Susa

Tuesday, 01 April 2008

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Written by Dr. Ragheb Elsergany

It was an ancient city of the Elamite, Persian and Parthian empires of Iran, located about 150 miles east of the Tigris River(The Tigris is the eastern member of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, along with the Euphrates, which flows from the mountains of Turkey through Iraq.).
The modern town of Shush is located at the site of ancient Susa(Shush at the site of ancient Susa is the administrative capital of the Shush County of Iran's Khuzestan province. It had a population 64,960 in 2005.
Recently, the site has been threatened by illegal excavations, garbage dumping by the local authorities and a planned bus depot on unexcavated territory nearby.[2]
As well as being an archaeological site, Susa is also a lively village due to the devotion of Shi'a Muslims and the Persian Jewish community for the prophet Daniel..

History of Susa Susa is one of the oldest-known settlements of the territory and indeed the world, possibly founded about 4000 BC
In historic times, Susa was the primary capital of the Elamite Empire. Its name in Elamite was written variously Šušan, Šušun, etc. 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.
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. Šušan was incorporated by Sargon the Great into his Akkadian Empire in approximately 2330 BC. 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.
Susa was havoced 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. Finally, in 1218, the city was completely destroyed by invading Mongols. The ancient city was gradually abandoned in the years that followed.