Ecbatana

Ecbatana was an ancient city, the capital of the Median kingdom and the first capital in Iranian history. It later became the summer capital of the Achaemenid and Parthian empires, and it was also important in the Seleucid and Sasanian empires. It lay in the Zagros Mountains on Hagmatana Hill, and it is identified with the current city of Hamadan. Its strategic location and resources probably made it a popular site even before the 1st millennium BC.

According to Herodotus, Deioces, the first ruler of the Medes, chose Ecbatana as capital in 678 BC and built a palace in the form of seven nested castles, each in the colour of a planet. The royal palace and treasury stood inside the seventh. Some archaeologists attribute the construction to Phraortes, the second Median king, and old legends credit the legendary Semiramis or Jamshid. Assyrian sources seem not to mention it.

In 550 BC Cyrus the Great defeated Astyages and conquered Ecbatana, forming the Achaemenid Empire. The city lost its former importance, but it lay on the royal road connecting Persepolis to Sardis, at the foot of Mount Alvand, and it became a summer capital, treasury and royal archive. It was renowned for its wealth and splendid architecture. In 330 BC Alexander the Great captured the treasury and looted the gold and silver decorations of the palace.

Ecbatana was the site of the assassination of the Macedonian general Parmenion, by Alexander's order. In 305 BC the city was ruled by Seleucus I, and Demetrius I Soter maintained a mint there from 162 BC to 150 BC. It later became the summer capital of the Parthians and their main mint, producing drachms, tetradrachms and bronze coins.

The city's wealth in classical antiquity is attributed to its place on a crucial crossroads, a staging post on the main east–west highway. The area had a reputation for horses and wheat. In AD 226 Ardashir I defeated Artabanus IV and conquered Ecbatana, though there is conflicting evidence as to whether the Sasanians used it as a summer capital.

Median kingdom (678–550 BC)

According to Herodotus, Ecbatana was chosen as the Medes' capital in 678 BC by Deioces, the first ruler of the Medes. Herodotus said that it had seven walls. Deioces's intention was to build a palace worthy of the dignity of a king. After choosing Ecbatana as his capital, Deioces decided to build a huge and strong palace in the form of seven nested castles. Herodotus says that each of them was in the color of a planet. The royal palace and the treasury were located inside the seventh castle. The outer perimeter of the castle wall was almost the size of the city wall of Athens.

The royal palace, which was built in the last inner fort, had hundreds of rooms and people also built their houses outside of these forts, next to the palace. Some archaeologists have also attributed its construction to Phraortes, the second king of the Medes. Other old legends attribute the origin of Ecbatana to the legendary Semiramis or Jamshid. Ecbatana has also been mentioned by other Greek historians such as Polybius, Ctesias, Justin, and Xenophon. The Assyrians do not seem to mention Ecbatana, and it is likely they never penetrated east of the Alvand despite two centuries of involvement in Median areas of the central Zagros.

Achaemenid Empire (550–330 BC)

In 550 BC, Cyrus the Great defeated Astyages and conquered Ecbatana, forming the Achaemenid Empire. Although Ecbatana lost its former importance, it was located on the royal road, where it connected Persepolis to Sardis, and situated at the foot of Mount Alvand. So it was settled by the Achaemenid rulers. The city became the summer capital and a treasury of the Achaemenids. As mentioned in several sources, the city was also used as a royal archive.

In ancient times, Ecbatana was renowned for its wealth and splendid architecture. In 330 BC when Darius III faced Alexander, Ecbatana was in ruins, but Darius III ordered the construction of hundreds of hiding places in the middle of the city for treasures and assets. Some weeks before Darius III was killed in a coup in July 330 BC, Ecbatana was conquered, and Persepolis destroyed by Alexander. These events marked the end of the Achaemenid Empire.

Seleucid Empire (312–63 BC)

In 330 BC, Alexander the Great captured the treasury of Ecbatana, and he looted all the gold and silver decorations of the palace. Ecbatana was the site of the assassination of the Macedonian general Parmenion by Alexander's order.

Later, in 305 BC, the city was ruled by Seleucus I. Demetrius I Soter maintained a mint in Ecbatana during his reign 162 BC to 150 BC.

Parthian Empire (247 BC – AD 224)

Ecbatana later became the summer capital of the Parthians, and their main mint, producing drachms, tetradrachms, and assorted bronze denominations.

The wealth and importance of the city during classical antiquity are attributed to its location, a crucial crossroads that made it a staging post on the main east–west highway called High-Road. There was a reputation for horses and wheat in the area (Polybius, 5.44.1). Graphite, gold, platinum, antimony, iron, and various minerals are found there; however, the classics mention oil seeps and flares, and there is no evidence of exploitation of these resources.

Sasanian Empire (AD 224–651)

Ecbatana remained loyal to the Parthians until AD 226, when Ardashir I defeated Artabanus IV and conquered Ecbatana from the north, alongside Atropatene. There is conflicting evidence as to whether Ecbatana was used as the summer capital for Sasanians or not. According to Ibn al-Faqih, buildings were built between Ctesiphon (The Sassanid capital) and Mount Alvand, but not beyond that.

Destruction

After the battle of Nahavand in 642 AD, Ecbatana fell to the Muslims, and around 1220, the city was completely destroyed by the Mongol invasion. Ecbatana was sacked in 1386 by Timur, and the population was slaughtered as a result.

Historical descriptions

Herodotus's description

The Greeks thought Ecbatana to be the capital of the Median empire and credited its foundation to Deioces (the Daiukku of the cuneiform inscriptions). It is alleged that he surrounded his palace in Ecbatana with seven concentric walls of different colors. There are some indications that the walls of this complex might be an ancient ziggurat, which was a type of temple tower with multiple stories that were common in the ancient Near East.

In the 5th century BC, Herodotus wrote of Ecbatana:"The Medes built the city now called Ecbatana, the walls of which are of great size and strength, rising in circles one within the other. The plan of the place is, that each of the walls should out-top the one beyond it by the battlements. The nature of the ground, which is a gentle hill, favors this arrangements in some degree but it is mainly effected by art. The number of the circles is seven, the royal palace and the treasuries standing within the last. The circuit of the outer wall is very nearly the same with that of Athens. On this wall the battlements are white, of the next black, of the third scarlet, of the fourth blue, the fifth orange; all these colors with paint. The last two have their battlements coated respectively with silver and gold. All these fortifications Deioces had caused to be raised for himself and his own palace."

Herodotus's description is corroborated in part by stone reliefs from the Neo-Assyrian Empire, depicting Median citadels ringed by concentric walls. Other sources attest to the historical importance of Ecbatana based on the terms used by ancient authors to describe it such as Caput Mediae (capital of Media), the Royal Seat, and the Great City. It is said that Alexander the Great deposited the treasures he took from Persepolis and Pasargadae and that one of the last acts of his life was to visit the city.

The citadel of Ecbatana is also mentioned in the Bible in Ezra 6:2, in the time of Darius I, as part of the national archives.

Description in the Chronicle of Nabonidus

The Nabonidus Chronicle, an ancient Babylonian text from the 5th century BC, describes how Astyages, the last Median king, was dethroned and how Cyrus conquered Ecbatana."King Astyages called up his troops and marched against Cyrus, king of Anšan [i.e., Persis], in order to meet him in battle. The army of Astyages revolted against him and delivered him in fetters to Cyrus. Cyrus marched against the country of Ecbatana; the royal residence he seized; silver, gold, other valuables of the country Ecbatana he took as booty and brought to Anšan."

Polybius of Megalopolis's description

In the 2nd century BC, Polybius writes about Ecbatana. He mentions that the wealth and magnificence of its buildings make it stand out among all other cities. It has no walls but an artificial citadel with amazing fortifications. Underneath this is the palace which is about seven stories in circumference, and its magnificence shows the wealth of its founders. During his time, no parts of the woodwork were left exposed. There were silver or gold-plated rafters, compartments in the ceiling, and columns in the porticos and colonnades, and silver tiles were used throughout the structure. In the invasion by Alexander, most precious metals were stripped, while the remainder were stripped during Antigonus's and Seleucus's reigns. However, Antiochus found that the columns of the temple of Aene were still gilded and that several silver tiles were piled up around the temple along with some gold bricks (Polybius, 10.27).