Hecatompylos

Hecatompylos was an ancient city in west Khurasan, Iran, which was the capital of the Parthian Arsacid dynasty by 200 BCE. The Greek name Hekatompylos means "one hundred gates," but this title was commonly used for cities which had more than the traditional four gates. It may be understood better as the "Many Gated."

Alexander the Great stopped here in the summer of 330 BCE and it became part of the Seleucid Empire after Alexander's death. The Parni tribe took the city around 238 BCE and made it one of the first capitals of their Parthian Empire. It was mentioned as the royal city of the Parthians by a number of classical writers including Strabo, Pliny, Ptolemy, although the Parthians seemed to have used a number of cities as their "capital" at different periods.

It is estimated to have had an area of 28 km² at its peak, which would indicate a population in the tens of thousands.

The site of this ancient city is now called Šahr-e Qumis, between Semnan and Damqan in the Semnan Province.

References

• Frye, Richard N. (1963). The Heritage of Persia. Toronto. Mentor Books. 1966.
• Hansman, J. (1968). "The Problems of Qūmis." Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (1968), pp. 111-139.
• Hansman, John and Stronach, David (1974). "Excavations at Shahr-i Qūmis, 1971." Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (1974), pp. 8-22.
• Hirth, Friedrich (1875). China and the Roman Orient. Shanghai and Hong Kong. Unchanged reprint. Chicago, Ares Publishers, 1975.
• Tarn, William Woodthorpe (1984). The Greeks in Bactria and India. First published in 1938; 2nd Updated Edition, 1951. 3rd Edition, updated with a Preface and a new bibliography by Frank Lee Holt. Ares Publishers, Inc., Chicago. 1984.
• De Quincey, Thomas (1821). Confessions of an English Opium-Eater. Penguin Books. 1979.

External links

• Magiran.com, a magazine named Qumis (Persian)
• Livius.org, a good brief history plus some stunning photos.

Coordinates: 35°57′42″N 54°02′15″E / 35.96167°N 54.0375°E / 35.96167; 54.0375

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