Editing Susa (section)

=== Islamic period ===

During the [[Muslim conquest of Persia]] an Arab army invaded Khuzistan under the command of [[Abu Musa al-Ash'ari]]. After taking most of the smaller fortified towns the army captured [[Shushtar|Tustar]] in 642 before proceeding to besiege Susa. A place of military importance, it also held the tomb of the Jewish prophet [[Daniel (biblical figure)|Daniel]].
Two stories are given in the Muslim sources of how the city fell. In the first, a Persian priest proclaimed from the walls that only a ''dajjal'' was fated to capture the city. A ''dajjal'' is an Islamic term for an ''[[Al-Masih ad-Dajjal]]'', a false messiah, compatible to the [[Antichrist]] in Christianity. In everyday use, it also means "deceiver" or "imposter". Siyah, a Persian general who had defected to Muslim side, claimed that by converting to Islam he had turned his back on Zoroastrianism and was thus a ''dajjal''. Abu Musa agreed to Siyah's plan. Soon after as the sun came up one morning, the sentries on the walls saw a man in a Persian officer's uniform covered in blood lying on the ground before the main gate. Thinking it he had been left out overnight after a conflict the previous day, they opened the gate and some came out to collect him. As they approached, Siyah jumped up and killed them. Before the other sentries had time to react, Siyah and a small group of Muslim soldiers hidden nearby charged through the open gate. They held the gate open long enough for Muslim reinforcements to arrive and passing through the gate to take the city.<ref name= Crawford>{{cite book |last= Crawford |first= Peter |title= The War of the Three Gods: Romans, Persians and the Rise of Islam |location= Barnsley |publisher= Pen & Sword Military |year= 2013 | pages= 183–184 |isbn= 978-1-84884-612-8}}</ref>

In the other story, once again the Muslims were taunted from the city wall that only an ''[[Al-Masih ad-Dajjal]]'' could capture the city, and since there were none in the besieging army then they may as well give up and go home. One of the Muslim commanders was so angry and frustrated at this taunt that he went up to one of the city gates and kicked it. Instantly the chains snapped, the locks broke and it fell open.<ref name= Kennedy >{{cite book |last= Kennedy |first= Hugh |title= The Great Arab Conquests: How the Spread of Islam Changed the World We Live In |location= London |publisher= Weidenfeld & Nicolson |year= 2007 | pages= 128–129 |isbn= 978-0-297-84657-4}}</ref>
 
Following their entry into the city, the Muslims killed all of the Persian nobles.<ref name= Kennedy />

Once the city was taken, as Daniel ({{langx|ar|دانيال|Danyal}}) was not mentioned in the [[Qur'an]], the initial reaction of the Muslim was to destroy the cult by confiscating the treasure that had stored at the tomb since the time of the Achaemenids. They then broke open the silver coffin and carried off the mummified corpse, removing from the corpse a signet ring, which carried an image of a man between two lions. However, upon hearing what had happened, the caliph [[Umar]] ordered the ring to be returned and the body reburied under the riverbed.<ref name= Kennedy /> In time, Daniel became a Muslim cult figure and they as well as Christians began making pilgrimages to the site, despite several other places claiming to be the site of Daniel's grave.<ref name= Kennedy />

Following the capture of Susa, the Muslims moved on to besiege [[Gundeshapur]].<ref name= Crawford/>

Susa recovered following its capture and remained a regional center of more than 400 hectares in size.<ref>{{cite book |last= Amiet |first= Pierre |title= Mémoires de la Délégation archéologique en Iran: Glyptique susienne des origines à l'époque des Perses achéménides: cachets, sceaux-cylindres et empreintes antiques découverts à Suse de 1913 à 1967 |location= Paris |publisher= P. Geuthner |year= 1972 }}</ref> A mosque was built, but also Nestorian bishops are still testifie. In addition, there was a Jewish community with its own synagogue.
The city continued to be a manufacturing center of luxury fabrics during this period. Archaeologically, the Islamic period is characterized mainly by its [[Islamic ceramics from the Susa site|rich ceramics]]. [[Beth Huzaye (East Syrian Ecclesiastical Province)]] had a significant Christian population during the first millennium, and was a diocese of the [[Church of the East]] between the 5th and 13th centuries, in the metropolitan province of Beth Huzaye (Elam).

In 1218, the city was razed by invading [[Mongols]] and was never able to regain its previous importance. The city further degraded in the 15th century when the majority of its population moved to [[Dezful]].<ref>{{cite book |author= M. Streck, [[Clifford Edmund Bosworth]] |title= Encyclopaedia of Islam, San-Sze |volume=IX |year= 1997 |pages= 898–899 |publisher=Brill |location= Leiden|isbn=9789004104228|title-link= Encyclopaedia of Islam }}</ref>