The Tomb of Daniel ( Persian: آرامگاه دانیال نبی) is the traditional burial place of the biblical figure

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"), ...

. Various locations have been named for the site, but the tomb in

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 ...

, in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, is the most widely accepted site, it being first mentioned by

Benjamin of Tudela Benjamin of Tudela ( he, בִּנְיָמִין מִטּוּדֶלָה, ; ar, بنيامين التطيلي ''Binyamin al-Tutayli'';‎ Tudela, Kingdom of Navarre, 1130 Castile, 1173) was a medieval Jewish traveler who visited Europe, Asia, an ...

, who visited Asia between 1160 and 1163.

Susa‌, Iran

The

Book of Daniel The Book of Daniel is a 2nd-century BC biblical apocalypse with a 6th century BC setting. Ostensibly "an account of the activities and visions of Daniel, a noble Jew exiled at Babylon", it combines a prophecy of history with an eschatology (a ...

mentions that Daniel lived in Babylon and may have visited the palace of

‌,

, but the place where he died is not specified; the tradition preserved among the Jews and Arabs is that he was buried in Susa. Today the Tomb of Daniel in Susa is a popular attraction among local Muslims and Iran's Jewish community alike.

The earliest mention of Daniel's Tomb published in Europe is given by

who visited Asia between 1160 and 1163. In the façade of one of its many

synagogues A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of wors ...

he was shown the tomb assigned by tradition to Daniel. Benjamin declares however, that the tomb does not hold Daniel's remains, which were said to have been discovered at Susa about 640 A.D. The remains were supposed to bring good fortune: and bitter quarrels arose because of them between the inhabitants of the two banks of the Choaspes River. All those living on the side on which Daniel's grave was situated were rich and happy, while those on the opposite side were poor and in want; the latter, therefore, wished the bier of Daniel transferred to their side of the river. They finally agreed that the bier should rest alternately one year on each side. This agreement was carried out for many years, until the Persian shah

Sanjar Senjer ( fa, ; full name: ''Muizz ad-Dunya wa ad-Din Adud ad-Dawlah Abul-Harith Ahmad Sanjar ibn Malik-Shah'') (''b''. 1085 – ''d''. 8 May 1157) was the Seljuq ruler of Khorasan from 1097 until in 1118, Muslim traditions agree in stating that Daniel was buried at Susa, and a similar tradition was current among the Syriac writers.

Al-Baladhuri ʾAḥmad ibn Yaḥyā ibn Jābir al-Balādhurī ( ar, أحمد بن يحيى بن جابر البلاذري) was a 9th-century Muslim historian. One of the eminent Middle Eastern historians of his age, he spent most of his life in Baghdad and e ...

(ninth century) says that when the conqueror

Abu Musa al-Ash'ari Abu Musa Abd Allah ibn Qays al-Ash'ari ( ar, أبو موسى عبد الله بن قيس الأشعري, Abū Mūsā ʿAbd Allāh ibn Qays al-Ashʿarī), better known as Abu Musa al-Ash'ari ( ar, أبو موسى الأشعري, Abū Mūsā al-Ash ...

came to Susa in 638, he found the coffin of Daniel, which had been brought thither from Babylon in order to bring down rain during a period of drought. Abu Musa referred the matter to the calif

Umar ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ( ar, عمر بن الخطاب, also spelled Omar, ) was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate ...

, who ordered the coffin to be buried, which was done by sinking it to the bottom of one of the streams nearby. A similar account is given by 10th-century Arab chronicler

Ibn Hawqal Muḥammad Abū’l-Qāsim Ibn Ḥawqal (), also known as Abū al-Qāsim b. ʻAlī Ibn Ḥawqal al-Naṣībī, born in Nisibis, Upper Mesopotamia; was a 10th-century Arab Muslim writer, geographer, and chronicler who travelled during the ye ...

who writes: :

"In the city of Susa there is a river and I have heard that in the time of Abu Musa al Ashari a coffin was found there; it is said to contain the bones of Daniel the Prophet. The people held it in great veneration and in times of distress, famine or droughts brought it out and prayed for rain. Abu Mousa Al Ashoari ordered that the coffin be encased with three coverings and submerged it in the river so that it could not be viewed. The grave can be seen by anyone who dives to the bottom of the water".

Istakhri Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Muhammad al-Farisi al-Istakhri () (also ''Estakhri'', fa, استخری, i.e. from the Iranian city of Istakhr, b. - d. 346 AH/AD 957) was a 10th-century travel-author and geographer who wrote valuable accounts in Arab ...

gives a similar account and adds that the Jews were accustomed to make a circuit around Daniel's tomb and to draw water in its neighborhood.

Al-Muqaddasi Shams al-Dīn Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Abī Bakr al-Maqdisī ( ar, شَمْس ٱلدِّيْن أَبُو عَبْد ٱلله مُحَمَّد ابْن أَحْمَد ابْن أَبِي بَكْر ٱلْمَقْدِسِي), ...

refers to the contention between the people of Susa and those of Tustar. A slightly divergent tradition reported by Ibn Taimiyyah says that the body was found in Tustar; that at night thirteen graves were dug, and it was put in one of these—a sign according him, that the early Muslims were opposed to the worship of the tombs of holy men. William Ouseley in ''Walpole's Memoirs of the East'' described the Tomb of Daniel in Susa as being situated in "a most beautiful spot, washed by a clear running stream and shaded by planes and other trees of ample foliage. The building is of Mahomedan date and is inhabited by a solitary Dervish, who shows the spot where the prophet is buried beneath, a small and simple square brick mausoleum, said to be (without probability) coeval with his death. It has, however, neither date nor inscription to prove the truth or falsehood of the Dervish's assertion. The small river running at the foot of this building, which is called the Bellerau, it has been said flows immediately over the prophets Tomb, and from the transparency of the water, his coffin was to be seen at the bottom; but the Dervish and the natives whom I questioned remembered no tradition corroborating such a fact; on the contrary; it has at all times been customary with the people of the country to resort hither on certain days of the months, when they offer up their prayers at the tomb I have mentioned, in supplication to the prophet's shade." The current tomb was renovated and repaired in 1870 A.D. by order of Shia scholar Sheikh Jafar Shooshtari, the work being executed by Haj Mulla Hassan Memar. Later Mulla Hassan's son, Mulla Javad carried out further renovations in the site.

Alternative locations

Iran

*Malamir The ''

Jewish Encyclopedia ''The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day'' is an English-language encyclopedia containing over 15,000 articles on th ...

'' notes that a five days journey from

Dezful Dezful ( fa, دزفول, pronounced , Dezfuli dialect: Desfil, pronounced ) also Romanized as Dezfūl and Dezfool; also known as Dīzfūl and Ab I Diz is a city and capital of Dezful County, Khuzestan Province, Iran. At the 2011 census, its popu ...

, near

Mala Amir Mala may refer to: Comics * Mala (Amazon), an Amazon from Wonder Woman's side of the DC Universe * Mala (Kryptonian), a villain from Superman's corner of the DC Universe Films and television * ''Mala'' (1941 film), a Bollywood drama film * , ...

, in

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 cover ...

of Iran, there is another sacred tomb said to be that of Daniel.

Iraq

Babylon

The ''

Martyrologium Romanum The ''Roman Martyrology'' ( la, Martyrologium Romanum) is the official martyrology of the Catholic Church. Its use is obligatory in matters regarding the Roman Rite liturgy, but dioceses, countries and religious institutes may add duly approv ...

'' of 1584 assigned Saint Daniel's feastday to July 21. The place of his death is given as

Babylon ''Bābili(m)'' * sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 * arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel'' * syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel'' * grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn'' * he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel'' * peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru'' * elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...

. Though this martyrology does not say so, it was claimed that he was buried in the royal vault there.

Kirkuk

tomb A tomb ( grc-gre, τύμβος ''tumbos'') is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called ''immureme ...

attributed to

is located within the Kirkuk Citadel in the city of

Kirkuk Kirkuk ( ar, كركوك, ku, کەرکووک, translit=Kerkûk, , tr, Kerkük) is a city in Iraq, serving as the capital of the Kirkuk Governorate, located north of Baghdad. The city is home to a diverse population of Turkmens, Arabs, Kurds ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. Originally the site was a Jewish

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of wor ...

then later it was turned into a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chri ...

and finally into a

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

. The mosque has

arch An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it. Arches may be synonymous with vau ...

es,

pillars A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...

and two

domes A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

on a decorated base and beside it there are three

minaret A minaret (; ar, منارة, translit=manāra, or ar, مِئْذَنة, translit=miʾḏana, links=no; tr, minare; fa, گل‌دسته, translit=goldaste) is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generall ...

s, which belong to the end of the Mongolian reign. The mosque is about 400 square meters (5000 sq. ft.) and houses four tombs believed to belong to

, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. As from the respect of Kirkuk people towards Prophet, they desired to bury their dead next to Daniel's Tomb. This

graveyard A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

may be regarded as the first

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a bu ...

in Kirkuk.

Mosul

A tomb attributed to the Prophet Daniel also was located in Mosul, Iraq, until it was

demolished Demolition (also known as razing, cartage, and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down of buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a b ...

by the

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic ter ...

in July 2014.

Muqdadiyah

A reference to the Tomb of Daniel being located in the village of Al Wajihiya near

Muqdadiyah Miqdadiyah ( ar, المقدادية; ku, Şareban, شاره‌بان) is a city in the Diyala Governorate of Iraq. Its population is a mix of Arabs, Turkmens and Kurds. The city is located about 80 km (50 mi) northeast of Baghdad and 30& ...

, was made after a bombing at the site in 2007. The tomb, situated in the

Diyala Governorate Diyala Governorate ( ar, محافظة ديالى ) or Diyala Province is a governorate in central-eastern Iraq. Provincial government *Governor: Muthana al-Timimi *Deputy Governor: Mohammed Jassim al-Jubouri Council Geography Diyala Gov ...

, was targeted by Islamist terrorists and most of the structure collapsed as a result, including its green dome.

Turkey

* Mausoleum of Danyal in

Tarsus, Mersin Tarsus ( Hittite: 𒋫𒅈𒊭 ; grc, Ταρσός, label= Greek ; xcl, Տարսոն, label= Armenian ; ar, طَرسُوس ) is a historic city in south-central Turkey, inland from the Mediterranean. It is part of the Adana-Mersin metropolit ...

and also

Tarsus Grand Mosque Tarsus Grand Mosque ( tr, Tarsus Ulu Cami) is a mosque in Tarsus, Mersin Province, Turkey. Geography The mosque is at the center of Tarsus in ''Camii Nur'' neighbourhood. It is the biggest mosque of Tarsus. It is close to St Paul's Churc ...

Uzbekistan

Samarkand

There is another claimed tomb of Daniel, located just outside

Samarkand fa, سمرقند , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from the top:Registan square, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, view inside Shah-i-Zinda, ...

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...

. According to the local legend, the Turkic conqueror Amir Timur attempted to conquer

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

for many years, but was unsuccessful. One of his ministers suggested it was because the saint from the biblical times, Daniel, was buried there. Timur then sent his army to where Daniel was entombed in Syria, and after a fierce fight with the Syrians, was able to take some of his remains back to Uzbekistan. It is also said that on the day Daniel was entombed a natural source of water sprung up at that spot, and it is believed by locals that its water has the power to heal.

Morocco

The shrine of Sidi Denaine, or Daniel, is located at Jorf El-Yhoudi in Morocco. The site is popular with Jews and Muslims. The grave is eight meters long. Each year after Mawlid, a huge feast is held at the site.

References

---- Jewish Encyclopedia bibliography: Jane Dieulafoy, ''At Susa'', p. 131, New York, 1890; Driver, ''The Book of Daniel'', p. xxi. {{Khuzestan Province Ancient Hebrew pilgrimage sites Jewish mausoleums Jews and Judaism in Persia and Iran

Mausoleums in Iran Daniel (biblical figure) Buildings and structures in Khuzestan Province Susa