Immortal Guard Warriors

These ancient Persian archers were from the immortal guard at the Palace of Darius I "the Great" at ancient Susa (Sushan). In one ancient battle the Persian king surrounded himself by a picked body of Persian warriors called, "the immortals," consisting of 10,000 foot soldiers, the best and the bravest of his own native army. The Ten Thousand Immortals were known in history as the royal bodyguard of ancient Persia. These 5 foot tall archers were the royal Immortal Guard from the palace of Darius at Susa (ancient Shushan). These archers are seen wearing colorful ceremonial clothing decorated with tiny stars, from their woven and twisted headbands, hair and beards, even to their shoes. Their clothes are decorated with tiny stars. Their bows, arrows and spears were gold and silver. The bright colored enameled tiles used to line the entire walls, bringing to life the illustrious and lavish celebrations that existed at the palace of the kings of ancient Persia. All the colors seen here are reminiscent of the lavish banquet mentioned in the Book of Esther in the Bible (white, green, blue, purple, silver, gold), when the king of Persia invited nobles and princes from all over his empire to a feast at his palace. Guests would ascend a wide stone staircase entering a gate into the courtyard. All along the path there were the elaborate carvings along the walls, of nobles and princes, royal guards, horses and chariots. Representatives from the lands and provinces of the Persian Empire bringing tribute to the ruler of the world, king Darius (522-486 B.C.). Their destination was the great audience hall and palace of the king, a place of tremendous wealth and luxury. According to history when Alexander the Great marched into Susa he took 40,000 talents of gold which was about 1200 tons. Alexander the Great faced hordes of soldiers like the archers shown here when he conquered the world of the Persians. The Persian Empire was vast, extending from India to Greece, and down to Ethiopia. These archers of the royal guard revealed on these brilliantly glazed ceramic tiles of blue and gold discovered at Susa are important discovery in the study of Biblical archaeology. It shows us the enemies of Alexander the Great who is alluded to in the Book of Daniel, and the luxurious wealth of the Persians as mentioned in the Book of Esther regarding the royal banquet of the king of Persia.