![]() 510 BCE, and Herodotus mentions Susa as being the capital of Darius' empire (Herodotus does not make any mention Persepolis being a Persian capital). During the balance of Achaemenian period (to 330 BCE), Susa functioned as one of the rotating capitals (a winter capital) of the Achaemenian Kings.ĭarius I, the Great, built an extensive palace complex (see image below) ca. Susa became part of the Persian empire under Cyrus II, the Great in 538 or 539 BCE. Ruins of King Darius' palace complex at Susa The reckless building over & close to the siteĪs well as the considerable erosion of the walls. Note the sprawling urbanization around the site, The Saimarrah River is to the left of the mound andįlows beside the 'tomb of Daniel' (with a pointed roof) To add to this tragedy, the site was also heavily damaged by Iraqi bombardment during the first Gulf War.Īerial view of Susa (looking north) and taken October 23, 1935. The surviving walls have been greatly eroded. In addition, the site is being greatly harmed by illegal excavations, garbage dumping, a planned bus depot, and a hotel on unexcavated land. The photographs below show the reckless spread of urbanization close to the main citadel and over unexcavated area immediately surrounding the mound. It has suffered greatly in the past seventy years. The archaeological site includes the ruins of the Achaemenian palace complex of Darius I, the Great, and is located on a fifteen metre high artificial raised 100-hectare terrace. ![]() Today, the site is surrounded by the modern-day Shush, a town in the south-west Iranian province of Khuzestan. ![]() The Susa historical site is located in the Susiana Plain that is irrigated by the Karkheh Kur (Choaspes), Ab-i Dez and Karun rivers, The Karkheh and Karun rivers form the western and eastern (together with the Zagros mountains) boundaries of the plain. In addition, there are traces at Susa of a village inhabited around 7,000 BCE and painted pottery dating from ca. There is evidence that Susa has been continuously inhabited from 4,200 BCE placing it among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Susa (also called Shushan, Greek Susiane), was one of the city-states of ancient Elam which later became the winter capital of the Persian Achaemenian kings (c. The city of Susa is in the north-west of the Elam. Suggested prior reading: » Early Achaemenian History - Susa, Shush » Darius I, the Great » Darius I,, Capital Cities ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |