page_title: Achaemenid architecture
section_title: Susa
hierarchical_section_title: Achaemenid architecture / Susa
caption_attribution_description: English: Decorative patterns, detail from the griffins' frieze in Darius' palace at Susa. Glazed siliceous bricks, ca. 510 BC. Français&#160;: Motifs décoratifs, détail de la frise des griffons du palais de Darius à Suse. Briques silicieuses à glaçure, vers 510 av. J.-C.
context_page_description: Achaemenid architecture includes all architectural achievements of the Achaemenid Persians manifesting in construction of spectacular cities used for governance and inhabitation, temples made for worship and social gatherings, and mausoleums erected in honor of fallen kings. The quintessential feature of Persian architecture was its eclectic nature with elements of Assyrian, Egyptian, Median and Asiatic Greek all incorporated, yet producing a unique Persian identity seen in the finished product. Achaemenid architecture is academically classified under Persian architecture in terms of its style and design.
  Achaemenid architectural heritage, beginning with the expansion of the empire around 550 B.C.E., was a period of artistic growth that left an extraordinary architectural legacy ranging from Cyrus the Great's solemn tomb in Pasargadae to the splendid structures of the opulent city of Persepolis. With the advent of the second Persian Empire, the Sassanid dynasty, revived Achaemenid tradition by construction of temples dedicated to fire, and monumental palaces.
context_section_description: Susa was an ancient city (5500 B.C.E) even by the time of the Achaemenids. Susa became a part of the Achaemenid Empire in 539 B.C.E., and was expanded upon by Darius the Great with construction of Palace of Darius, and later development of palace of Artaxerxes II. The palace had a unique Apadana, resembling the one in Persepolis, except this hall was much larger than its Persepolis counterpart covering some 9,200 square meters. Cyrus the Great chose Susa as a site for one of his fortifications creating a wall there that was significantly taller than older walls made by the Elamites. This choice might have been to facilitate the trade from Persian Gulf northward. What remains in way of structure from this once active capital, are five archaeological mounds, today located in modern Shush, in southwestern Iran, scattered over 250 hectares.
caption: Another decorative terra-cotta frieze from palace of Darius the Great at Susa, depicting what seems to be spirals. Note the blue color and the resemblance to the ocean
exif: {"Image Make": "NIKON CORPORATION", "Image Model": "NIKON D70", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Ver.2.00", "Image DateTime": "2005:08:17 16:36:06", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "208", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "300", "Thumbnail YResolution": "300", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "29072", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "28719", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/400", "EXIF FNumber": "5/2", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Aperture Priority", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2005:08:17 16:36:06", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2005:08:17 16:36:06", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "4", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "8/5", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire", "EXIF FocalLength": "50", "EXIF SubSecTime": "70", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "70", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "70", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "1504", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1000", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CVAPattern": "[0, 2, 0, 2, 2, 1, 1, 0]", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "75", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "None", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Hard", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "28936"}