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Ctesiphon ( ; , Tyspwn or Tysfwn; ; , ; Thomas A. Carlson et al., “Ctesiphon — ܩܛܝܣܦܘܢ ” in The Syriac Gazetteer last modified July 28, 2014, http://syriaca.org/place/58.) was an ancient city in modern Iraq, on the eastern bank of the Tigris, about 35 kilometres (22 mi) southeast of Baghdad. Ctesiphon served as a royal capital of the Iranian peoples empires for over eight hundred years, in the Parthian Empire and Sasanian periods. Ctesiphon was the capital of the Sasanian Empire from 226–637 until the Muslim conquest of Persia in 651 AD.
Ctesiphon developed into a rich commercial metropolis, merging with the surrounding cities along both shores of the river, including the Hellenistic city of Seleucia. Ctesiphon and its environs were therefore sometimes referred to as "The Cities" (Mahuza, ). In the late sixth and early seventh century, it was listed as the largest city in the world by some accounts.
During the Roman–Parthian Wars, Ctesiphon fell three times to the Ancient Rome, and later fell once during Sasanian rule. It was also the site of the Battle of Ctesiphon in 363 AD. After the Muslim invasion and conquest, the city fell into decay and was depopulated by the end of the eighth century, its place as a political and economic center taken by the Abbasid capital at Baghdad. The most conspicuous structure remaining today is the Taq Kasra, sometimes called the Archway of Ctesiphon. Eventually no less than four Sasanian rulers were quoted as its builders: Shapur I (241–273), Shapur II (310–379), Chosroes I Anushirvan (531–579) and Chosroes II Parvez (590–628).
Texts from the Church of the East's synods referred to the city as Qṭēspōn () or some times Māḥôzē () when referring to the metropolis of Seleucia-Ctesiphon.
In modern Arabic, the name is usually Ṭaysafūn (طيسفون) or Qaṭaysfūn (قطيسفون) or as al-Mada'in (المدائن "The Cities", referring to Greater Ctesiphon). "According to Yaqut al-Hamawi ..., quoting Ḥamza, the original form was Ṭūsfūn or Tūsfūn, which was arabicized as Ṭaysafūn." The Armenian name of the city was Tizbon (Տիզբոն]]). Ctesiphon is first mentioned in the Book of EzraEzra 8:17 of the Old Testament as Kasfia/Casphia (a derivative of the ethnic name Cas, and a cognate of Caspian Sea and Qazvin). It is also mentioned in the Talmud as Aktisfon. In another Talmudic reference it is written as Akistfon, located across the Tigris River from the city of Ardashir.
The Taq Kasra ( Taq Kasra) was once a part of the royal palace in Ctesiphon and is estimated to date between the 3rd and 6th centuries AD.Farrokh, K. (2007). "The rise of Ctesiphon and the Silk Route". In Shadows in the Desert: Ancient Persia at War, p. 240. It is located in what is now the Iraqi town of Salman Pak.
The reason for this westward relocation of the capital could have been in part due to the proximity of the previous capitals (Mithradatkirt, and Hecatompylos at Hyrcania) to the Scythian incursions.
Strabo abundantly describes the foundation of Ctesiphon:
Because of its importance, Ctesiphon was a major military objective for the leaders of the Roman Empire in their eastern wars. The city was captured by Rome four or five times in its history – three times in the 2nd century alone. The emperor Trajan captured Ctesiphon in 116, but his successor, Hadrian, decided to willingly return Ctesiphon in 117 as part of a peace settlement. The Roman general Avidius Cassius captured Ctesiphon in 164 during another Parthian war, but abandoned it when peace was concluded. In 197, the emperor Septimius Severus sacked Ctesiphon and carried off thousands of its inhabitants, whom he sold into slavery.
The western side was known as Veh-Ardashir (meaning "the good city of Ardashir" in Middle Persian), known as Mahoza by the Jews, Kokhe by the Christians, and Behrasir by the Arabs. Veh-Ardashir was populated by many wealthy Jews, and was the seat of the church of the Nestorian patriarch. To the south of Veh-Ardashir was Valashabad. Ctesiphon had several other districts which were named Hanbu Shapur, Darzanidan, Veh Jondiu-Khosrow, Nawinabad and Kardakadh.
Severus Alexander advanced towards Ctesiphon in 233, but as corroborated by Herodian, his armies suffered a humiliating defeat against Ardashir I.Farrokh, K. (2007). "The rise of Ctesiphon and the Silk Route". In Shadows in the Desert: Ancient Persia at War, p. 185. In 283, emperor Carus sacked the city uncontested during a period of civil upheaval. Some historians have claimed that Galerius marched on Ctesiphon and was able to capture it. However, this is never explicitly stated in any source and is still a matter of debate among scholars.Udo Hartmann The Tetrarchy,284–305, in: The Encyclopedia of Ancient Battles, Bd. 3, hrsg. v. Michael Whitby u. Harry Sidebottom, Chichester 2017, 1071–1081
Hence that he returned it to the Persian king Narses in exchange for Armenia and western Mesopotamia is also likely to have never happened. In and again in 410, the city, or the Greek colony directly across the river, was the site of church councils for the Church of the East.
After the conquest of Antioch in 541, Khosrow I built a new city near Ctesiphon for the inhabitants he captured. He called this new city Veh-Antiok-Xusrō, or literally, "better than Antioch Khosrow built this". Local inhabitants of the area called the new city Rumagan, meaning "town of the Romans" and Arabs called the city al-Rumiyya. Along with Weh Antiok, Khosrow built a number of fortified cities.Frye 1993, 259 After a campaign in 573, John of Ephesus wrote that no fewer than 292,000 persons had been deported from Dara, Apamia, and other Syrian towns to Veh-Antiokh. John would later cite a letter stating no more than 30,000 prisoners were deported. It's thought that the first number he gave is not to be taken literally.
In 590, a member of the House of Mihran, Bahram Chobin repelled the newly ascended Sasanian ruler Khosrow II from Iraq, and conquered the region. One year later, Khosrow II, with aid from the Byzantine Empire, reconquered his domains. During his reign, some of the great fame of al-Mada'in decreased, due to the popularity of Khosrow's new winter residence, Dastagerd. In 627, the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius surrounded the city, the capital of the Sassanid Empire, leaving it after the Persians accepted his peace terms. In 628, a deadly plague hit Ctesiphon, al-Mada'in and the rest of the western part of the Sasanian Empire, which even killed Khosrow's son and successor, Kavad II.
In 629, Ctesiphon was briefly under the control of Mihranid usurper Shahrbaraz, but the latter was shortly assassinated by the supporters of Khosrow II's daughter Borandukht. Ctesiphon then continued to be involved in constant fighting between two factions of the Sasanian Empire, the Pahlav (Parthian) faction under the House of Ispahbudhan and the Parsig (Persian) faction under Piruz Khosrow.
The Muslim military officer Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas quickly seized Valashabad and made a peace treaty with the inhabitants of Veh-Antiok-Xusrō and Veh-Ardashir. The terms of the treaty were that the inhabitants of Veh-Antiok-Xusrō were allowed to leave if they wanted to, but if they did not, they were forced to acknowledge Muslim authority, and also pay tribute ( jizya). Later on, when the Muslims arrived at Ctesiphon, it was completely desolated, due to flight of the Sasanian royal family, nobility, and troops. However, the Muslims had managed to take some of troops captive, and many riches were seized from the Sasanian treasury and were given to the Muslim troops. Furthermore, the throne hall in Taq Kasra was briefly used as a mosque.Reade, Julian (1999). Scarre, Chris, ed. The Seventy Wonders of the Ancient World: The Great Monuments and How they were Built. Thames & Hudson. pp. 185–186.
Still, as political and economic fortune had passed elsewhere, the city went into a rapid decline, especially after the founding of the Abbasid capital at Baghdad in the 760s, and soon became a ghost town. al-Mansur took much of the required material for the construction of Baghdad from the ruins of Ctesiphon. He also attempted to demolish the palace and reuse its bricks for his own palace, but he desisted only when the undertaking proved too vast.Bier, L. (1993). "The Sassanian Palaces and their Influence in Early Islam". Ars Orientalis, 23, 62–62. Al-Mansur also used the al-Rumiya town as the Abbasid capital city for a few months.
It is believed to be the basis for the city of Isbanir in One Thousand and One Nights.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, an Italian team from the University of Turin directed by Antonio Invernizzi and worked at the part of the site on the other side of the Tigris, which they identified as Veh Ardashir. Work mainly concentrated on restoration at the palace of Khosrow II.G. Gullini and A. Invernizzi, First Preliminary Report of Excavations at Seleucia and Ctesiphon. Season 1964, Mesopotamia, vol. I, pp. 1–88, 1966G. Gullini and A. Invernizzi, Second Preliminary Report of Excavations at Seleucia and Ctesiphon. Season 1965, Mesopotamia, vol. 2, 1967G. Gullini and A. Invernizzi, Third Preliminary Report of Excavations at Seleucia and Ctesiphon. Season 1966, Mesopotamia, vol. 3–4, 1968–69G. Gullini and A. Invernizzi, Fifth Preliminary Report of Excavations at Seleucia and Ctesiphon. Season 1969, Mesopotamia, vol. 5–6, 1960–71G. Gullini and A. Invernizzi, Sixth Preliminary Report of Excavations at Seleucia and Ctesiphon. Seasons 1972/74, Mesopotamia, vol. 5–6, 1973–74G. Gullini and A. Invernizzi, Seventh Preliminary Report of Excavations at Seleucia and Ctesiphon. Seasons 1975/76, Mesopotamia, vol. 7, 1977 In 2013, the Iraqi government contracted to restore the Taq Kasra, as a tourist attraction.
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