Al-Mada'in

Coordinates: 33°06′N 44°35′E / 33.1°N 44.583°E / 33.1; 44.583

Al-Mada'in

Location of Al-Mada'in, Iraq

Great arch of Taq-i Kisra, 1921

Al-Mada'in ("The Cities") (Arabic المدائن Al-Mada'in, Aramaic Maḥuza or Madayn) is the name given to the ancient metropolis formed by Seleucia and Ctesiphon (also referred to as Seleucia-Ctesiphon) on opposite sides of the Tigris River in present-day Iraq.

The site has received considerable interest from archaeologists since the 18th century; the most famous landmark there is the Taq-i Kisra. Madain was the capital of the Persian Empire under the Sassanid dynasty. When the Persian empire was defeated by Muslim Forces, the city was destroyed. However, the Arabs built a new city about 20 miles to the north as the capital for the new Islamic empire. They called that city Baghdad.

Excavation sites and ancient suburbs include:

• Seleucia
• Ctesiphon (previously thought to have been Opis, whose exact location is not confirmed)
• Coche (Also Choche)
• Asbanbar (Also written Isbanir, Asbanabr, Aspanbar, Asfanur)
• Veh Ardashir (Also Bahurasir)
• Vologesocerta (Balashkert), founded by Vologases I of Parthia
• al-Ma’aridh
• Tell al-Dhaba’I
• Tell Dhahab
• Umm an Sa’atir

The site partially overlaps with the modern town of Salman Pak.

See also

• Firuz Shapur
• Mahuza
• Talmudic Academies in Babylonia

External links

• Ctesiphon site description
• The Shahr (province) of Asuristan (extract from the Encyclopedia of Iran)

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