View source for Ecbatana

{{Short description|Ancient city, capital of the Median Empire}}
{{Infobox ancient site
| name = Ecbatana
| native_name = Hagmatana
| alternate_name = 
| image = Hegmataneh.jpg
| alt = An outdoor excavation site
| caption = Archeological site of Ecbatana in 2017
| map_type = Iran#Near East
| map_alt = 
| map_size = 
| relief = yes
| coordinates = {{coord|34|48|23|N|48|30|58|E|display=inline,title}}
| location = [[Hamedan]], [[Hamadan Province]], [[Iran]]
| region = [[Zagros Mountains]]
| type = Settlement
| part_of = 
| length = 
| width = 
| area = 
| height = 
| builder = [[Deioces]]
| material = 
| built = 11th century BC
| abandoned = 1220
| epochs = {{flatlist|
*[[Medes|Median Empire]]
*[[Achaemenid Empire]]
*[[Parthian Empire]]
*[[Seleucid Empire]]
*[[Sasanian Empire]]}}
| cultures = [[Persian people|Persian]]
| dependency_of = 
| occupants = 
| event = [[Battle of Ecbatana]]
| excavations = 
| archaeologists = 
| condition = In ruins
| ownership = 
| management = [[Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization of Iran]]
| public_access = Open
| website = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} -->
| notes = {{Infobox UNESCO World Heritage Site
| child         = yes
| criteria      = ii, iii
| ID            = 1716
| year          = 2024
| area          = {{convert|75|ha|sqmi|abbr=on}}
| buffer_zone   = {{convert|287|ha|sqmi|abbr=on}} 
}}
}}
{{Contains special characters|cuneiform}}
'''Ecbatana'''{{efn|{{langx|peo|𐏃𐎥𐎶𐎫𐎠𐎴|translit=Hagmatāna}} or {{Transliteration|peo|Haŋmatāna}},{{Sfn|Stausberg|Vevaina|Tessmann|2015|p=394}} literally "the place of gathering" according to [[Darius the Great|Darius the Great's]] inscription at [[Bisotun]]; {{langx|fa|هگمتانه}}; {{langx|pal|𐭠𐭧𐭬𐭲𐭠𐭭}}; {{langx|xpr|𐭀𐭇𐭌𐭕𐭍|translit=Ahmadān}}; {{langx|akk-x-latbabyl|{{cuneiform|12|𒆳𒀀𒃵𒋫𒉡}}|translit=ᴷᵁᴿAgamtanu}}; {{langx|elx|𒀝𒈠𒆪𒈾|translit=Agmadana}}; {{langx|arc|𐡀𐡇𐡌𐡕𐡀|translit=Aḥməṯā}}; {{langx|grc|Ἀγβάτανα}} or {{lang|grc|[[wikt:Ἐκβάτανα|Ἐκβάτανα]]}}}} ({{IPAc-en|ɛ|k|ˈ|b|æ|t|ən|ə}}) was an ancient city, the capital of the [[Median kingdom]], and the first capital in [[History of Iran|Iranian history]]. It later became the summer capital of the [[Achaemenid Empire|Achaemenid]] and [[Parthian Empire|Parthian]] empires.<ref name=":2">Nardo, Don. "Ecbatana." ''The Greenhaven Encyclopedia of Ancient Mesopotamia'', edited by Robert B. Kebric, Greenhaven Press, 2007, pp. 97-98. ''Gale In Context: World History'', link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3205100129/WHIC?u=wylrc_uwyoming&sid=summon&xid=e9682d3c. Accessed 20 Nov. 2022.</ref> It was also an important city during the [[Seleucid Empire|Seleucid]] and [[Sasanian Empire|Sasanian]] empires. Ecbatana was located in the [[Zagros Mountains]], the east of central [[Mesopotamia]],<ref name=":2" /> on Hagmatana Hill (Tappe-ye Hagmatāna).{{sfn|Brown|1997|pp=80–84}} Its strategic location and resources probably made it a popular site even before the 1st millennium BC.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Foundation |first=Encyclopaedia Iranica |title=Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica |url=https://iranicaonline.org/ |access-date=2022-12-03 |website=iranicaonline.org |language=en-US}}</ref> It is identified with the current city of [[Hamadan]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nazari |first=Atiyeh |date=2023-03-22 |title=Ecbatana, Journey to the Medes and Achaemenid |url=https://gopersis.com/ecbatana/ |access-date=2024-01-25 |website=GoPersis |language=en-US}}</ref>

== History ==

=== 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.{{sfn|Brown|1997|pp=80–84}} Deioces's intention was to build a palace worthy of the dignity of a king.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lendering |first=Jona |date=1996 |title=Ecbatana (Hamadan) |url=https://www.livius.org/articles/place/ecbatana-hamadan/ |url-status=}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-06-05 |title=Seven Colored Walls of Ecbatana |url=https://forums.civfanatics.com/resources/seven-colored-walls-of-ecbatana.22841/ |access-date=2024-01-25 |website=CivFanatics Forums |language=en-US}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Cantos Project - Herodotus: Deioces and Ecbatana |url=https://ezrapoundcantos.org/index.php/a-draft-of-xvi-cantos-overview/canto-iv/iv-sources/141-ecbatana |access-date=2024-01-25 |website=ezrapoundcantos.org}}</ref> 
[[File:Reza Abbasi Museum (15).jpg|thumb|Golden [[rhyton]] of ram's head, discovered in Ecbatana, kept at the [[Reza Abbasi Museum]]]]
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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ecbatana (Hamadan) - Livius |url=https://www.livius.org/articles/place/ecbatana-hamadan/ |access-date=2024-01-25 |website=www.livius.org}}</ref> Some archaeologists have also attributed its construction to [[Phraortes]], the second king of the Medes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Iran Chamber Society: Ecbatana |url=https://www.iranchamber.com/geography/articles/ecbatana.php |access-date=2024-01-25 |website=www.iranchamber.com}}</ref> Other old legends attribute the origin of Ecbatana to the legendary [[Semiramis]] or [[Jamshid]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ancient Ecbatana [Biblical Achmetha] (Modern Hamadan) in Iran |url=https://ancientneareast.tripod.com/Ecbatana_Achmetha_Hamadan.html |access-date=2024-01-25 |website=ancientneareast.tripod.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Hamadan, IRAN's ancient Capital city of Ecbatana - Avicenna, Ibn Sina Persia's Great Mathematician, Philosopher, Physician and Scientist, Hamadan - IRAN - Ecbatana - Persian Capital |url=http://www.farsinet.com/hamadan/ |access-date=2024-01-25 |website=www.farsinet.com}}</ref> Ecbatana has also been mentioned by other Greek historians such as [[Polybius]], [[Ctesias]], [[Justin (historian)|Justin]], and [[Xenophon]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rawlinson |first=H. C. |date=1840 |title=Memoir on the Site of the Atropatenian Ecbatana |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1797839 |journal=The Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London |volume=10 |pages=65–158 |doi=10.2307/1797839 |jstor=1797839 |issn=0266-6235|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Tuplin |first=Christopher |title=Xenophon and Achaemenid courts: a survey of evidence |url=https://www.academia.edu/4230957 |journal=B.Jacobs & R.Rollinger (Edd.), der Achämenidenhof (Wiesbaden 2010), 189-230.}}</ref> The [[Neo-Assyrian Empire|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 Mountains|Zagros]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Brown |first=Stuart C. |date=1986 |title=Media and Secondary State Formation in the Neo-Assyrian Zagros: An Anthropological Approach to an Assyriological Problem |journal=Journal of Cuneiform Studies |volume=38 |issue=1 |pages=107–119 |doi=10.2307/1359955 |jstor=1359955 |s2cid=156425357 }}</ref>

=== Achaemenid Empire (550–330 BC) ===
[[File:Achaemenid gold rhyton in the shape of a lion, from Ecbatana, ca. 550-330 BC, Exhibition- 'Iran, Cradle of Civilizations', Archaeological Museum of Alicante (MARQ), Spain - 48244034452.jpg|thumb|[[Achaemenid Empire|Achaemenid]] golden [[rhyton]] in the shape of a lion, from Ecbatana, kept at the [[National Museum of Iran]]]]
In 550 BC, [[Cyrus the Great]] defeated [[Astyages]] and conquered Ecbatana, forming the [[Achaemenid Empire]].<ref name="Foundation">{{Cite web |last=Foundation |first=Encyclopaedia Iranica |title=Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica |url=https://iranicaonline.org/ |access-date=2024-01-25 |website=iranicaonline.org |language=en-US}}</ref> 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 [[Alvand|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.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Jameson |first1=Michael H. |last2=Frye |first2=Richard N. |date=1964 |title=The Heritage of Persia |journal=The Classical World |volume=57 |issue=4 |pages=155 |doi=10.2307/4345268 |jstor=4345268}}</ref>

In ancient times, Ecbatana was renowned for its wealth and splendid architecture.<ref>Pseudo-Aristotle, ''De mundo''</ref> In 330 BC when [[Darius III]] faced [[Alexander the Great|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.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-10-14 |title=گنج گمشده داریوش سوم؟کجاست؟ |url=https://felezyabnano.com/%DA%AF%D9%86%D8%AC-%DA%AF%D9%85%D8%B4%D8%AF%D9%87-%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%B1%DB%8C%D9%88%D8%B4-%D8%B3%D9%88%D9%85%D8%9F%DA%A9%D8%AC%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%9F/ |access-date=2024-01-25 |website=فلزیاب نانوبازرگان |language=fa-IR}}</ref> 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) ===
[[File:Coin of Demetrius I Soter, minted in Ecbatana.jpg|thumb|Coin of [[Demetrius I Soter|Demetrius I]], minted and discovered in Ecbatana.|left]]
In 330&nbsp;BC, [[Alexander the Great]] captured the treasury of Ecbatana, and he looted all the gold and silver decorations of the palace.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2005-12-02 |title=Parthian site may have wrongly been identified as Ecbatana |url=https://en.mehrnews.com/news/14129/Parthian-site-may-have-wrongly-been-identified-as-Ecbatana |access-date=2024-04-29 |website=Mehr News Agency |language=en}}</ref> Ecbatana was the site of the assassination of the [[Macedon]]ian general [[Parmenion]] by Alexander's order.{{sfn|Brown|1997|pp=80–84}}

Later, in 305 BC, the city was ruled by [[Seleucus I Nicator|Seleucus I]]. The [[Battle of Ecbatana]] was fought in 129 BC between the [[Seleucids]] led by [[Antiochus VII Sidetes]] and the [[Parthian Empire|Parthians]] led by [[Phraates II]], and marked the final attempt on the part of the Seleucids to regain their power in eastern Iran against the Parthians. After their defeat, the territory of the Seleucids was limited to the area of modern-day [[Syria]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Battle of Ecbatana {{!}} Map and Timeline |url=https://history-maps.com/en/story/Seleucid-Empire/event/Battle-of-Ecbatana |access-date=2024-01-25 |website=history-maps.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-09-05 |title=What is Battle of Ecbatana? Bissoy Answers |url=https://ans.bissoy.com/qa/2257670 |access-date=2024-01-25 |website=ans.bissoy.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Battle of Ecbatana 129 BC |url=https://www.romanarmytalk.com/rat/showthread.php?tid=23103 |access-date=2024-01-25 |website=www.romanarmytalk.com}}</ref>

=== Parthian Empire (247 BC – AD 224) ===
[[File:Coin of Mithridates II of Parthia with a horse depicted on reverse, Ecbatana mint.jpg|thumb|Coin of [[Mithridates II of Parthia|Mithridates II]] with a horse depicted on reverse, minted and discovered in Ecbatana.|left]]
Ecbatana later became the summer capital of the [[Parthian Empire|Parthians]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bunson |first1=Matthew |title=Encyclopedia of Ancient Rome |date=2012 |publisher=Facts On File |isbn=978-0-8160-8217-9 |page=183 }}</ref> and their main mint, producing [[drachm]]s, [[Tetradrachm#:~:text=The tetradrachm (Greek: τετράδραχμον,,borders of the Greek World.|tetradrachms]], and assorted [[bronze]] denominations.<ref name="Foundation"/>

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.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last=Sulimani |first=Iris |url=https://archive.org/details/diodorusmythisto00suli |title=Diodorus' Mythistory and the Pagan Mission: Historiography and Culture-heroes in the First Pentad of the Bibliotheke |publisher=BRILL |year=2011 |isbn=9789004194069 |location=Leiden |page=[https://archive.org/details/diodorusmythisto00suli/page/n220 204] |url-access=limited}}</ref> There was a reputation for horses and wheat in the area (Polybius, 5.44.1).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Polybius |title=Histories |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Polybius/5*.html |access-date=2022-12-03 |website=penelope.uchicago.edu |at=5.44}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Plutarch |title=Alexander |at=35.1}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Pliny |title=Naturalis Historia |at=31.17}}</ref><ref name=":3" />

In 130 BC, with the intention of restoring the Seleucid power to Iran, [[Antiochus VII Sidetes|Antiochus VII]] stopped in Ecbatana for a short period of time,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-01-25 |title=Parthian Mints |url=https://www.parthia.com/parthia_mints.htm |website=Parthia}}</ref> just as [[Tigranes the Great]], who stayed there in the following year to attack [[Mithridates II of Parthia|Mithridates II]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Admin |date=2013-08-18 |title=Tigranes the Great, 140–55 BC |url=https://www.peopleofar.com/2013/08/19/tigranes-the-great/ |access-date=2024-01-25 |website=PeopleOfAr |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Tigranes the Great Timeline |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/timeline/Tigranes_the_Great/ |access-date=2024-01-25 |website=www.worldhistory.org |language=en}}</ref>

=== Sasanian Empire (AD 224–651) ===
Ecbatana remained loyal to the Parthians until AD 226, when [[Ardashir I]] defeated [[Artabanus IV of Parthia|Artabanus IV]] and conquered Ecbatana from the north, alongside [[Atropatene]].{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}} 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.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Crane |first=Mary |date=1937 |title=The Historical Documents |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44235962 |journal=Bulletin of the American Institute for Iranian Art and Archaeology |volume=5 |issue=2 |pages=84–91 |jstor=44235962 |issn=2573-6167}}</ref>

=== Destruction ===
After the [[battle of Nahavand]] in 642 AD,<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1093/acref/9780195065121.001.0001 |title=The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-19-506512-1 }}{{page needed|date=December 2022}}</ref> Ecbatana fell to the Muslims, and around 1220, the city was completely destroyed by the [[Mongol invasion of the Khwarazmian Empire|Mongol invasion]]. Ecbatana was sacked in 1386 by [[Timur]], and the population was slaughtered as a result.

===Historical descriptions===

==== Herodotus's description ====
[[File:Khorsabad_Salle_II_bas_relief_22_attaque_d'une_cité_mède.jpg|right|thumb|[[Assyria|Assyrian-era]] relief of a Median city built with walls forming concentric circles on a hill, similarly to how Greek authors later described Ecbatana.]]
The Greeks thought Ecbatana to be the capital of the [[Medes|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.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Bienkowski |first1=Piotr |title=Dictionary of the Ancient Near East |last2=Millard |first2=Alan |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-8122-2115-2 |location=Philadelphia, PA |page=99 |language=en}}</ref> 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]].<ref name="Lendering 1996">{{Cite web |last=Lendering |first=Jona |date=1996 |title=Ecbatana (Hamadan) |url=https://www.livius.org/articles/place/ecbatana-hamadan/}}</ref>

In the 5th century BC, [[Herodotus]] wrote of Ecbatana:<blockquote>"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."</blockquote>
[[File:Raguel's Reception of Tobias at Ecbatana MET DP801095.jpg|thumb|Raquel's reception of Tobias at Ecbatana]]
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.<ref name=":02" /> 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.<ref name=":12">{{Cite book |last=Balfour |first=Edward |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.283118 |title=The Cyclopædia of India and of Eastern and Southern Asia |publisher=Bernard Quartitch |year=1885 |location=London |page=1027}}</ref>

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 the Great|Cyrus]] conquered Ecbatana.<blockquote>"King [[Astyages]] called up his troops and marched against [[Cyrus the Great|Cyrus]], king of [[Anshan (Persia)|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."<ref name="Lendering 1996"/></blockquote>

==== Polybius of Megalopolis's description ====
[[File:Andrea_Vaccaro_-_Raguel's_Blessing_of_her_Daughter_Sarah_before_Leaving_Ecbatana_with_Tobias_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg|thumb|Raguel's Blessing of her Daughter Sarah before Leaving Ecbatana with Tobias, by [[Andrea Vaccaro]]]]
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 the Great|Alexander]], most precious metals were stripped, while the remainder were stripped during [[Antigonus I Monophthalmus|Antigonus]]'s and [[Seleucus I Nicator|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).<ref>{{Cite web |last= |last2= |title=Polybius Histories |script-title= |url=http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Polybius/10*.html#27 |access-date=2022-12-03 |website=penelope.uchicago.edu |edition=Book 10-27}}</ref>

==Archaeology==
{{multiple image
| perrow            = 3
| total_width       = 250
| image1            = Coin of Artabanus II of Parthia.jpg
| image2            = Coin of Phraates III of Parthia.jpg
| footer            = 
| caption1          = [[Artabanus II]]
| caption2          = [[Phraates III]]
| image3            = Coin of Vonones I of Parthia.jpg
| caption3          = [[Vonones I]]
| image4            = Coin of Osroes I (cropped), Ecbatana mint.jpg
| caption4          = [[Osroes I]]
| image6            = Coin of Vologases V, Ecbatana mint.jpg
| caption6          = [[Vologases V]]
| image7            = Coin of Mithridates V of Parthia, Ecbatana mint.jpg
| caption7          = [[Mithridates V of Parthia|Mithridates V]]
| image8            = Drachm of Phraates V and his mother Musa, Ecbatana mint.jpg
| caption8          = [[Phraates V]] and his mother [[Musa of Parthia|Musa]]
| image5            = The portrait of Phraates V on the obverse of a drachm, Ecbatana mint.jpg
| image9            = Coin_of_Vologases_VI_of_Parthia_%28cropped%29,_Ecbatana_mint.jpg
| caption5          = [[Phraates V]]
| caption9          = [[Vologases VI]]
| image10           = Roundel with winged lion - Achaemenid gold, said to have been found at Hamadan at Tepe Hagmatana, the site of ancient Ecbatana, 550-330 BC - Oriental Institute Museum, University of Chicago - DSC07984.JPG
| caption10         = Roundel with winged lion, Achaemenid gold
}}

Topographically, Hamadan is characterized by three hills, Mosalla (place of prayer), Tell Hagmatana (Tappa-ye Hagmatana), Sang-e Sir, and the Alusjerd river, which flows from north to south, separates the city into two parts.<ref name=":3" />

The summit of the Moṣallā, an {{convert|80|m|abbr=on}}-high rock hill in the southeast sector, contains stone and brick remnants of a rectangular [[citadel]] marked by towers. It is believed to be the Median citadel, which dates back no earlier than the Parthian era.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Flandin |first=Eugène |title=Voyage en Perse |publisher=Paris, Gide et J. Baudry |year=1851 |page=390}}</ref><ref name=":3" />

The Tell Hagmatana, also called Tepe Hegmataneh (thought to correspond to the ancient citadel of Ecbatana) has a circumference of {{convert|1.4|km|abbr=on}} and an area of about 40 hectares, which corresponds to a report from [[Polybius]], although the ancient Greek and Roman accounts likely exaggerate Ecbatana's wealth, splendor, and extravagance.{{sfn|Brown|1997|pp=80–84}}

Relatively few finds thus far can be firmly dated to the Median era. There is a "small, open-sided room with four corner columns supporting a domed ceiling, similar to a Median-era structure from [[Tepe Nush-i Jan]], interpreted as a [[Zoroastrian]] [[fire temple]].<ref>Michael Stausberg, Yuhan Sohrab-Dinshaw Vevaina (eds.), [https://books.google.com/books?id=cm_-CAAAQBAJ&pg=PA394&dq=Hagmatana ''The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Zoroastrianism''] (2015), p. 394</ref> Excavations have revealed a massive defensive wall made of mud-bricks, and dated to the Median period based on a comparison to Tepe Nush-i Jan and [[Godin Tepe]]. There are also two column bases from the Achaemenid period, and some mud-brick structures thought to be from the Median or Achaemenid periods. A badly damaged stone lion sculpture is of disputed date: it may be Achaemenid or Parthian. Numerous Parthian-era constructions attest to Ecbatana's status as a summer capital for the Parthian rulers.{{sfn|Brown|1997|pp=80–84}} In 2006, excavations in a limited area of Hagmatana hill failed to discover anything older than the Parthian period, but this does not rule out older archaeological layers existing elsewhere within the 35-hectare site.<ref>[http://www.chnpress.com/news/?section=2&id=6905 CHN | News<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070218163944/http://www.chnpress.com/news/?section=2&id=6905|date=2007-02-18}}</ref>

Ecbatana was first excavated in 1913 by [[Charles Fossey]].<ref name="Chevalier1989">{{cite journal |last1=Chevalier |first1=N |title=Hamadan 1913: Une mission oubliée in Mélanges P. Amiet II |journal=Iranica Antiqua |date=1989 |volume=24 |pages=245–253 |id={{INIST|11836944}} {{ProQuest|1297871996}} |doi=10.2143/ia.24.0.2014036 }}</ref>  Fossey discovered fragments of column bases adorned with arabesques and inscriptions, glazed bricks, and faience tiles during the course of the six-week excavation of Mosalla. Based on his chance discoveries, it looks like the {{convert|30|m|abbr=on}}-high mound, Tell Hagmatana, is the site of the Median citadel and the Achaemenid royal construction. The sculptured head of a prince was found during the three months-long excavation of the eastern section.<ref name="Chevalier1989" />

Excavations have been limited due to the modern town covering most of the ancient site.<ref>Neil Asher Silberman (ed.), [https://books.google.com/books?id=xeJMAgAAQBAJ&pg=RA1-PA121&dq=ecbatana ''The Oxford Companion to Archaeology, Volume 1''] (2012), p. 121]</ref> In 1969, the Ministry of Culture and Art began buying property on the [[Tell (archaeology)|tell]] in support of archaeology, though excavation did not begin until 1983. By 2007, 12 seasons of excavation had occurred.<ref>Azarnoosh, Masoud, The Report of Stratigraphic Excavations in Hegmataneh, Hamedan. The Ninth Annual Congress of Archaeology (In Persian). Tehran: Iranian Center for Archaeological Research, 2007</ref> In 1974, the Iranian Centre for Archeological Research performed some excavation in the Parthian cemetery located at southeast of Hamedan.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kleiss |first1=Wolfram |last2=Delougaz |first2=P. P. |last3=Kantor |first3=Helene J. |last4=Dollfus |first4=G. |last5=Smith |first5=Philip E. L. |last6=Bivar |first6=A. D. H. |last7=Fehérvári |first7=G. |last8=Azarnoush |first8=Massoud |last9=Dyson |first9=Robert H. |last10=Pigott |first10=Vincent C. |last11=Tosi |first11=Maurizio |last12=Sumner |first12=William M. |last13=Whitehouse |first13=David |last14=Stronach |first14=David |last15=Naumann |first15=Rudolf |last16=Mortensen |first16=Peder |last17=T. C. Young |first17=Jr. |last18=Zagarell |first18=A. |title=Survey of Excavations in Iran: 1973-74 |journal=Iran |date=1975 |volume=13 |pages=172–193 |doi=10.2307/4300535 |jstor=4300535 }}</ref> The work on the tell is ongoing.<ref>[http://ijas.usb.ac.ir/article_1450_667b2a8e8e37495ff452d7ec681b7d2b.pdf], Yaghoub Mohammadifar et al, Preliminary Report of the 16th Season of Excavations at Tepe Hegmataneh; Hamedan, Iranian Journal of Archaeological Studies 2: 2 (2012)</ref>

==Ecbatana/Hagmatana==
Historians and archaeologists now believe "the identification of Ecbatana with Hamadān is secure."  Earlier, a lack of significant archaeological remains from the Median and Achaemenid periods had prompted suggestions of other sites for Ecbatana.{{sfn|Brown|1997|pp=80–84}}

[[Assyria]]n sources never mention Hagmatana/Ecbatana. Some scholars believed the problem can be resolved by identifying the Ecbatana/Hagmatana mentioned in later Greek and Achaemenid sources with the city Sagbita/Sagbat frequently mentioned in Assyrian texts, since the [[Indo-Iranian languages|Indo-Iranian]] sound /s/ became /h/ in many [[Iranian languages]]. The Sagbita mentioned by Assyrian sources was located in the proximity of the cities Kishesim (Kar-Nergal) and Harhar (Kar-Sharrukin).<ref>{{Cite web |title=I.N. Medvedskaya, Were the Assyrians at Ecbatana?, Jan, 2002 |url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-132797080.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615051317/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-132797080.html |archive-date=2011-06-15 |access-date=2007-03-25}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Medvedskaya |first=I.N. |year=2002 |title=Were the Assyrians at Ecbatana? |work=International Journal of Kurdish Studies |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0SBL/is_16/ai_n13810182/pg_5 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120711051721/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0SBL/is_16/ai_n13810182/pg_5 |archive-date=2012-07-11}}</ref>

It is now proposed that the absence of any mention of Ecbatana in Assyrian sources can be explained by the possibility that Assyria never became involved as far east as the [[Alvand]] mountains, but only in the western [[Zagros]].{{sfn|Brown|1997|pp=80–84}}

[[Sir Henry Rawlinson]] attempted to prove that there was a second and older Ecbatana in ''Media [[Atropatene]]'' on the site of the modern [[Takht-e Soleymān|Takht-i-Suleiman]]. However, the cuneiform texts imply that there was only one city of the name, and that ''Takht-i Suleiman'' is the [[Ganzak|Gazaca]] of classical geography. There is also the claim that Ecbatana used to be the city of [[Tabriz]],<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Turley |first1=Jeffrey |title=The Commentaries of D. García de Silva y Figueroa on his Embassy to Shāh ʿAbbās I of Persia on Behalf of Philip III, King of Spain |last2=Souza |first2=George Bryan |publisher=BRILL |year=2017 |isbn=978-90-04-34631-4 |location=Leiden |page=421}}</ref> which is one of the historical capitals of Iran and the present capital of [[East Azerbaijan Province|East Azerbaijan province]]. The city, which was previously called Tauris, was put forward by John-Thomas Minadoi, who cited that his identification of the city was based on data collected from modern and ancient geographers, recent travel accounts, and local informants.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Siraisi |first=Nancy |title=History, Medicine, and the Traditions of Renaissance Learning |publisher=University of Michigan Press |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-472-11602-7 |location=Ann Arbor |page=257}}</ref> This theory was also promoted by other historians, such as Sir William Jones and the chief French orientalists.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Society of Biblical Archaeology |title=Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology, Volume 15 |publisher=Society of Biblical Archaeology |year=1893 |location=Bloomsbury |page=426}}</ref><ref name=":12" />

Ecbatana is the supposed capital of [[Astyages]] (''Istuvegü''), which was taken by the Persian emperor [[Cyrus the Great]] in the sixth year of the reign of [[Nabonidus]] (550/549&nbsp;BC).

==Ecbatana Museum==
[[File:Hegmataneh Museum, Ecbatana, Iran.jpg|thumb|Two Achaemenid [[cuneiform]] inscriptions, kept at the Ecbatana Museum]]
Ecbatana Museum was opened in 1994. The museum is open all days of the week except Monday evening.<ref>{{Cite web |title=موزه هگمتانه همدان؛ آدرس، تلفن، ساعت کاری، تصاویر و نظرات کاربران |url=https://balad.ir/p/%D9%85%D9%88%D8%B2%D9%87-%D9%87%DA%AF%D9%85%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%87-hamedan_museum-4WERGNKsjWehFc |access-date=2024-01-28 |website=نقشه و مسیریاب بلد |language=fa}}</ref> Located in the east of Ecbatana hill, the museum building used to be a nursery school,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ecbatana Museum |url=https://www.visitiran.ir/attraction/Ecbatana--Museum |access-date=2024-01-28 |website=www.visitiran.ir |language=en}}</ref> but it has been put into changes and repairs to create a temporary museum. With an area of over 600 square meters, a significant amount of the findings from Ecbatana are kept at this museum today, with some others at the [[National Museum of Iran]] and [[Reza Abbasi Museum]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-08-24 |title=۱۱ اثر زرین و سیمین همدان در موزه هگمتانه به نمایش درآمد |url=https://www.isna.ir/news/1402060201090/%DB%B1%DB%B1-%D8%A7%D8%AB%D8%B1-%D8%B2%D8%B1%DB%8C%D9%86-%D9%88-%D8%B3%DB%8C%D9%85%DB%8C%D9%86-%D9%87%D9%85%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D9%85%D9%88%D8%B2%D9%87-%D9%87%DA%AF%D9%85%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%87-%D8%A8%D9%87-%D9%86%D9%85%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B4-%D8%AF%D8%B1%D8%A2%D9%85%D8%AF |access-date=2024-01-28 |website=ایسنا |language=fa}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-08-27 |title=خبرگزاری فارس - بازدید ۱۰ هزار نفری از نمایشگاه محوطه هگمتانه |url=https://www.farsnews.ir/news/14020605000092/%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B2%D8%AF%DB%8C%D8%AF-%DB%B1%DB%B0-%D9%87%D8%B2%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D9%86%D9%81%D8%B1%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D9%86%D9%85%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B4%DA%AF%D8%A7%D9%87-%D9%85%D8%AD%D9%88%D8%B7%D9%87-%D9%87%DA%AF%D9%85%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%87 |access-date=2024-01-28 |website=خبرگزاری فارس}}</ref>

==Noushijan fire temple ==
[[File:Abdoli.jpg|thumb|The Noushijan Fire Temple, near Ecbatana]]
The Noushijan [[fire temple]] is one of the most important and oldest fire temples in the world,<ref>{{Cite web |title=ارگ نوشیجان، یکی از قدیمی ترین بناهای جهان در ملایر |url=https://lastsecond.ir/blog/7289-nushijan-citadel-malayer |access-date=2024-01-28 |website=لست‌سکند |language=fa}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-03-09 |title=قدیمی‌ترین نیایشگاه خشتی دنیا در ملایر/ارگ"نوشیجان"میزبان مسافران |url=https://www.mehrnews.com/news/3927613/%D9%82%D8%AF%DB%8C%D9%85%DB%8C-%D8%AA%D8%B1%DB%8C%D9%86-%D9%86%DB%8C%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B4%DA%AF%D8%A7%D9%87-%D8%AE%D8%B4%D8%AA%DB%8C-%D8%AF%D9%86%DB%8C%D8%A7-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D9%85%D9%84%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D8%B1%DA%AF-%D9%86%D9%88%D8%B4%DB%8C%D8%AC%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%85%DB%8C%D8%B2%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%85%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86 |access-date=2024-01-28 |website=خبرگزاری مهر {{!}} اخبار ایران و جهان {{!}} Mehr News Agency |language=fa}}</ref> which is near Ecbatana. It is also the oldest adobe temple in the world.{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}} In 1967, the excavations of this place began under the supervision of [[David Stronach]], which led to the identification of three historical periods in three separate floors. The third floor belongs to the [[Parthian Empire|Parthians]], the second floor belongs to the [[Achaemenid Empire|Achaemenids]], and the first floor belongs to the [[Medes]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-03-29 |title=خبرگزاری فارس - آتشکده نوشیجان، نشانی از درخشش تاریخ! |url=https://www.farsnews.ir/news/13960109000208/%D8%A2%D8%AA%D8%B4%DA%A9%D8%AF%D9%87-%D9%86%D9%88%D8%B4%DB%8C%D8%AC%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%86%D8%B4%D8%A7%D9%86%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D8%AF%D8%B1%D8%AE%D8%B4%D8%B4-%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%B1%DB%8C%D8%AE |access-date=2024-01-28 |website=خبرگزاری فارس}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2005-11-06 |title=آتشكده و قلعه‌ي باستاني نوشيجان؛ نخستين نمونه‌ي معماري كشور در فلات ايران |url=https://www.isna.ir/news/8408-06977/%D8%A2%D8%AA%D8%B4%D9%83%D8%AF%D9%87-%D9%88-%D9%82%D9%84%D8%B9%D9%87-%D9%8A-%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A-%D9%86%D9%88%D8%B4%D9%8A%D8%AC%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%86%D8%AE%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%8A%D9%86-%D9%86%D9%85%D9%88%D9%86%D9%87-%D9%8A-%D9%85%D8%B9%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%8A-%D9%83%D8%B4%D9%88%D8%B1 |access-date=2024-01-28 |website=ایسنا |language=fa}}</ref> This place was the most important fire temple of the Medes from the second half of the 8th century to the first half of the 6th century BC, and it is now one of the most important structures left from the time of the Medes.

==In popular culture==

[[Archibald MacLeish]]'s poem "You, Andrew Marvell"<ref>{{cite book |last1=MacLeish |first1=Archibald |title=Collected Poems 1917-1952 |date=1952 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt}}</ref> mentions Ecbatana (as 'Ecbatan') in its catalogue of fallen empires:

{{Poem quote
|text=
...Upon those under lands the vast
And ever climbing shadow grow

And strange at Ecbatan the trees
Take leaf by leaf the evening strange
The flooding dark about their knees
The mountains over Persia change...}}

MacLeish's poem in turn provides the title of [[Michael Bishop (author)|Michael Bishop]]'s novel ''And Strange at Ecbatan the Trees''.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Ecbatana, Iran - 50897009158.jpg|Details of Ecbatana (1)
File:Ecbatana, Iran - 50897009088.jpg|Details of Ecbatana (2)
File:Ecbatana, Iran - 50897724661.jpg|Details of Ecbatana (3)
File:شهر باستانی اکباتان 13.jpg|The outer part of Ecbatana (1)
File:همدان2.jpg|The outer part of Ecbatana (2)
File:شاه شاهان هگمتانه.jpg|The adjacent street of Ecbatana 
File:هگمتانه1.jpg|Details of Ecbatana (4)
File:Hegmataneh1.jpg|Details of Ecbatana (5)
File:Ecbatane - excavated house.jpg|Ecbatana under restoration (1)
File:Excavation Work at Hegmataneh Site - Hamadan - Western Iran (7423597384).jpg|Ecbatana under restoration (2)
File:Hegmataneh Museum 2019-03-25 16.jpg|Details of Ecbatana (6)
File:اکباتان (2).jpg|A panoramic view of Ecbatana
File:اکباتان (1).jpg|Ecbatana's main site
File:هگمتانه1.jpg|Details of Ecbatana (7)
File:Ecbatana, Iran - 50897009418.jpg|The entrance to Ecbatana 
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Portal|Asia|History}}
* [[Cities of the Ancient Near East]]
* [[Cartele Abad]], village 80&nbsp;miles to the north
* [[Kassites]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
* {{cite encyclopedia |year=1997 |title=Ecbatana |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. VIII, Fasc. 1 |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ecbatana |last=Brown |first=Stuart C. |pages=80–84}}
* {{cite book |last1=Stausberg |first1=Michael |title=The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Zoroastrianism |last2=Vevaina |first2=Yuhan Sohrab-Dinshaw |last3=Tessmann |first3=Anna |publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Ltd |year=2015 |author-link1=Michael Stausberg}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Ecbatana}}
* [http://www.hegmataneh.ir/ Official Ecbatana website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080422030307/http://www.hegmataneh.ir/ |date=2008-04-22 }}
* [http://www.irna.ir/en/News/82679593 Archeological explorations in Hegmataneh enter 20th season]

{{Median topics}}
{{Iranian Architecture}}
{{Hamadan Province}}

[[Category:Populated places established in the 7th century BC]]
[[Category:Populated places disestablished in the 14th century]]
[[Category:1386 disestablishments]]
[[Category:1380s disestablishments in Asia]]
[[Category:1913 archaeological discoveries]]
[[Category:Tells (archaeology)]]
[[Category:Medes]]
[[Category:Parthian cities]]
[[Category:Hebrew Bible cities]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Iran]]
[[Category:Former populated places in Iran]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Hamadan province]]
[[Category:Geography of Hamadan province]]
[[Category:Babylonian captivity]]
[[Category:Hamadan]]
[[Category:Former capitals of Iran]]
[[Category:Semiramis]]
[[Category:Populated places destroyed during wars]]
[[Category:Timur]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures on the Iran National Heritage List]]
[[Category:Book of Ezra]]