This was the beginning of the period of the glory of Shushan the palace, from which, once more, after nearly two thousand years, Asia was ruled to the shores of the Mediterranean, and even Egypt was subjugated, as in the time of the Hyksos invasion.
The monuments give us, not only the record of the kings who ruled in Susa, but actual portraits of Cyrus and Darius Hystaspis. The profile of Darius is purely Aryan, having no suggestion of Semitic or Mongolian stock, while the picture of Cyrus suggests rather Mongolian blood.
The great palace of Shushan described in the Book of Esther was built by Darius Hystaspis, but enlarged by Xerxes. It was to this palace, with its wonderful audience room, that Dieulafoy devoted the time allowed him for excavation. It was built on a platform 975 feet long by 65o wide. The au dience room was 190 feet square and opening on the south. There were thirty-six marble columns at equal distances, six on a side, and sixty-eight feet high, including the capital. On each of the three closed sides was a veranda of two rows of six columns. The walls inside and out were deco rated with richly colored glazed tiles. Inside and above was a succession of lions in a walking posi tion. On the outside was a still more magnificent frieze representing the military guard of Darius, which consisted of ten thousand soldiers. These are represented as belonging to the negrito type; a succession of six of them has been carried to Paris and now forms a principal treasure of the Louvre.
In front of the Audience Hall. to the south was a beautiful garden or "paradise" from which vis itors were admitted to an audience with the king. Through the garden the audience room was ap proached by a broad avenue, flanked with walls covered with glazed or colored tiles.
Still farther south and at a forty foot lower level, was another platform three hundred feet wide, which served as an outer court, with foun tains and trees, from which the ascent was made by a flight of marble steps, the sides of the stair case being ornamented with rich tiles. Through this outer court, tip this magnificent stairway flanked with its wall, and with flags and streamers flying from high poles, the ambassadors of other powers, and the princes with their retinues bearing their tribute, passed tinder the costly curtains that shaded the audience chamber, into the presence of the great king. Here, too, lie held his public feasts, and here occurred the exciting events in the history of Ahasuerus, Haman, Esther, and Nlordecai ; except those more private interviews, which probably occurred in the later palace and seraglio built by Xerxes (Ahasuerus) just to the north of the great audience room. Shushan the Palace, by William Hayes Ward, D. D., Homi letic Review, June,