DANIEL'S TOMB

The reputed tomb of the Prophet Daniel, real or supposed, is situated on the east bank of the river Sha'ur; immediately to the east rises the great mound of Susa. It is a building surmounted by a pineapple cone in white plaster and It is clearly of no great antiquity. It is typical of this part of Iran and also of Iraq. If we can believe the Book of Daniel, the Prophet was closely associated with Susa during his lifetime; it was at Shushan the Palace that he had his vision of the ram with two home, one of which was higher than the other. According to Islamic sources, the Muslim Arabs discovered the coffin containing the Prophet's remains in the castle of Susa when they occupied the city in the seventh century AD. On learning of this discovery, the Caliph Omar decreed that the river Sha'ur should be temporarily diverted and the coffin interred in the river bed; the stream was then to be allowed to resume its normal course (one may compare the story of the burial of Alaric in the bed of the Busento in Italy). Rabbi Benjamin of Tudela, who visited Susa in 1165, has a different story to tell; he claims that he saw the coffin containing the Prophet's remains suspended by chains from the center of a bridge over the river. It would appear that while the remains had been interred on the eastern side of the river, the inhabitants on that side had enjoyed such unparalleled prosperity that it aroused the envy and jealousy of those on the west side. Feelings rose so high that fighting almost broke out, but a compromise was reached whereby the remains were interred for a year, first on the west side and then on the east side, and so on. When the Seljuk ruler Sultan Sanjar (who died in 1157 AD) heard of this arrangement, he said that it denoted a certain lack of respect for Daniel's memory and gave orders for the coffin to be suspended from the center of the bridge, so that those on either bank could receive equal benefit. Of these two stories the first appears to be the better founded, but we have no means of obtaining any proof. Moreover, there seems to be nothing on record as to when the Prophet's remains (if, indeed, they are his) were transferred to their present resting-place in the shrine. The Inhabitants of Susa and the surrounding district have, however, no doubts as to the authenticity of the remains, which they regard as possessing remarkable curative properties, as well as the power to bring rain in time of draught.