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Susa (Shushan)
Capital · Susa → Shush, Iran
The winter palace of Persia’s kings. Esther was made queen here and saved her people; Nehemiah served the king’s cup here and wept over Jerusalem; Daniel saw a vision here by the river Ulai.
People
- Daniel
- Ahasuerus (Xerxes)
- Vashti
- Esther
- Mordecai
- Haman
- Nehemiah
At a glance
- Realm
- Elam, then the Persian empire
- Role
- Winter capital and citadel of Persia
- Peoples
- Elamites, then Persians
- First mention
- Nehemiah 1 (Shushan)
The story
Susa, the Shushan of Scripture, was an ancient capital of Elam that became the winter residence and fortified citadel of the kings of Persia. From its acropolis the empire was governed, and Darius raised a great palace there whose splendour became a byword.
In this citadel Esther was made queen and, at the risk of her life, turned back Haman’s plot to destroy her people. Here Nehemiah served as the king’s cupbearer and wept over the broken wall of Jerusalem before he was sent to rebuild it, and here Daniel saw his vision of the ram and the goat beside the river Ulai.
Through the eras
- The Patriarchs · standing. An ancient royal city of Elam, old before Abraham left Ur.
- The Exile · standing. In vision Daniel stood here, by the river Ulai.
- The Return · at its height. Darius built his winter palace here; Esther was made queen in this citadel, and Nehemiah served the king here.