evidence of Uruk domination; it could be local choice". File:King-priest with bow fighting enemies, with horned temple (composite of two imprints of the same cylinder seal).jpg, King-priest with bow fighting enemies, with horned temple in the center. Susa II or Uruk period (3800–3100 BC), found in excavations at Susa. Louvre Museum. File:Accountancy clay envelope Louvre Sb1932.jpg, Globular envelope with the accounting tokens. Clay, Uruk period (c. 3500 BC). From the Tell of the Acropolis in Susa.
The Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...
File:Susa II, work in the granaries (composite).jpg, Work in the granaries, Susa II, Louvre. File:Susa II King-Priest with bow and arrow.jpg, Priest-King with bow and arrows, Susa II, Louvre. File:Susa II, prisoners.jpg, Prisoners, Susa II, Louvre. File:Orant statuette-Sb 69-P5280684-gradient.jpg, Orant statuette, Susa II, Louvre.


Susa III, or "Proto-Elamite", period (3100–2700 BC)

Susa III (3100–2700 BC) is also known as the ' Proto-Elamite' period. At this time, Banesh period pottery is predominant. This is also when the Proto-Elamite tablets first appear in the record. Subsequently, Susa became the centre of
Elam Elam (; Linear Elamite: ''hatamti''; Cuneiform Elamite: ; Sumerian: ; Akkadian: ; he, עֵילָם ''ʿēlām''; peo, 𐎢𐎺𐎩 ''hūja'') was an ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of modern-day Iran, stretc ...
civilization. Ambiguous reference to Elam ( Cuneiform; NIM) appear also in this period in
Sumer Sumer () is the earliest known civilization in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. It is one of the cradles of c ...
ian records. Susa enters recorded history in the
Early Dynastic period of Sumer The Early Dynastic period (abbreviated ED period or ED) is an archaeological culture in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) that is generally dated to c. 2900–2350 BC and was preceded by the Uruk and Jemdet Nasr periods. It saw the development of w ...
. A battle between Kish and Susa is recorded in 2700 BC, when
En-me-barage-si Enmebaragesi ( Sumerian: ''En-me-barag-gi-se'' N-ME-BARA2-GI4-SE originally Mebarasi () was the penultimate king of the first dynasty of Kish and is recorded as having reigned 900 years in the ''Sumerian King List''. Like his son and successor ...
is said to have "made the land of Elam submit". File:Susa III or Proto-Elamite cylinder seal 3150-2800 BC Louvre Museum Sb 1484.jpg, Susa III/ Proto-Elamite cylinder seal, 3150–2800 BC. Louvre Museum, reference Sb 1484 File:Susa III or Proto-Elamite cylinder seal 3150-2800 BC Mythological being on a boat Louvre Museum Sb 6379.jpg, Susa III/ Proto-Elamite cylinder seal 3150–2800 BC Mythological being on a boat Louvre Museum Sb 6379 File:Susa III or Proto-Elamite cylinder seal 3150-2800 BC Louvre Museum Sb 6166.jpg, Susa III/ Proto-Elamite cylinder seal 3150–2800 BC Louvre Museum Sb 6166 File:P1180316 Louvre Suse III tablette économique Sb15200 rwk.jpg, Economical tablet in
Proto-Elamite script The Proto-Elamite period, also known as Susa III, is a chronological era in the ancient history of the area of Elam, dating from . In archaeological terms this corresponds to the late Banesh period. Proto-Elamite sites are recognized as the o ...
, Suse III, Louvre Museum, reference Sb 15200, circa 3100–2850 BC


Elamites

In the
Sumer Sumer () is the earliest known civilization in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. It is one of the cradles of c ...
ian period, Susa was the capital of a state called Susiana (Šušan), which occupied approximately the same territory of modern
Khūzestān Province Khuzestan Province (also spelled Xuzestan; fa, استان خوزستان ''Ostān-e Xūzestān'') is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It is in the southwest of the country, bordering Iraq and the Persian Gulf. Its capital is Ahvaz and it covers ...
centered on the Karun River. Control of Susiana shifted between
Elam Elam (; Linear Elamite: ''hatamti''; Cuneiform Elamite: ; Sumerian: ; Akkadian: ; he, עֵילָם ''ʿēlām''; peo, 𐎢𐎺𐎩 ''hūja'') was an ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of modern-day Iran, stretc ...
, Sumer, and
Akkad Akkad may refer to: *Akkad (city), the capital of the Akkadian Empire *Akkadian Empire, the first ancient empire of Mesopotamia *Akkad SC, Iraqi football club People with the name *Abbas el-Akkad, Egyptian writer *Abdulrahman Akkad, Syrian LGBT act ...
. During the Elamite monarchy, many riches and materials were brought to Susa from the plundering of other cities. This was mainly due to the fact of Susa's location on Iran's South Eastern region, closer to the city of Babylon and cities in Mesopotamia. The use of the Elamite language as an administrative language was first attested in texts of ancient Ansan, Tall-e Mal-yan, dated 1000 BC. Previous to the era of Elamites, the Akkadian language was responsible for most or all of the text used in ancient documents. Susiana was incorporated by
Sargon the Great Sargon of Akkad (; akk, ''Šarrugi''), also known as Sargon the Great, was the first ruler of the Akkadian Empire, known for his conquests of the Sumerian city-states in the 24th to 23rd centuries BC.The date of the reign of Sargon is highl ...
into his Akkadian Empire in approximately 2330 BC. The main goddess of the city was Nanaya, who had a significant temple in Susa.


Old Elamite period (c. 2700–1500 BC)

The Old Elamite period began around 2700 BC. Historical records mention the conquest of Elam by Enmebaragesi, the
Sumer Sumer () is the earliest known civilization in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. It is one of the cradles of c ...
ian king of Kish in Mesopotamia. Three dynasties ruled during this period. Twelve kings of each of the first two dynasties, those of Awan (or ''Avan''; c. 2400–2100 BC) and Simashki (c. 2100–1970 BC), are known from a list from Susa dating to the Old Babylonian period. Two Elamite dynasties said to have exercised brief control over parts of Sumer in very early times include Awan and Hamazi; and likewise, several of the stronger
Sumer Sumer () is the earliest known civilization in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. It is one of the cradles of c ...
ian rulers, such as Eannatum of Lagash and
Lugal-anne-mundu Lugal-Anne-Mundu ( sux, , , ca. 24th century BC) was the most important king of the city-state of Adab in Sumer. The ''Sumerian king list'' claims he reigned for 90 years, following the defeat of Mesh-ki-ang-Nanna II, son of Nanni, of Ur. Th ...
of Adab, are recorded as temporarily dominating Elam.


Kutik-Inshushinak

Susa was the capital of an Akkadian province until ca. 2100 BC, when its governor, Kutik-Inshushinak, rebelled and made it an independent state and a literary center. Also, he was the last from the Awan dynasty according to the Susa kinglist. He unified the neighbouring territories and became the king of
Elam Elam (; Linear Elamite: ''hatamti''; Cuneiform Elamite: ; Sumerian: ; Akkadian: ; he, עֵילָם ''ʿēlām''; peo, 𐎢𐎺𐎩 ''hūja'') was an ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of modern-day Iran, stretc ...
. He encouraged the use of the
Linear Elamite Linear Elamite was a writing system used in Elam during the Bronze Age between , and known mainly from a few extant monumental inscriptions. It was used contemporaneously with Elamite cuneiform and records the Elamite language. The French archae ...
script, that remains undeciphered. The city was subsequently conquered by the neo-Sumerian Third Dynasty of Ur and held until Ur finally collapsed at the hands of the Elamites under
Kindattu Kindattu (, ''ki-in-da-tu'', also Kindadu, reigned ca. 2000 BC, middle Chronology) was the 6th king of the Shimashki Dynasty,D. T. Potts (2016). ''The Archaeology of Elam.'' Cambridge University Press. p. 135. in Elam (in present-day southwest Ira ...
in ca. 2004 BC. At this time, Susa was ruled by Elam again and became its capital under the Shimashki dynasty.


Indus-Susa relations (2600–1700 BC)

Numerous artifacts of
Indus Valley civilization The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form 2600 BCE to 1900&n ...
origin have been found in Susa from this period, especially seals and
etched carnelian beads Etched carnelian beads, or sometimes bleached carnelian beads, are a type of ancient decorative beads made from carnelian with an etched design in white, which were probably manufactured by the Indus Valley civilization during the 3rd millennium BC ...
, pointing to Indus-Mesopotamia relations during this period. File:Susa seal with Indus signs.jpg, Impression of an Indus cylinder seal discovered in Susa, in strata dated to 2600–1700 BC. Elongated buffalo with line of standard Indus script signs. Tell of the Susa acropolis. Louvre Museum, reference Sb 2425. Indus script numbering convention per Asko Parpola. File:Indus round seal with impression Elongated buffalo with Harappan scrpit imported to Susa in 2600-1700 BCE LOUVRE Sb5614.jpg, Indus round seal with impression. Elongated buffalo with Harappan script imported to Susa in 2600–1700 BC. Found in the tell of the Susa acropolis. Louvre Museum, reference Sb 5614 File:Indus carnelian beads with white design imported to Susa in 2600-1700 BCE LOUVRE Sb 13099.jpg, Indian carnelian beads with white design, etched in white with an alkali through a heat process, imported to Susa in 2600–1700 BC. Found in the tell of the Susa acropolis. Louvre Museum, reference Sb 17751. These beads are identical with beads found in the Indus Civilization site of Dholavira. File:Indus bracelet made of Fasciolaria Trapezium or Xandus Pyrum imported front and back with inscribed chevron to Susa in 2600-1700 BCE LOUVRE Sb14473.jpg, Indus bracelet, front and back, made of ''
Pleuroploca trapezium ''Pleuroploca trapezium'', common name : the trapezium horse conch or striped fox conch, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Fasciolariidae, the spindle snails, the tulip snails and their allies. This species is ...
'' or ''
Turbinella pyrum ''Turbinella pyrum'', common names the chank shell, sacred chank or chank, also known as the divine conch, sometimes referred to simply as a conch, is a species of very large sea snail with a gill and an operculum, a marine gastropod mollusk ...
'' imported to Susa in 2600–1700 BC. Found in the tell of the Susa acropolis. Louvre Museum, reference Sb 14473. This type of bracelet was manufactured in Mohenjo-daro, Lothal and Balakot. The back is engraved with an oblong chevron design which is typical of shell bangles of the Indus Civilization. File:Indus Valley Civilization carnelian beads excavated in Susa.jpg, Indus Valley Civilization carnelian beads excavated in Susa. Jewelry with components from the Indus, Central Asia and Northern-eastern Iran found in Susa dated to 2600-1700 BCE.jpg, Jewelry with components from the Indus, Central Asia and Northern-eastern Iran found in Susa dated to 2600–1700 BC.


Middle Elamite period (c. 1500–1100 BC)

Around 1500 BC, the Middle Elamite period began with the rise of the Anshanite dynasties. Their rule was characterized by an "Elamisation" of Susa, and the kings took the title "king of Anshan and Susa". While, previously, the Akkadian language was frequently used in inscriptions, the succeeding kings, such as the Igihalkid dynasty of c. 1400 BC, tried to use Elamite. Thus, Elamite language and culture grew in importance in Susiana. This was also the period when the Elamite pantheon was being imposed in Susiana. This policy reached its height with the construction of the political and religious complex at
Chogha Zanbil Chogha Zanbil ( fa, چغازنبيل; Elamite: Dur Untash) is an ancient Elamite complex in the Khuzestan province of Iran. It is one of the few existing ziggurats outside Mesopotamia. It lies approximately southeast of Susa and north of Ahv ...
, south-east of Susa. In ca. 1175 BC, the Elamites under Shutruk-Nahhunte plundered the original
stele A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ''stelæ''), whe ...
bearing the ''
Code of Hammurabi The Code of Hammurabi is a Babylonian legal text composed 1755–1750 BC. It is the longest, best-organised, and best-preserved legal text from the ancient Near East. It is written in the Old Babylonian dialect of Akkadian, purportedly by Hamm ...
'' and took it to Susa. Archeologists found it in 1901. Nebuchadnezzar I of the
Babylonia Babylonia (; Akkadian: , ''māt Akkadī'') was an ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Syria). It emerged as an Amorite-ruled state c. ...
n empire plundered Susa around fifty years later. File:Goatfishes Louvre Sb19.jpg, An ornate design on this limestone ritual vat from the Middle Elamite period depicts creatures with the heads of goats and the tails of fish, Susa, 1500–1110 BC. File:Tchogha_Zanbil.jpg, The Ziggurat at
Chogha Zanbil Chogha Zanbil ( fa, چغازنبيل; Elamite: Dur Untash) is an ancient Elamite complex in the Khuzestan province of Iran. It is one of the few existing ziggurats outside Mesopotamia. It lies approximately southeast of Susa and north of Ahv ...
was built by Elamite king
Untash-Napirisha Untash-Napirisha was king of Elam (in present-day southwest Iran) during the Middle Elamite period, circa 1300 BCE. He was the son of the previous Elamite king, Humban-Numena. He was named after Napirisha, an Elamite deity. He founded and built ...
circa 1300 BC. File:Susa, Middle-Elamite model of a sun ritual, circa 1150 BCE.jpg, Susa, Middle-Elamite model of a sun ritual, circa 1150 BC


Neo-Elamite period (c. 1100–540 BC)


=Neo-Assyrians

= In 647 BC, Neo-Assyrian king
Ashurbanipal Ashurbanipal (Neo-Assyrian language, Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , meaning "Ashur (god), Ashur is the creator of the heir") was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 669 BCE to his death in 631. He is generally remembered as the last great king o ...
leveled the city during a war in which the people of Susa participated on the other side. A tablet unearthed in 1854 by
Austen Henry Layard Sir Austen Henry Layard (; 5 March 18175 July 1894) was an English Assyriologist, traveller, cuneiformist, art historian, draughtsman, collector, politician and diplomat. He was born to a mostly English family in Paris and largely raised in It ...
in
Nineveh Nineveh (; akk, ; Biblical Hebrew: '; ar, نَيْنَوَىٰ '; syr, ܢܝܼܢܘܹܐ, Nīnwē) was an ancient Assyrian city of Upper Mesopotamia, located in the modern-day city of Mosul in northern Iraq. It is located on the eastern ban ...
reveals Ashurbanipal as an "avenger", seeking retribution for the humiliations that the Elamites had inflicted on the Mesopotamians over the centuries:
"Susa, the great holy city, abode of their gods, seat of their mysteries, I conquered. I entered its palaces, I opened their treasuries where silver and gold, goods and wealth were amassed. . . .I destroyed the ziggurat of Susa. I smashed its shining copper horns. I reduced the temples of Elam to naught; their gods and goddesses I scattered to the winds. The tombs of their ancient and recent kings I devastated, I exposed to the sun, and I carried away their bones toward the land of Ashur. I devastated the provinces of Elam and, on their lands, I sowed salt."
Assyrian rule of Susa began in 647 BC and lasted till
Median In statistics and probability theory, the median is the value separating the higher half from the lower half of a data sample, a population, or a probability distribution. For a data set, it may be thought of as "the middle" value. The basic fe ...
capture of Susa in 617 BC.


Susa after Achaemenid Persian conquest

Susa underwent a major political and ethnocultural transition when it became part of the Persian Achaemenid empire between 540 and 539 BC when it was captured by
Cyrus the Great Cyrus II of Persia (; peo, 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 ), commonly known as Cyrus the Great, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, the first Persian empire. Schmitt Achaemenid dynasty (i. The clan and dynasty) Under his rule, the empire embraced ...
during his conquest of
Elam Elam (; Linear Elamite: ''hatamti''; Cuneiform Elamite: ; Sumerian: ; Akkadian: ; he, עֵילָם ''ʿēlām''; peo, 𐎢𐎺𐎩 ''hūja'') was an ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of modern-day Iran, stretc ...
(Susiana), of which Susa was the capital. The Nabonidus Chronicle records that, prior to the battle(s), Nabonidus had ordered cult statues from outlying Babylonian cities to be brought into the capital, suggesting that the conflict over Susa had begun possibly in the winter of 540 BC. It is probable that Cyrus negotiated with the Babylonian generals to obtain a compromise on their part and therefore avoid an armed confrontation. Nabonidus was staying in the city at the time and soon fled to the capital, Babylon, which he had not visited in years. Cyrus' conquest of Susa and the rest of Babylonia commenced a fundamental shift, bringing Susa under Persian control for the first time.
Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...
stated that Cyrus made Susa an imperial capital though there was no new construction in that period so this is in dispute. Under Cyrus' son
Cambyses II Cambyses II ( peo, 𐎣𐎲𐎢𐎪𐎡𐎹 ''Kabūjiya'') was the second King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire from 530 to 522 BC. He was the son and successor of Cyrus the Great () and his mother was Cassandane. Before his accession, Cambyses ...
, Susa became a center of political power as one of four capitals of the Achaemenid Persian empire, while reducing the significance of
Pasargadae Pasargadae (from Old Persian ''Pāθra-gadā'', "protective club" or "strong club"; Modern Persian: ''Pāsārgād'') was the capital of the Achaemenid Empire under Cyrus the Great (559–530 BC), who ordered its construction and the location of ...
as the capital of Persis. Following Cambyses' brief rule,
Darius the Great Darius I ( peo, 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 ; grc-gre, Δαρεῖος ; – 486 BCE), commonly known as Darius the Great, was a Persian ruler who served as the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 522 BCE until his d ...
began a major building program in Susa and Persepolis,which included building a large
palace A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...
. During this time he describes his new capital in an inscription: "This palace which I built at Susa, from afar its ornamentation was brought. Downward the earth was dug, until I reached rock in the earth. When the excavation had been made, then rubble was packed down, some 40 cubits in depth, another part 20 cubits in depth. On that rubble the palace was constructed." The city forms the setting of '' The Persians'' (472 BC), an Athenian tragedy by the ancient Greek playwright Aeschylus that is the oldest surviving play in the history of theatre. Events mentioned in the
Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...
book of Esther are said to have occurred in Susa during the Achaemenid period.


Seleucid period

Susa lost much of its importance after the invasion of Alexander the Great of Macedon in 331 BC. In 324 BC he met
Nearchus Nearchus or Nearchos ( el, Νέαρχος; – 300 BC) was one of the Greek officers, a navarch, in the army of Alexander the Great. He is known for his celebrated expeditionary voyage starting from the Indus River, through the Persian Gulf and e ...
here, who explored the Persian Gulf as he returned from the Indus River by sea. In that same year Alexander celebrated in Susa with a mass wedding between the Persians and Macedonians. The city retained its importance under the Seleucids for approximately one century after Alexander, however Susa lost its position of imperial capital to
Seleucia on the Tigris Seleucia (; grc-gre, Σελεύκεια), also known as or , was a major Mesopotamian city of the Seleucid empire. It stood on the west bank of the Tigris River, within the present-day Baghdad Governorate in Iraq. Name Seleucia ( grc-gre, Σ ...
to become the regional capital of the
satrapy A satrap () was a governor of the provinces of the ancient Median and Achaemenid Empires and in several of their successors, such as in the Sasanian Empire and the Hellenistic empires. The satrap served as viceroy to the king, though with consid ...
of Susiana. Nevertheless, Susa retained its economic importance to the empire with its vast assortment of merchants conducting trade in Susa, using
Charax Spasinou , alternate_name = , image = Hyspaosines.jpg , alt = , caption = Hyspaosines (209–124 BC), founder and king of Characene, had his capital in Charax. , map_type = Iraq , map_alt = , map_size = 250 , location = Iraq , region = ...
as its port. The city was named Seleucia on the Eulaeus or Seleucia ad Eulaeum. Seleucus I Nicator minted coins there in substantial quantities. Susa is rich in Greek inscriptions, perhaps indicating a significant number of Greeks living in the city. Especially in the royal city large, well-equipped peristyle houses have been excavated.


Parthian period

Around 147 BC Susa and the adjacent Elymais broke free from the
Seleucid Empire The Seleucid Empire (; grc, Βασιλεία τῶν Σελευκιδῶν, ''Basileía tōn Seleukidōn'') was a Greek state in West Asia that existed during the Hellenistic period from 312 BC to 63 BC. The Seleucid Empire was founded by the ...
. The city was at least temporarily ruled by the rulers of the Elymais with
Kamnaskires II Nikephoros Kamnaskires II, surnamed Nikephoros ("the Bringer of Victory") was a king of the Elymais only known from his coins. He reigned from about 147 to 139 BC. Around 150 BC, the Seleucid empire disintegrated and at several places local governors became ...
minting coins there. The city may again have briefly returned to Seleucid rule, but starting with
Phraates II Phraates II (also spelled Frahad I; xpr, 𐭐𐭓𐭇𐭕 ''Frahāt'') was king of the Parthian Empire from 132 BC to 127 BC. He was the son and successor of Mithridates I (). Because he was still very young when he came to the throne, his moth ...
(about 138–127 BC) to
Gotarzes II Gotarzes II ( xpr, 𐭂𐭅𐭕𐭓𐭆 ''Gōtarz'') was king of the Parthian Empire from 40 to 51. He was an adopted son of Artabanus II. When his father died in 40, his brother Vardanes I was to succeed to the throne. However, the throne was s ...
(about 40–51 AD) almost all rulers of the Parthian Empire coined coins in the city, indicating that it was firmly in the hands of the Parthians at least during this period. The city however retained a considerable amount of independence and retained its Greek city-state organization well into the ensuing Parthian period. From second half of the first century it was probably partly governed by rulers of Elymais again, but it became Parthian once again in 215. Susa was a frequent place of refuge for Parthian and later, the Persian Sassanid kings, as the Romans sacked Ctesiphon five different times between 116 and 297 AD. Susa was briefly captured in 116 AD by the Roman emperor Trajan during the course of his Parthian campaign. Never again would the Roman Empire advance so far to the east.


Sassanid period

Suzan was conquered and destroyed in 224 AD by the Sassanid
Ardashir I Ardashir I (Middle Persian: 𐭠𐭥𐭲𐭧𐭱𐭲𐭥, Modern Persian: , '), also known as Ardashir the Unifier (180–242 AD), was the founder of the Sasanian Empire. He was also Ardashir V of the Kings of Persis, until he founded the new emp ...
, but rebuilt immediately thereafter, and perhaps even temporarily a royal residence. According to a later tradition, Shapur I is said to have spent his twilight years in the city, although this tradition is uncertain and perhaps refers more to Shapur II. Under the Sassanids, following the founding of
Gundeshapur Gundeshapur ( pal, 𐭥𐭧𐭩𐭠𐭭𐭣𐭩𐭥𐭪𐭱𐭧𐭯𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭩, ''Weh-Andiōk-Šābuhr''; New Persian: , ''Gondēshāpūr'') was the intellectual centre of the Sassanid Empire and the home of the Academy of Gundishapur, founde ...
Susa slowly lost its importance. Archaeologically, the Sassanid city is less dense compared to the Parthian period, but there were still significant buildings, with the settlement extending over 400 hectares. Susa was also still very significant economically and a trading center, especially in gold trading. Coins also continued to be minted in the city. The city had a Christian community in a separate district with a Nestorian bishop, whose last representative is attested to in 1265. Archaeologically a stucco panel with the image of a Christian saint has been found. During the reign of Shapur II after Christianity became the state religion of the Roman Empire in 312, and the identification of Christians as possible collaborators with the enemy Christians living in the Sasanian Empire were persecuted from 339 onwards. Shapur II also imposed a double tax on the Christians during his war campaign against the Romans. Following a rebellion of Christians living in Susa, the king destroyed the city in 339 using 300 elephants. He later had the city rebuilt and resettled with prisoners of war and weavers, which is believed to have been after his victory over the Romans in Amida in 359. The weaver produced silk brocade. He renamed it ''Eran-Khwarrah-Shapur'' ("Iran's glory uilt byShapur").


Islamic period

During the Muslim conquest of Persia an Arab army invaded Khuzistan under the command of Abu Musa al-Ash'ari. After taking most of the smaller fortified towns the army captured Tustar in 642 before proceeding to besiege Susa. A place of military importance, it also held the tomb of the Jewish prophet
Daniel Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength" ...
. Two stories are given in the Muslim sources of how the city fell. In the first, a Persian priest proclaimed from the walls that only a ''dajjal'' was fated to capture the city. A ''dajjal'' is an Islamic term for an '' Al-Masih ad-Dajjal'', a false messiah, compatible to the Antichrist in Christianity. In everyday use, it also means "deceiver" or "imposter". Siyah, a Persian general who had defected to Muslim side, claimed that by converting to Islam he had turned his back on Zoroastrianism and was thus a ''dajjal''. Abu Musa agreed to Siyah's plan. Soon after as the sun came up one morning, the sentries on the walls saw a man in a Persian officer's uniform covered in blood lying on the ground before the main gate. Thinking it he had been left out overnight after a conflict the previous day, they opened the gate and some came out to collect him. As they approached, Siyah jumped up and killed them. Before the other sentries had time to react, Siyah and a small group of Muslim soldiers hidden nearby charged through the open gate. They held the gate open long enough for Muslim reinforcements to arrive and passing through the gate to take the city. In the other story, once again the Muslims were taunted from the city wall that only an '' Al-Masih ad-Dajjal'' could capture the city, and since there were none in the besieging army then they may as well give up and go home. One of the Muslim commanders was so angry and frustrated at this taunt that he went up to one of the city gates and kicked it. Instantly the chains snapped, the locks broke and it fell open. Following their entry into the city, the Muslims killed all of the Persian nobles. Once the city was taken, as Daniel ( ar, دانيال, Danyal) was not mentioned in the Qur'an, nor is he regarded as a prophet in Judaism, the initial reaction of the Muslim was to destroy the cult by confiscating the treasure that had stored at the tomb since the time of the Achaemenids. They then broke open the silver coffin and carried off the mummified corpse, removing from the corpse a signet ring, which carried an image of a man between two lions. However, upon hearing what had happened, the caliph Umar ordered the ring to be returned and the body reburied under the riverbed. In time, Daniel became a Muslim cult figure and they as well as Christians began making pilgrimages to the site, despite several other places claiming to be the site of Daniel's grave. Following the capture of Susa, the Muslims moved on to besiege
Gundeshapur Gundeshapur ( pal, 𐭥𐭧𐭩𐭠𐭭𐭣𐭩𐭥𐭪𐭱𐭧𐭯𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭩, ''Weh-Andiōk-Šābuhr''; New Persian: , ''Gondēshāpūr'') was the intellectual centre of the Sassanid Empire and the home of the Academy of Gundishapur, founde ...
. Susa recovered following its capture and remained a regional center of more than 400 hectares in size. A mosque was built, but also Nestorian bishops are still testifie. In addition, there was a Jewish community with its own synagogue. The city continued to be a manufacturing center of luxury fabrics during this period. Archaeologically, the Islamic period is characterized mainly by its rich ceramics. Beth Huzaye (East Syrian Ecclesiastical Province) had a significant Christian population during the first millennium, and was a diocese of the
Church of the East The Church of the East ( syc, ܥܕܬܐ ܕܡܕܢܚܐ, ''ʿĒḏtā d-Maḏenḥā'') or the East Syriac Church, also called the Church of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, the Persian Church, the Assyrian Church, the Babylonian Church or the Nestorian C ...
between the 5th and 13th centuries, in the metropolitan province of Beth Huzaye (Elam). In 1218, the city was razed by invading Mongols and was never able to regain its previous importance. The city further degraded in the 15th century when the majority of its population moved to Dezful.


Today

Today the ancient center of Susa is unoccupied, with the population living in the adjacent modern Iranian town of Shush to the west and north of the historic ruins. Shush is the administrative capital of Shush County in Iran's
Khuzestan Khuzestan Province (also spelled Xuzestan; fa, استان خوزستان ''Ostān-e Xūzestān'') is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It is in the southwest of the country, bordering Iraq and the Persian Gulf. Its capital is Ahvaz and it covers ...
province. It had a population of 64,960 in 2005.


World Heritage listing

In July 2015, it was inscribed on the list of World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.


Gallery

File:ArtabanIIIGreekLetter.JPG, Letter in Greek of the Parthian king
Artabanus II Artabanus II (also spelled Artabanos II or Ardawan II; xpr, 𐭍𐭐𐭕𐭓 ''Ardawān''), incorrectly known in older scholarship as Artabanus III, was King of Kings of the Parthian Empire from 12 to 38/41 AD, with a one-year interruption. He wa ...
to the inhabitants of Susa in the 1st century AD (the city retained Greek institutions since the time of the
Seleucid empire The Seleucid Empire (; grc, Βασιλεία τῶν Σελευκιδῶν, ''Basileía tōn Seleukidōn'') was a Greek state in West Asia that existed during the Hellenistic period from 312 BC to 63 BC. The Seleucid Empire was founded by the ...
). Louvre Museum.Epigraphy of Later Parthia, «Voprosy Epigrafiki: Sbornik statei», 7, 2013, pp. 276-28

/ref> File:Rose cup Susa Louvre MAOS53.jpg, Glazed clay cup: Cup with rose petals, 8th–9th centuries File:Anthropoid sarcophagus Louvre Sb14393.jpg, Anthropoid
sarcophagus A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek ...
File:Lion Darius Palace Louvre Sb3298.jpg, Lion on a decorative panel from Darius I the Great's palace File:Male head wearing a head-band resembling king of Syria Antiochus III (223–187 BC), late 1st century BC–early 1st century AD, Louvre Museum (7462828632).jpg, Marble head representing Seleucid King Antiochus III who was born near Susa around 242 BC. File:Palmtree vase Susa Louvre MAOS383.jpg, Glazed clay vase: Vase with palmtrees, 8th–9th centuries File:Sphinx Darius Louvre.jpg, Winged sphinx from the palace of
Darius the Great Darius I ( peo, 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 ; grc-gre, Δαρεῖος ; – 486 BCE), commonly known as Darius the Great, was a Persian ruler who served as the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 522 BCE until his d ...
at Susa. File:Daniel Barry Kent.JPG, Tomb of Daniel File:Ninhursag1.jpg, Ninhursag with the spirit of the forests next to the seven-spiked cosmic tree of life. Relief from Susa. File:Tomb of Daniel.jpg, 19th-century engraving of
Daniel's tomb The Tomb of Daniel (Persian: آرامگاه دانیال نبی) is the traditional burial place of the biblical figure Daniel. Various locations have been named for the site, but the tomb in Susa, in Iran, is the most widely accepted site, it be ...
in Susa, from ''Voyage en Perse Modern''e, by Flandin and Coste. File:Archers frieze Darius 1st Palace Suse Louvre AOD 488 a.jpg, Archers frieze from Darius' palace at Susa. Detail of the beginning of the frieze, left. Louvre Museum File:Torque Susa Louvre Sb2760.jpg, Ribbed torc with lion heads, Achaemenid artwork, excavated by
Jacques de Morgan Jean-Jacques de Morgan (3 June 1857, Huisseau-sur-Cosson, Loir-et-Cher – 14 June 1924) was a French people, French mining engineer, geologist, and archaeologist. He was the director of antiquities in Khedivate of Egypt, Egypt during the 19th ...
, 1901, found in the
Acropole Tomb The Acropole Tomb was excavated on 6 February 1901 by Jacques de Morgan on the so called acropolis in Susa. The Achaemenide burial was found intact and contained a high number of personal adornments, many of then made in gold. The burial dates ...
File:Shush Castle.JPG, Shush Castle, 2011 File:Children in Susa.JPG, Children in Susa File:Terracotta herm Louvre Sb785.jpg,
Herm Herm (Guernésiais: , ultimately from Old Norse 'arm', due to the shape of the island, or Old French 'hermit') is one of the Channel Islands and part of the Parish of St Peter Port in the Bailiwick of Guernsey. It is located in the English ...
pillar with Hermes, from the well of the "Dungeon" in Susa.


See also

*
Abulites Abulites ( grc-gre, Ἀβουλίτης) was the Achaemenid satrap (governor) of Susiana during the reign of Darius III (336–330 BC), and retained the satrapy as a Hellenistic satrap under Alexander the Great until circa 324 BC, when he was exe ...
*
Achaemenid architecture Achaemenid architecture includes all architectural achievements of the Achaemenid Persians manifesting in construction of spectacular cities used for governance and inhabitation (Persepolis, Susa, Ecbatana), temples made for worship and social ...
*
Choqa Zanbil Chogha Zanbil ( fa, چغازنبيل; Elamite: Dur Untash) is an ancient Elamite complex in the Khuzestan province of Iran. It is one of the few existing ziggurats outside Mesopotamia. It lies approximately southeast of Susa and north of Ahv ...
*
Cities of the Ancient Near East The earliest cities in history were in the ancient Near East, an area covering roughly that of the modern Middle East: its history began in the 4th millennium BC and ended, depending on the interpretation of the term, either with the conquest by ...
*
Elam Elam (; Linear Elamite: ''hatamti''; Cuneiform Elamite: ; Sumerian: ; Akkadian: ; he, עֵילָם ''ʿēlām''; peo, 𐎢𐎺𐎩 ''hūja'') was an ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of modern-day Iran, stretc ...
* History of Iran *
List of oldest continuously inhabited cities This is a list of present-day cities by the time period over which they have been continuously inhabited as a city. The age claims listed are generally disputed. Differences in opinion can result from different definitions of "city" as well as "c ...
* Monsieur Chouchani * Muslim conquest of Khuzestan * Short chronology timeline


Notes


References

*


Further reading

*

harvát, Petr, "Archaeology and social history: the Susa sealings, ca. 4000-2340 BC.", Paléorient, 57-63, 1988 * Clawson, H. Phelps, "Pottery of Susa I", Parnassus, vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 26–27, 1939 * * * Le Breton, L., "The Early Periods at Susa, Mesopotamian Relations", Iraq, vol. 19, no. 2, pp. 79–124, 1957 * Pelzel, Suzanne M., "Dating the Early Dynastic Votive Plaques from Susa", Journal of Near Eastern Studies, vol. 36, no. 1, pp. 1–15, 1977 * Jean Perrot, "Le Palais de Darius à Suse. Une résidence royale sur la route de Persépolis à Babylone", SORBONNE PUPS, Paris, 2010 * Poebel, Arno, "The Acropolis of Susa in the Elamite Inscriptions", The American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures, vol. 49, no. 2, pp. 125–40, 1933 * UNVALA, J. M., "Three Panels from Susa", Revue d’Assyriologie et d’archéologie Orientale, vol. 25, no. 4, pp. 179–85, 1928 *
* Woolley, C. Leonard, "The Painted Pottery of Susa", Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, no. 1, pp. 35–50, 1928


Excavation reports

Although numerous excavation reports have been published so far, many excavations are not or only partially published. Above all, the found architecture was often presented only in short preliminary reports and plans. * Pierre Amiet, "Glyptique susienne des origines à l'époque des Perses achéménides: cachets, sceaux-cylindres et empreintes antiques découverts à Suse de 1913 à 1967", Mémoires de la Délégation archéologique en Iran, Paris 1972. * Elizabeth Carter, "Suse, Ville Royale", Paléorient, vol. 4, pp. 197–211, 1979 DOI: 10.3406/paleo.1978.4222 * Elizabeth Carter, "The Susa Sequence – 3000–2000 B. C. Susa, Ville Royale I", American Journal of Archaeology, vol. 83, no. 2, pp. 451–454, 1979 * Elizabeth Carter, "Excavations in Ville-Royale-I at Susa: The third Millennium B.C.", Cahiers de la DAFI, vol. 11, pp. 11–139, 1980 * Roman Ghirshman, "Cinq campagnes de fouilles a Suse (1946–1951)", In: Revue d'Assyriologie et d'archéologie Orientale 46, pp 1–18, 1952 * Ghirshman, Roman, and M. J. STEVE, "SUSE CAMPAGNE DE L’HIVER 1964-1965: Rapport Préliminaire", Arts Asiatiques, vol. 13, pp. 3–32, 1966 * GHIRSHMAN, R., "SUSE CAMPAGNE DE L’HIVER 1965-1966 Rapport Préliminaire", Arts Asiatiques, vol. 15, pp. 3–27, 1967 * Florence Malbran-Labat, "Les inscriptions royales de Suse: briques de l'époque paléo-élamite à l 'empire néo-élamite", Paris 1995. * Laurianne Martinez-Sève, "Les figurines de Suse", Réunion des Musées Nationaux, Paris 2002, . * de Mecquenem, R., "LES DERNIERS RÉSULTATS DES FOUILLES DE SUSE", Revue Des Arts Asiatiques, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 73–88, 1929 * de MECQUENEM, R., "FOUILLES DE SUSE: CAMPAGNES DES ANNÉES 1914-1921-1922", Revue d’Assyriologie et d’archéologie Orientale, vol. 19, no. 3, pp. 109–40, 1922

acques de Morgan, "Histoire et travaux de la Délégation en Perse du Ministère de l'instruction publique, 1897-1905", E. Leroux, 1905 * Jacques de Morgan, G. Jéquier, G. Lampre, "Fouilles à Suse, 1897–1898 et 1898–1899", Paris 1900 * Perrot, Jean, et al., "Recherches Archéologiques a Suse et En Susiane En 1969 et En 1970", Syria, vol. 48, no. 1/2, pp. 21–51, 1971 *
Georges Le Rider Georges Charles Le Rider (27 January 1928 – 3 July 2014) was a French historian, librarian and administrator, a specialist in Greek numismatics, who headed the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris. He had a filial relationship with Henri ...
, "Suse sous les Séleucides et les Parthes: les trouvailles monétaires et l'histoire de la ville", Mémoires de la Délégation Archéologique en Iran, Paris 1965. * Vincent Scheil, "Inscriptions of Achéménides à Suse. Actes juridiques susiens", Mémoires de la Mission Archéologique de Perse, vol. 21–24, Paris 1929–1933. * Agnes Spycket, "Les figurines de Suse", Paris 1992. * Marie-Joseph Steve, Hermann Gasche, "L'Acropole de Suse. Nouvelles fouilles (rapport préliminaire)", Mémoires de la Mission Archéologique de Perse vol. 46, Leiden 1971.


External links

*
"Early Works on the Acropolis at Susa" Expedition Magazine 10.4 1968

Royal City of Susa: Ancient Near Eastern Treasures in the Louvre - Metropolitan Museum - 1992

Aerial views of Susa at the Oriental Institute

Digital Images of Cuneiform Tablets from Susa – CDLI
*Hamid-Reza Hosseini
''Shush at the foot of Louvre''
(''Shush dar dāman-e Louvre''), in Persian, Jadid Online, 10 March 2009.
Archaeological findings may push back Susa’s history by millennia - Tehran Times - August 21, 2022
{{Authority control Achaemenid cities Archaeological sites in Iran Book of Esther Elam Elamite cities Former populated places in Khuzestan Province Hebrew Bible cities Parthian cities Populated places along the Silk Road Sasanian cities Seleucid colonies Shush County World Heritage Sites in Iran Uruk period Book of Jubilees