Take a Trip to Susa to Visit Apadana Palace at Shush
Apadana Palace at Shush lies in a ruined state now. Mainly known for its huge hall, you can see the remains of this structure when you take a trip to Susa.
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Take a Trip to Susa to Visit Apadana Palace at Shush
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Apadana Palace was built when Darius was the king of Persia as an audience hall among a few other structures. The Achaemenian king constructed this building on the Elamite hillocks. Sun baked bricks make up the walls with the facade also being made of brick. But the pillars in the structure are made of stone.
The second Apadana Palace was built in Persepolis later by Darius the great to be used as his audience hall. Although several other palaces were constructed in that complex, it remained the only structure with tallest columns, almost 20 meters high. This was were Darius met with the heads of delegations coming from different parts of Persian Empire.
There are various buildings at this compound including a haramsara (residence for ladies), a pavilion, entertainment hall, gateway and three courtyards in the center. Internal walls were decorated with glazed brick work embossed with figures of winged guard soldiers and also with lotus flowers.
You can see parts of these relics in local museums during your trip to Susa. There was a major calamity in Apadana Palace when Ardashir I was the ruler in 461 BC. A fire broke out and ruined a great part of the building. Several other nearby palaces also suffered from the fire.
How the Palace Got Its Name
The word Apadana in ancient Persian palaces means a large hypo-style hall, which can be seen in another palace constructed by Darius, the Great. Besides this palace in Shush, you can also see another example in Persepolis. Thus, you can expect the building in Susa to have a large audience hall made of stone and supported on columns, as its name suggests. It basically refers to the veranda-type structure which is relatively unprotected.
When you take a trip to Susa, you can understand that Apadana has also got a modern archaeological connotation and refers to the Urartian hypo-style halls, like those found in Erebuni and Altintepe. This style of architecture seems to have inspired these halls like those found in Apadana Palace. A lot can be learned about these buildings from the materials found in the excavations of this site.
What Happened Here
It is expected that the Apadana was the main hall where the kings received the tributes from various people coming from the Achaemenid Empire. He too gave away gifts to his people in this hypo-style hall. There are two stairways in the hall, decorated by relief. You can get to know a lot about the equipment and costumes used in this age if you observe the relief clearly. You can also find inscriptions in Elamite and Old Persian in Apadana Palace.
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