Shushandukht

Shushandukht (Middle Persian: 𐭱𐭩𐭱𐭩𐭭𐭲𐭥𐭤𐭲‎ <šyšyntwḥt> Šīšīntūḥt; New Persian: شوشاندخت Šušanduxt) was the wife of Yazdegerd I and mother of Bahram V. She was the daughter of a Jewish exilarch, Huna bar Nathan. She created the Jewish neighborhood in the city of Isfahan. She also established Jewish colonies in the cities of Shush (Susa) and Shooshtar. The existence of a Jewish queen enhanced the life of Persian Jews and during this period Jewish exilarchs had regular attendance to the Shah's court. Some authors such as Ernst Herzfeldhave speculated that the tomb of Esther and Mordecai in the city of Hamedan might be the tomb of Shushandukht.

The Provincial Capitals of The Iranian Empire (Middle Persian: Šahrestānīhā ī Ērānšahr) is a late 8th century Middle Persian book that mentions Shushandukht as founder of Shush (Susa) and Shooshtar:

The city of Susa and Sustar were built by Shushandukht, the wife of Yazdgerd Shapuran (Yazdgerd son of Shapur), since she was the daughter of Res Galut, the king of the Jews and also was the mother of Bahram Gur.

— Šahrestānīhā ī Ērānšahr

The book also mentions Narseh the son of the Jewish woman (who was probably Shushandukht) who founded Khwarezm.