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Al-Mada'in AI simulator
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Al-Mada'in AI simulator
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Al-Mada'in
33°06′N 44°35′E / 33.100°N 44.583°E
Al-Mada'in (Arabic: المدائن, al-Madāʾin; Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: מחוזא Māḥozā; lit. 'the cities') was an ancient metropolis situated on the Tigris in what is now Iraq. It was located between the ancient royal centers of Ctesiphon and Seleucia, and was founded by the Sasanian Empire. The city's name was used by Arabs as a synonym for the Sasanian capital of Ctesiphon, in a tradition that continued after the Arab conquest of Iran.
According to myth, al-Mada'in was constructed by the legendary Iranian kings Tahmuras or Hushang, who named it Kardbandad. The city was then later rebuilt by the legendary Iranian king Zab, the Macedonian king Alexander the Great (r. 356–323 BCE) and the Sasanian emperor Shapur II (r. 309–379 CE). According to another folklore, the names of five (or seven) cities that al-Mada'in comprised were Aspanbur, Veh-Ardashir, Hanbu Shapur, Darzanidan, Veh Jondiu-Khosrow, Nawinabad and Kardakadh.
According to Perso-Arabic sources, Ctesiphon, the capital of the Sasanian Empire, was greatly enlarged and flourished during their rule, thus turning into a metropolis, which was known in Arabic as al-Mada'in, and in Aramaic as Mahoza. The oldest inhabited places of al-Mada'in were on its eastern side, which in Arabic sources is called "the Old City", where the residence of the Sasanians, known as the White Palace, was located. The southern side of al-Mada'in was known as Aspanbar, which was known by its prominent halls, riches, games, stables, and baths.
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 East patriarch. To the south of Veh-Ardashir was Valashabad.
In 495, during the turbulent reign of Emperor Kavad I, Mahoza (as the Jews called the city) was the scene of a Jewish revolt led by Exilarch Mar-Zutra II. After the king denied Jews the right to organize their own militia, Mar-Zutra took advantage of the confusion into which Mazdak's communistic attempts had plunged Persia and led a successful military revolt that achieved political independence for the Jews of Mahoza. The Jewish state lasted seven years until 502 CE, when Kavad finally defeated Mar-Zutra and punished him with crucifixion on the bridge of Mahoza.
In 540, Khosrow I (r. 531–579) resettled captives from Antioch to the south of Aspanbur, a place which became known as Weh Antiok Khosrow, a Middle Persian name meaning "better than Antioch, Khosrow built this". It was known by the locals of the place as Rumagan ("town of the Romans"), while the Arabs knew it as al-Rumiya (also spelled Rumiya).
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, Khosrau 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 Khosrau's new winter residence, Dastagerd. In 628, a deadly plague hit al-Mada'in and the rest of the western part of the Sasanian Empire, which even killed Khosrau's son and successor, Kavadh II.
Al-Mada'in
33°06′N 44°35′E / 33.100°N 44.583°E
Al-Mada'in (Arabic: المدائن, al-Madāʾin; Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: מחוזא Māḥozā; lit. 'the cities') was an ancient metropolis situated on the Tigris in what is now Iraq. It was located between the ancient royal centers of Ctesiphon and Seleucia, and was founded by the Sasanian Empire. The city's name was used by Arabs as a synonym for the Sasanian capital of Ctesiphon, in a tradition that continued after the Arab conquest of Iran.
According to myth, al-Mada'in was constructed by the legendary Iranian kings Tahmuras or Hushang, who named it Kardbandad. The city was then later rebuilt by the legendary Iranian king Zab, the Macedonian king Alexander the Great (r. 356–323 BCE) and the Sasanian emperor Shapur II (r. 309–379 CE). According to another folklore, the names of five (or seven) cities that al-Mada'in comprised were Aspanbur, Veh-Ardashir, Hanbu Shapur, Darzanidan, Veh Jondiu-Khosrow, Nawinabad and Kardakadh.
According to Perso-Arabic sources, Ctesiphon, the capital of the Sasanian Empire, was greatly enlarged and flourished during their rule, thus turning into a metropolis, which was known in Arabic as al-Mada'in, and in Aramaic as Mahoza. The oldest inhabited places of al-Mada'in were on its eastern side, which in Arabic sources is called "the Old City", where the residence of the Sasanians, known as the White Palace, was located. The southern side of al-Mada'in was known as Aspanbar, which was known by its prominent halls, riches, games, stables, and baths.
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 East patriarch. To the south of Veh-Ardashir was Valashabad.
In 495, during the turbulent reign of Emperor Kavad I, Mahoza (as the Jews called the city) was the scene of a Jewish revolt led by Exilarch Mar-Zutra II. After the king denied Jews the right to organize their own militia, Mar-Zutra took advantage of the confusion into which Mazdak's communistic attempts had plunged Persia and led a successful military revolt that achieved political independence for the Jews of Mahoza. The Jewish state lasted seven years until 502 CE, when Kavad finally defeated Mar-Zutra and punished him with crucifixion on the bridge of Mahoza.
In 540, Khosrow I (r. 531–579) resettled captives from Antioch to the south of Aspanbur, a place which became known as Weh Antiok Khosrow, a Middle Persian name meaning "better than Antioch, Khosrow built this". It was known by the locals of the place as Rumagan ("town of the Romans"), while the Arabs knew it as al-Rumiya (also spelled Rumiya).
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, Khosrau 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 Khosrau's new winter residence, Dastagerd. In 628, a deadly plague hit al-Mada'in and the rest of the western part of the Sasanian Empire, which even killed Khosrau's son and successor, Kavadh II.