Al-Mada'in
Encyclopedia
Metropolis
A metropolis is a very large city or urban area which is a significant economic, political and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections and communications...
formed by Ctesiphon
Ctesiphon
Ctesiphon, the imperial capital of the Parthian Arsacids and of the Persian Sassanids, was one of the great cities of ancient Mesopotamia.The ruins of the city are located on the east bank of the Tigris, across the river from the Hellenistic city of Seleucia...
and Seleucia
Seleucia on the Tigris
Seleucia , also known as Seleucia on the Tigris, was one of the great cities of the world during Hellenistic and Roman times. It stood in Mesopotamia, on the west bank of the Tigris River, opposite the smaller town of Ctesiphon, in present day Babil Governorate, Iraq.-Seleucid empire:Seleucia,...
(also referred to as Seleucia-Ctesiphonon) on opposite sides of the Tigris River in present-day Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. It was one of the cites of an early Babylonia
Babylonia
Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia , with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as a major power when Hammurabi Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq), with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as...
n Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
ic yeshiva
Yeshiva
Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...
, founded by Rava
Rava (amora)
For the third generation Amora sage of Babylon, with a similar name, see: Joseph b. Hama .Abba ben Joseph bar Ḥama, who is exclusively referred to in the Talmud by the name Rava , was a Jewish Talmudist who lived in Babylonia, known as an amora, born in 270. He is one of the most often-cited Rabbis...
, as well as the original seat of the Exilarch
Exilarch
Exilarch refers to the leaders of the Diaspora Jewish community in Babylon following the deportation of King Jeconiah and his court into Babylonian exile after the first fall of Jerusalem in 597 BCE and augmented after the further deportations following the destruction...
. During the beginning of 6th century Mar-Zutra II formed a politically independent state where he ruled from Mahuza for about 7 years.
The site has received considerable interest from Archeologists since the 18th century; the most famous landmark there is the Taq-i Kisra
Taq-i Kisra
The Tāq-e Kisrā , also called Iwān-e Kisrā , is a Sassanid-era Persian monument in Al-Mada'in which is the only visible remaining structure of the ancient city of Ctesiphon. It is near the modern town of Salman Pak, Iraq.- History :...
. Madain was the capital of the Persian Empire under the Sassanid Dynasty. When the Persian empire was defeated by the Moslem Forces. The city was destroyed. The arabs did however build 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:
- SeleuciaSeleuciaSeleucia was the first capital of the Seleucid Empire, and one of the great cities of antiquity standing in Mesopotamia, on the Tigris River.Seleucia may refer to:...
- CtesiphonCtesiphonCtesiphon, the imperial capital of the Parthian Arsacids and of the Persian Sassanids, was one of the great cities of ancient Mesopotamia.The ruins of the city are located on the east bank of the Tigris, across the river from the Hellenistic city of Seleucia...
(previously thought to have been OpisOpisOpis was an ancient Babylonian city on the Tigris, not far from modern Baghdad. The precise location of Opis has not been established, but from the Akkadian and Greek texts, it was located on the east bank of the Tigris, near the Diyala River.-History:Opis is mentioned for the first time at the...
, whose exact location is not confirmed) - Coche (Also Choche)
- Asbanbar (Also written IsbanirIsbanirIsbanir is a city referred to in the 1001 Nights as the home of Fakir Taj. It is believed to be based on the real-life Persian city of Asbanbar , which was one of the seven cities that entailed the Persian capital Ctesiphon. Isbanir is a corruption of the name Asbanbar or Aspanbar....
, Asbanabr, Aspanbar, Asfanur) - Veh Ardashir (Also Bahurasir)
- Vologesocerta (Balashkert), founded by Vologases I of ParthiaVologases I of ParthiaVologases I of Parthia, sometimes called Vologaeses or Vologeses or, following Zoroastrian usage, Valakhsh ruled the Parthian Empire from about 51 to 78. Son of Vonones II by a Thracian concubine, he succeeded his father in 51 AD. He gave the kingdom of Media Atropatene to his brother Pacorus II,...
- al-Ma’aridh
- Tell al-Dhaba’I
- Tell Dhahab
- Umm an Sa’atir
The site partially overlaps with the modern town of Salman Pak
Salman Pak
Salman Pak is a city approximately 15 miles south of Baghdad near a peninsula formed by a broad eastward bend of the Tigris River. It is named after Salman the Persian, a companion of Muhammad who is buried there....
.
See also
- NehardeaNehardeaNehardea or Nehardeah was a city of Babylonia, situated at or near the junction of the Euphrates with the Nahr Malka , one of the earliest centers of Babylonian Judaism. As the seat of the exilarch it traced its origin back to King Jehoiachin...
- PumbeditaPumbeditaPumbedita was the name of a city in ancient Babylonia close to the modern-day city of Fallujah....
- Sura (city)Sura (city)Sura was a city in the southern part of ancient Babylonia, located west of the Euphrates River. It was well-known for its agricultural produce, which included grapes, wheat, and barley...
- Talmudic Academies in BabyloniaTalmudic Academies in BabyloniaThe Talmudic Academies in Babylonia, also known as the Geonic Academies, were the center for Jewish scholarship and the development of Jewish law in Mesopotamia from roughly 589 CE to 1038 CE...
- Pumbedita AcademyPumbedita AcademyPumbedita Academy was a Jewish Yeshiva academy in Babylon, during the era of the Jewish Amora and Geonim sages. The academy was founded at the beginning of the second generation of the Amora era, by R...
- Mahuza
- NehardeaNehardeaNehardea or Nehardeah was a city of Babylonia, situated at or near the junction of the Euphrates with the Nahr Malka , one of the earliest centers of Babylonian Judaism. As the seat of the exilarch it traced its origin back to King Jehoiachin...
- Firuz Shapur
- Sura AcademySura AcademySura Academy was a Jewish Yeshiva Academy in Babylon, one of the two major Jewish academies, along with the Pumbedita Yeshiva Academy, from the beginning of the era of the Amora sages and up till the end of the era of the Geonim. The Yeshiva Academy was founded by the Amora Abba Arika , a disciple...
- FallujahFallujahFallujah is a city in the Iraqi province of Al Anbar, located roughly west of Baghdad on the Euphrates. Fallujah dates from Babylonian times and was host to important Jewish academies for many centuries....
- Talmudic Academies in the Land of IsraelTalmudic Academies in the Land of IsraelThe Talmudic Academies in the Land of Israel were yeshivot that served as centers for Jewish scholarship and the development of Jewish law in the Levant and had a great and lasting impact on the development of world Jewry....
External links
- Ctesiphon site description
- The Shahr (province) of Asuristan (extract from the Encyclopedia of Iran)