Shush, Khuzestan Province

Susa
📍 Shush, Khuzestan Province
⛏ 4395-4200 BC

One of the region’s oldest-known settlements, Susa has been continuously inhabited for more than 6,000 years: 

• Susa I (4200-3800 BC): Nearly 2,000 geometrically decorated pots and 40 copper axes discovered at the site, reflect societal advancement.
• Susa II (3800-3100 BC): Expansion from small settlement to planned commercial hub; emergence of accounting tokens and seals.
• Susa III, or ‘Proto-Elamite’ (3100-2700 BC): Becomes a major Elamite urban centre; earliest Proto-Elamite tablets and seals reflect artistic and social development.
• Old Elamite (c.2700-1500 BC): Political and cultural capital of Elam; frequent conflict with Mesopotamia; use of Mesopotamian script.
• Indus-Susa trade (c.2400-2100 BC): Evidence of trade with the Indus Valley Civilisation shown by seals and carnelian beads.
• Middle Elamite (c.1500-1100 BC): Golden age; Susa becomes political and cultural heart of the Elamite Empire.
• Neo-Elamite (c.1100-540 BC): Political resurgence, conflict and eventual destruction of Susa.

Susa’s ethnocultural shift came with Achaemenid rule (550-330 BC). The Palace of Darius (c.521-515 BC) cemented its status as winter capital. Link in bio to the IHF publication ‘The Palace of Darius at Susa’.

A UNESCO site since 2015, Susa’s ruins lie in modern Shush, bearing witness to Iran’s enduring heritage and continuing to yield rich insights into the ancient past.The Iran Heritage Foundation promotes and protects the cultural heritage of Iran, ancient, medieval and modern.