Susa

This is Susa, one of the oldest-known settlements of the world, dating back to 8000 BC.

Susa is mentioned in the Ketuvim of the Hebrew Bible, mainly in Esther, but also once each in Nehemiah and Daniel. Both Daniel and Nehemiah lived in Susa during the Babylonian captivity of Judah of the 6th century BCE. Esther became queen there, and saved the Jews from genocide. 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. (Picture on bottom right)

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.

Shushtar's Historical Hydraulic System is a UNESCO world heritage site (picture on top).

The main components of the hydraulic systems are:

• The canal called Ab-e Gargar (or the medieval Mashreqân) which is led from the left bank of the river about 500 m north of the town; it runs southwards along the east side of the cliffs of Shushtar and rejoins the Kârun at Band-e Qir;
  
• The great barrage called Band-e Qaysar (the Dike of Caesar) also known as Band-e Mizân, which is thrown across the principal arm of the river (here called Shoteit) east of the town and is about 350 m long; this barrage supports a bridge that connected the town with the west bank, but now a considerable gap is broken in it;
  
• The canal called Miyânâb which begins above the barrage in the form of a tunnel cut out of the rock on the western side of the town; the Miyânâb turns southwards and irrigates the land south of the town.

The waterworks in Susa were developed to deliver water to the city from the river Kârun, located 10 meters below. The main aim of these constructions was to meet the inhabitants' needs for protecting themselves from floods, while irrigating their agricultural lands and making possible passages across the river and canals. The construction of bridges, dams, bridge-Dams, mills, qanâts, reservoirs, tunnels, and canals for the water supply of the town were conducted in the Sâssanian period (224-650 A.D.), especially during the reign of Shapur I (r. 240-272 A.D.).

For a touristic view of the region: see this.

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Encyclopedia Britanica:
Susa, ancient city, Iran also called Shushan, Greek Susiane, modern Shush.

Capital of Elam (Susiana) and administrative capital of the Achaemenian king Darius I and his successors from 522 bc. It was located at the foot of the Zagros Mountains near the bank of the Karkheh Kūr (Choaspes) River in the Khuzistan region of Iran.

The archaeological site, identified in 1850 by W.K. Loftus, consists of four mounds. One held the citadel and was excavated (1897–1908) by Jacques de Morgan, who uncovered, among other objects, the obelisk of the Akkadian king Manishtusu, the stele of his successor Naram-Sin, and the code of Hammurabi of Babylon. A second mound to the east was the location of the palace of Darius I and was excavated (c. 1881) by Marcel Dieulafoy. A third mound to the south contained the royal Elamite city, while the fourth mound consisted of the poorer houses.

The finest pottery was found in the lowest strata and belonged to two different civilizations, both Neolithic. Above the early strata were remains of Elamite and early Babylonian civilizations. In the upper portions of the mounds Achaemenian, Greek, Elamite, Parthian, and Sāsānian remains were found. Until sometime after the 14th century ad the city was a flourishing centre of a district known for silk, sugarcane, and oranges.

Aspects of this topic are discussed in the following places at Britannica.

Assorted References

• Hellenization of religion ( in Zoroastrianism: The Arsacid period )

  In consequence of Alexander’s conquest, the Iranian religion was almost totally submerged by the wave of Hellenism. At Susa, for instance, which had been one of the capital cities of the Achaemenids but where the religion of Auramazda was not indigenous, the coinage of the Seleucid and Arsacid periods does not represent a single Iranian deity.

arts

• Hammurabi’s stele ( in epigraphy: Ancient Mesopotamia )

  The stela of Hammurabi must have been originally set up in some Babylonian population centre for the literate to read and know their rights. Some Elamite invader must have carried it off to Susa (perhaps c. 1200 bc), where it was found in 1901 and removed to the Louvre in Paris. The bulk of the stela contains the text of the code, partly erased on the obverse but restorable in some...

• pottery ( in pottery: Ancient Near East and Egypt )

  ...Flood (about 3000 bc), was wheelmade decorated pottery of a type usually called Al ’Ubaid. Perhaps the most richly decorated pottery of the Near East, remarkable for its fine painting, comes from Susa (Shushan) in southwest Iran. The motifs are partly geometric, partly stylized but easily recognizable representations of waterfowl and running dogs, usually in friezes. They are generally...

history

• Alexander the Great’s conquest ( in Alexander the Great: Conquest of the Mediterranean coast and Egypt )

  ...who surrendered it, was confirmed as satrap in conjunction with a Macedonian troop commander, and quite exceptionally was granted the right to coin. As in Egypt, the local priesthood was encouraged. Susa, the capital, also surrendered, releasing huge treasures amounting to 50,000 gold talents; here Alexander established Darius’ family in comfort. Crushing the mountain tribe of the Ouxians, he...

  in ancient Greek civilization: The final phase )

  At Susa in 324 Alexander staged a splendid mass marriage of Persians and Macedonians. He himself had already married a Bactrian princess, Rhoxane (Roxane), in 327, but he now took two more wives, a daughter of Darius III called Barsine (or Stateira) and Parysatis, the daughter of Artaxerxes III. This and other demonstrations of “Orientalizing,” including the brigading of Iranian...

• Darius I’s capital ( in Darius I: Darius as an administrator. )

  Darius was the greatest royal architect of his dynasty, and during his reign Persian architecture assumed a style that remained unchanged until the end of the empire. In 521 bc he made Susa his administrative capital, where he restored the fortifications and built an audience hall (apadana) and a residential palace. The foundation inscriptions of his palace describe how he brought materials...

• Elamite capital ( in Elam )

  ...in southwestern Iran approximately equivalent to the modern region of Khūzestān. Four prominent geographic names within Elam are mentioned in ancient sources: Awan, Anshan, Simash, and Susa. Susa was Elam’s capital, and in classical sources the name of the country is sometimes Susiana.

  in Iran, ancient: The Elamites )

  ...government was the Elamite system of inheritance and power distribution. The normal pattern of government was that of an overlord ruling over vassal princes. In earliest times the overlord lived in Susa, which functioned as a federal capital. With him ruled his brother closest in age, the viceroy, who usually had his seat of government in the native city of the currently ruling dynasty. This...

  in Khūzestān )

  ...Urban centres appeared there nearly contemporaneously with the first cities in Mesopotamia in the 4th millennium. Khūzestān came to constitute the heart of the Elamite kingdom, with Sūsa as its capital. Beginning with the reign of the legendary Enmebaragesi, about 2700 bc, who (according to a cuneiform inscription) “despoiled the weapons of the land of Elam,”...

• relations with Mesopotamia

  • Ashurbanipal’s conquest ( in Ashurbanipal: Ashurbanipal’s reign. )

    ...Raiding the Arab tribes, he defeated the Nabataean Uate and his allies and isolated the Qadar tribe. The struggle with Elam was harder; war there dragged on until 639 bc, when the Assyrians sacked Susa. That year Ashurbanipal celebrated his triumph; he had “the whole world” under his sway, and four captive kings drew his chariot in the procession.

    in Mesopotamia, history of: Ashurbanipal (668–627) and Shamash-shum-ukin (668–648) )

    ...with Elam. The refusal of Elam in 647 to extradite an Aramaean prince was used as pretext for a new attack that drove deep into its territory. The assault on the solidly fortified capital of Susa followed, probably in 646. The Assyrians destroyed the city, including its temples and palaces. Vast spoils were taken. As usual, the upper classes of the land were exiled to Assyria and other...

  • Sargon of Akkad’s domination ( in Sargon: Life. )

    ...known world, together with an energetic temperament, led Sargon to defeat cities along the middle Euphrates to northern Syria and the silver-rich mountains of southern Anatolia. He also dominated Susa, capital city of the Elamites, in the Zagros Mountains of western Iran, where the only truly contemporary record of his reign has been uncovered. Such was his fame that some merchants in an...

Citations

MLA Style:

"Susa." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2008. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 28 Aug. 2008 <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/575503/Susa>.