 Susa  Location of the city of Susa, Iran |
Susa (Biblical Hebrew: שושן (Shushan); also Greek: Σουσα, transliterated as Sousa ; Latin Susa) was an ancient city of the Elamite, Persian and Parthian empires of Iran, located about 250 km (150 miles) east of the Tigris River. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. Biblical Hebrew, also called Classical Hebrew, is an archaic form of the Hebrew language in which the Hebrew Bible and various Israelite inscriptions Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly Transliteration is the practice of Transcribing a Word or text written in one Writing system into another writing system or system of rules for such practice Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Elam is the name of an ancient civilization located in what is now southwest Iran. The Persian Empire was a series of Iranian empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland and beyond in Western Asia Parthia ( Middle Persian: اشکانیان Ashkâniân) was an Iranian civilization situated in the northeastern part of modern Iran For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. The Tigris is the eastern member of the two great Rivers that define Mesopotamia, along with the Euphrates, which flows from the mountains of southeastern
The modern town of Shush is located at the site of ancient Susa. Shush ( Persian: شوش Šũš) at the site of ancient Susa is the administrative capital of the Shush County of Iran's Khuzestan
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History
Susa is one of the oldest-known settlements of the region and indeed the world, possibly founded about 4200 BCE (See List of oldest continuously inhabited cities); although the first traces of an inhabited village have been dated to ca. 7000 BCE. Evidence of a painted-pottery civilization has been dated to ca. 5000 BCE.
In historic times, Susa was the primary capital of the Elamite Empire. Its name in Elamite was written variously Šušan, Šušun, etc. Elamite is an Extinct language, which was spoken by the ancient Elamites. The city appears in the very earliest Sumerian records, eg. in Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta it is described as one of the places obedient to Inanna, patron deity of Uruk. Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta is a legendary Sumerian account preserved early post-Sumerian copies composed in the Neo-Sumerian period (ca Inanna ( D INANNA B153ellstpng|100x20px|INANNA]]) is the Sumerian goddess of sexual love fertility and warfare Uruk ( URU UNUG, Sumerian: unug Akkadian: uruk) from the Akkadian rendering of the Sumerian Toponym 'unug' is modern
Susa is also mentioned in the Ketuvim of the Hebrew Bible, mainly in Esther, but also once each in Nehemiah and Daniel. Ketuvim (כְּתוּבִים "writings" is the third and final section of the Tanakh ( Hebrew Bible) after Torah and Nevi'im The term Hebrew Bible is a generic reference to those books of the Bible originally written in Biblical Hebrew (and the related Biblical Aramaic The Book of Esther is a book of the Tanakh ( Hebrew Bible) and of the Old Testament. The Book of Nehemiah is a book of the Hebrew Bible, historically regarded as a continuation of the Book of Ezra, and is sometimes called the second book The Book of Daniel (דניאל, originally written in Hebrew and Aramaic, is a Book in both the Hebrew Bible ( Tanakh) and the Christian Both Daniel and Nehemiah lived in Susa during the Babylonian captivity of Judah of the 6th century BCE. The Babylonian captivity, Babylonian exile, is the name typically given to the deportation and exile of the Jews of the ancient Kingdom of Judah to Esther became queen there, and saved the Jews from genocide. Esther ( born Hadassah, is a queen of Persian Empire in the Hebrew Bible, the queen of Ahasuerus (traditionally identified with Artaxerxes A tomb presumed to be that of Daniel is located in the area, known as Shush-Daniel. The tomb is marked by an unusual white, stone cone, which is neither regular nor symmetric. Many scholars believe it was at one point a Star of David. The Star of David or Shield of David ( Magen David in Hebrew with nikkud or מגן דוד without academically transcribed Māḡēn Dāwīḏ by
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; and in 8:1, "Susan" is also named as the son (or daughter, in some translations) of Elam. Jubilee The Book of Jubilees (ספר היובלים sometimes called the Lesser Genesis ( Leptogenesis) is an ancient Jewish religious work considered Shem (; Greek: Σημ, Sēm; Arabic: ar سام; Ge'ez: ሴም Sēm; "renown prosperity name"
Šušan was incorporated by Sargon the Great into his Akkadian Empire in approximately 2330 BC. You may be looking for the Assyrian kings Sargon I It remained capital of an Akkadian province until ca. 2240 BC, when its Elamite governor, Kutik-Inshushinak, rose up in rebellion and liberated it, making it a literary center. Kutik-Inshushinak (also known as Puzur-Inshushinak) was king of Elam from about 2240 to 2220 BC ( Long chronology) and the last from the Awan dynasty However, following this, the city was again conquered by the neo-Sumerian Ur-III dynasty, and held until Ur finally collapsed at the hands of the Elamites under Kindattu in ca. The Third Dynasty of Ur refers simultaneously to a 21st to 20th century BC ( Short chronology) Sumerian ruling dynasty based in the city of 2004 BC. At this time Susa again became an Elamite capital.
The Elamites under Shutruk-Nahhunte plundered the original stele bearing the Code of Hammurabi in ca. A stele (from Greek:, stēlē, ˈstiːli plural stelae,, stēlai, ˈstiːlaɪ also found Latinised singular stela The Code of Hammurabi ( Codex Hammurabi) is the best-preserved ancient Law code, created ca 1175 BC and took it to Susa, where it was found in 1901. However, Nebuchadrezzar I of the Babylonian empire managed to plunder Susa in return, around fifty years later. Nebuchadrezzar I, more commonly known as Nebuchadnezzar I ( Akkadian: Nabu-kudurri-usur, meaning " Nebo, protect my eldest son" or "Nebo Babylonia was an Amorite state in lower Mesopotamia (modern southern Iraq) with Babylon as its capital
Assyrians
In 647 BCE, the Assyrian king Assurbanipal leveled the city during a war in which the people of Susa apparently participated on the other side. Ashurbanipal ( Akkadian: Aššur-bāni-apli, " Ashur has made a son" or "Ashur created an heir" (b A tablet unearthed in 1854 by Austen Henry Layard in Nineveh reveals Ashurbanipal as an "avenger", seeking retribution for the humiliations 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. A ziggurat ( Akkadian ziqqurrat, D-stem of zaqāru "to build on a raised area" was a Temple tower of the ancient Mesopotamian 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. "[1]
The city was taken by the Achaemenid Persians under Cyrus the Great in 538 BCE. The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenid Persian Empire ( haχɒmaneʃijɒn (558–330 BC was the first of the Persian Empires to rule over significant portions of Under Cyrus' son Cambyses II, the capital of the empire moved from Pasargadae to Susa. Pasargadae (پاسارگاد was a city in ancient Persia, and is today an Archaeological site and one of only five of Iran's UNESCO World Heritage
The city lost some of its importance when Alexander of Macedon conquered it in 331 BCE and destroyed the first Persian Empire. Alexander the Great ( or, Mégas Aléxandros; July 20 356 BC June 10 or June 11 323 BC also known as Alexander III of Macedon (el Ἀλέξανδρος Γ' After Alexander, Susa fell to the Seleucid Empire and was renamed Seleukeia. The Seleucid Empire /sə'lusɪd/ ( 312 - 63 BC) was a Hellenistic empire i
Parthian period
Approximately one century later when Parthia gained its independence from the Seleucid Empire, Susa was made one of the two capitals (along with Ctesiphon) of the new state. Parthia ( Middle Persian: اشکانیان Ashkâniân) was an Iranian civilization situated in the northeastern part of modern Iran The Seleucid Empire /sə'lusɪd/ ( 312 - 63 BC) was a Hellenistic empire i For the Spanish saint see Ctesiphon of Vergium. Ctesiphon (قطسيفون تیسفون was one of the great cities of the Persian Empire Susa became 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 CE. The Sassanid Empire or Sassanian Dynasty or Sassanian Dynasty (ساسانیان) is the name used for the third Iranian dynasty and the second Persian empire The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial Typically, the Parthian rulers wintered in Susa, and spent the summer in Ctesiphon.
The Roman emperor Trajan captured Susa in 116, but was soon forced to withdraw, because of revolts to his rear. Marcus Ulpius Nerva Traianus, commonly known as Trajan ( September 18 53 &ndash August 9 117) was a Roman Emperor who This advance marked the easternmost penetration by the Romans.
Susa was destroyed at least three times in its history. The first was in 647 BCE, by Assurbanipal. The second destruction took place in 638 CE, when the Muslim armies first conquered Persia. A Muslim (مسلم pronounced Muslim, not Muzlim) is an adherent of the Religion The Persian Empire was a series of Iranian empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland and beyond in Western Asia Finally, in 1218, the city was completely destroyed by invading Mongols. The ancient city was gradually abandoned in the years that followed.
 Anthropoid sarcophagus |  Lion on a decorative panel from Darius I's palace |  Islamic art: Vase with palmtrees, 8th–9th centuries |  Susa section, Louvre museum, Paris |
Sources and notes
- ^ "Persians: Masters of Empire" ISBN 0-8094-9104-4 p. Darius I the Great (c 549 BC&ndash486 BC 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 Dārayavahuš: "Possessing goodness" Having ascended to power amidst controversy and bloodshed 7-8
See also
External links
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