Shush

Overview

Susa was among the greatest cities of ancient Persia. Built on its embers, modern-day Shush is modestly small and relaxed, home to a vast Unesco-listed archaeological site, a compact museum, a crowning castle and the enigmatic Tomb of Daniel. An afternoon is usually enough to see all the sights.

History

An important Elamite city from about the middle of the 3rd millennium BC, Susa was burnt by the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal around 640 BC but regained prominence in 521 BC when Darius I set it up as the Achaemenids’ fortified winter capital. At that time it was probably similar in grandeur to Persepolis.
The palace survived the city’s fall to Alexander the Great in 331 BC, and indeed Alexander married one of Darius III’s daughters here. Still prosperous in the Seleucid and Parthian eras, Susa re-emerged as a Sassanian capital. During Shapur II’s long reign (AD 310–379), it regained renown as a Jewish pilgrimage site and became a centre of Nestorian Christian study. Evacuated in the face of Mongol raids, Shush disappeared into the sands of time, only re-emerging after 1852, when British archaeologist WK Loftus became the first to survey the site. His work was continued by the French Archaeological Service from 1891 more or less continuously until the Is-lamic Revolution of 1979.

Sights

• Susa

On the hill be-hind the Susa Museum, ancient Persia is unearthed at this fascinating Unesco-listed archaeological site occupying the whole southern flank of modern Shush. Originally similar in scale to Persepolis, the city saw countless invasions and sackings (the Mongols were particularly thorough), and little upright evidence remains of Darius the Great’s once grand capital. The site is over 6000 years old. Take plenty of sunscreen.

Exit the Susa Museum gardens via the left gate and ascend the ramp. Dominating the landscape on the right is the fortress-like Chateau de Morgan (Shush Castle), built on the bones of an Elamite acropolis by the French in the early 20th century to protect their loot from marauding tribesmen. It’s not open to the public, but there are fine views from the path around the base, including a view of the Tomb of Daniel from the southern side.

To the left of the entrance ramp, follow the self-guided signage past date palms into the excavation site of the 521 BC Pal-ace of Darius. Old Darius loved his apadanas (open columned halls), and the one here had six by six 22m-high columns in the inner section, ringed by three 12-columned verandas. All the columns were topped with animal figures, such as flying bulls. Now only the bases and the odd earthbound animal remain.

To the east lies the Royal City, an area of deep excavations through 15 strata; south of the castle is an eroded earthen watchtower overlooking teenagers riding dirt bikes.

• Susa Museum

This gem of a small museum displays ancient stone and pottery from archaeolog-ical sites in the region. Highlights include a giant double-headed bull capital from Susa’s apadana (open columned hall), a lion-hugging Hercules from Masjid-i Solei-man (home of Iran’s first commercial oil well) and some spooky clay death masks from Haft Tappeh. The replica mosaics (the originals are in the Louvre) are col-ourful and poignant. The manager speaks English.

• Tomb of Daniel
• Haft Tappeh Archaeological Site & Museum