In 1931 Museum archaeologists were the first Americans to excavate in Persia (Iran), at the site of Tepe Hissar, under Erich F. Schmidt (1897–1964). A German who came to the United States in 1923, he was the archetypal archaeologist: brilliant, fearless, and tireless, though he had suffered an injury when imprisoned in Siberia during World War I, and walked with a limp. From 1931 to 1939, Schmidt carried out an enormous amount of work in Iran, including excavations at the Islamic city of Rayy (AD 637–1220) and surrounding prehistoric occupations. He also conducted an aerial survey to locate archaeological sites in Luristan, and took over the directorship of the University of Chicago’s work at Persepolis, the capital of the Achaemenid Persian Empire under Darius the Great.