Across the Shavur river from the great mound of Susa, in the flat farmland of Khuzestan, stand the broken bases of columns that mark one of the later Achaemenid palaces. Ardeshir is the Persian form of Artaxerxes, and the king usually linked with this palace is Artaxerxes II, who ruled for over forty years in the early fourth century BC and left buildings at Susa, Hamadan and Persepolis. The site is also called the Shaur Palace, and in the 1970s excavations by a French team uncovered a columned hall with great stone bases and traces of a pavilion. Little is standing today, so what you see is a field of bases like tree stumps, and you need to bring some imagination.
Susa was the winter capital of the Persian kings, who came down from the cold highlands to enjoy the mild season on the lowlands, and the royal court moved between four capitals each year. Here, beside the river, the king could sit in a columned hall open to the breeze and look across to the walls of the old city. The Achaemenids loved water and shade, and Greek writers described the Persian court with a mix of astonishment and disapproval, from the golden plane tree to the gold vine said to stand in the king's chamber.
Today the area around is farmland, with sugarcane, wheat and vegetable plots irrigated from the river, and the town of Shush spills across the plain. The tomb of Daniel, a white conical dome, rises on the bank very close, with an atmosphere of pilgrimage, and the ruins of Susa are a short drive away. For a rider, the roads are flat and straight, with heavy traffic of trucks and pickups, and a lot of dust. The wind in spring can bring sandstorms from the desert.
Plan to visit in winter, between December and February, when temperatures are mild and rain turns the land briefly green. In summer the heat is stupendous and the light is hard and white. Shush itself, only a hundred metres or so away on the map, has fuel, shops and cheap restaurants. Look for a roadside stall selling fresh dates or a glass of sugarcane juice, which is a local drink in the cooler months. Bring water, a hat and some patience for the site's occasional locked gate.