Susa was the capital city of Elam, an ancient region whose people spoke a different language from the Hebrew-speaking peoples. Today, Susa is called Shush and is located in southwest Iran. It lies about 241.4 kilometers (150 miles) north of the Persian Gulf and directly east of the well-known ancient city of Babylon. In 1884, French researchers began studying the ruins of Susa. They found that people had lived there since around 4000 BC.
Susa in the Old Testament
Susa became most important in the Old Testament when it became part of the Persian Empire. In 550 BC, King Cyrus founded the Persian Empire and made Susa one of his royal cities. The other royal cities were Ecbatana (another major city in Elam), Babylon, and Persepolis.
This was when Susa was at its most powerful, though it had also been an important city much earlier, in the 12th century BC. During this earlier time, people found something very important in Susa: the first known copy of Hammurabi's laws. Hammurabi was a famous king who wrote down many laws that helped govern his kingdom.
At the center of Persian Susa was an acropolis or citadel (a raised area built on a flat, rectangular platform). This area was surrounded by a huge wall and stood higher than the rest of the city. This protected central area contained the royal palace where the Persian kings lived during the winter months.
Susa in the Book of Nehemiah
Several important Bible stories happened in Susa. Nehemiah served as a trusted royal servant in Susa's palace, where his job was to taste and serve wine to King Artaxerxes I (Nehemiah 1:1, 11; 2:1). This protected the king from being poisoned.
Susa in the Book of Esther
The story of Esther also takes place mostly in Susa. In Esther 1:2 and 2:8, Esther, the young Jewish woman, was brought to the court of King Ahasuerus (also called Xerxes), who ruled from 485 to 465 BC. Many important events in the book of Esther happened in Susa (compare Esther 3:15; 8:14–15; 9:6–18).
Susa in the Book of Daniel
The Bible tells us that Daniel had a vision about Susa (Daniel 8:2). Daniel was not physically in Susa when this happened. In his vision, God showed him this place. This vision came near the end of the Babylonian period, a time when Babylon was the most powerful kingdom in the region (Daniel 8:1; compare 7:1). At that time, Susa was a strong city that ruled over the Medes (a group of people who lived in what is now Iran). Susa was independent and not under Babylon's control.