Palace of Darius in Susa


The Palace of Darius in Susa was a palace complex in Susa, Iran, a capital of the Achaemenid Empire. The construction was conducted parallel to that of Persepolis. Man-power and raw materials from various parts of the empire contributed to its construction. It was once destroyed by fire and was partially restored later. Little has remained from this important complex.

History

The palace complex was constructed by the Achaemenid king Darius I in Susa, his favorite capital. Construction works continued under Darius I's son, Xerxes, and to a lesser extent, Artaxerxes I and Darius II. Artaxerxes II partially restored the palace as it was destroyed by a fire during the reign of Artaxerxes I fifty years earlier. The palace was captured and plundered by the invading Macedonians under Alexander the Great in December 330 BC.
The site of the palace has been greatly damaged during the past seven decades.

Construction

Construction was carried out at Susa parallel to those at Persepolis. Built on an artificially raised platform high, covering, the complex at Susa consists of a residential palace, an apadana, and a monumental gate. A covered passage faces these structures. The apadana at Susa is similar to that of Persepolis, using the distinctive Persian column, topped by two bulls, which was probably developed here.
Sources describing Achaemenid-era Susa are rare. The Achaemenid constructions at Susa are mostly known through the royal inscriptions, which are mostly trilingual—in Old Persian, Elamite, and Babylonian. Unlike the massive number of clay tablets found in Persepolis, only few clay tablets have been found in Susa, despite its important political and economic situation.
According to Gene R. Garthwaite, the Susa Palace served as Darius' model for Persepolis. Comparing the palace to that of Pasargadae, the former Achaemenid capital, he argues that Susa even more represented Achaemenid simultaneous rulership, and "what was symbolic was actualized", such that Darius's rule "could command craftsmen and material from the breadth of the empire" to build the monument, as is described in Darius' "charter of foundation" of the palace, which enumerates the workers and the material used:

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