Mausoleum of Daniel the Prophet

Mausoleum of Daniel is a beautiful building located in Susa city that is great mixed with myth only because there are various and amazing stories around its building among the natives, Muslims, and the Jew community of Iran. Despite some contradictory accounts about the burial place of Daniel the Prophet, the most probable and generally accepted place is Susa, in the southwest of Iran. Although we know that Daniel the prophet was living in ancient Babylon, we have no precise information about his death-place and that is the reason for disagreements. It also should be noted that Susa has been repeatedly mentioned in the bible. During the Sassanid Empire, a great part of Susa’s population were Christians. After the conquest of Arabs, a sarcophagus was discovered in the city containing a mummy and a seal of a man standing between two lions. This was exactly in line with Daniel's signs in the bible. It is said that the caliph Omar firstly ordered the sarcophagus to be thrown into the river, but later ordered a more respectful reburial. According to Benjamin of Tudela, who traveled to Asia around 1160 AD, there was a quarrel between the peoples of the two banks of Choaspes River on the proper place for Daniel’s grave, during the Seljuk period, because they believed that the richness and happiness of some of them are due to the existence of the grave on their side. Therefore, based on their final agreement, the grave was being alternately transferred between two sides of the river. Finally, Shah Ahmad Sanjar ordered to stop this desecration by erecting a mausoleum for the prophet in a central place. He also ordered to fastened the bier to the bridge. It is said that the grave is underwater and only visible by diving. Daniel mausoleum is now placed 120 kilometers to Ahvaz city and is famous for its unique dome that is called Ourchin in Persian architecture, known as Pineapple Dome in English. The Mausoleum of Daniel the Prophet is currently one of the main historical and religious attractions of Khuzestan and a popular place among Persian Muslims and non-Muslims alike.