Before it was destroyed by Rome, it was the capital of Parthia Empire (247 BC-224 AD), and then it was restored as the capital of Sassanian Empire (224 AD-65 AD1year). King Ardashir I of Sassanian Dynasty (reigned in 224-240 AD) rebuilt the city and was crowned there, and so was his successor.
This city has become an important trade center on the Silk Road. The caravan will stop at cte sink, load the goods from China, and transport them to Seleucia (built during the Seleucia Empire in 365,438+02-63 BC) for trading, and then move on from there. Therefore, the Silk is called the end of one of the many branches of the Silk Road.
It was conquered by the Romans three times, and it was the site of the Battle of Taixi Peak between Ardashir I and Alexander Severus of Rome (AD 222-235) in 233. Ardashir I's successor joined the city and remained an important cultural and economic center until it was invaded and looted by * * * * people in 637 AD. Later, bricks and other materials from cte sink were used to build the city of Baghdad. The site of Taixi Peak in Salman Pak village, a suburb of Baghdad, Iraq, is slowly deteriorating.
People's Republic of China (PRC) and the establishment of the Parthian Empire
This city is called Tisfun in Persia and Ktesiphon in Greece, and its Latin name Ctesiphon is the best known. The meaning of this name is unknown. It was built on the east bank of the Tigris River, opposite the city of Seleucia. It may be a military camp (according to the geography of Strappo, 16. 1. 16), because the Parthian army didn't want to be stationed in Seleucia, so it had to be mixed with the Greek residents there. But Pliny (l. 23-79 CE) claimed that the city was deliberately built, which was more magnificent than Seleucia, and attracted the residents to cross the river to the new site, thus making Seleucia obsolete (Natural History 6. 122). Before that, there may be some communities-maybe a small trading village-that will attract Mitridati I's attention to the site, or it may just be chosen because it is close to Seleucia, if someone accepts Pliny's idea.
Cte sink developed into a major political and trade center and became the capital of Parthia under the rule of Orodes II.
The earlier Achaemenid Empire (550-330 BC) fell into the hands of Alexander the Great in 330 BC, and Alexander's general Seleucus I Nicato (reigned in 305-28 BC1year) took control of the area in 323 BC after Alexander's death. Seleucus I ruled the western part of his empire from Antioch (on the Orontes River), and established Seleucia city rule for his son Antioch I (* * ruled 29 1-28 1, r. 28 1-26 1 BC).
Therefore, at all costs in Seleucia, Pliny is right-if not very likely-Pliny is right. Mitridati I hoped to build a Parthian city nearby, which would surpass the works of the Greeks and encourage people to abandon the old city and pursue his new and more magnificent Ctesiphon vision. The Seleucid Empire has been in decline for many years-most of its territory was occupied by Rome-before it finally fell into the hands of the Parthians, it was reasonable for the king of Parthia to show the power of his empire through a new city. Overwhelmed Seleucu's efforts.
During the reign of King Godas I of Parthia (9 1-80 BC), the city developed into a major political and trade center and became the capital of Parthia in Orodes II (58-57 BC). During the reign of Vologa I (5 1-80), the city was restored and expanded, which further encouraged trade and made cte sink one of the most important trade centers in the region. Due to the lack of records, little information about Parthia Tessifeng was known, and these records were destroyed by the invading Roman army along with the city.
The city was destroyed by the Roman emperor Trajan in 1 15, and soon he burned Seleucia (after conquering Taixi Peak in 164, Avidius cassius destroyed it in 165). In A.D. 197, septimus Severus ransacked the city and sold its residents as slaves to show his strength. The Romans continued to attack the city. After that, Tai Xifeng was more or less abandoned. With the collapse of the Parthian Empire, there was no effort to rebuild or repopulate the city.
The Battle between Sassanian Empire and Taixi Peak
Ardashir I was a general in the Parthian army, who led an uprising to overthrow the empire. Then, he established the Sassanian Empire and began a series of construction projects, including restoring his city as the capital. Ardashir I issued his famous ultimatum from Taixi Peak to Rome, demanding that all the territories that once belonged to the Achaemenid Empire now belong to Rome and be returned to him, their rightful owner.
Ardashir I did not wait for the answer, but marched into Mesopotamia with his son Shapur I (reigned in 240-270 AD), recovered Syria, and drove the Romans out of the area in 229 AD. Alexander Severus asked him to retreat. In response, Ardashir I occupied Capadocia. In response, Severus arrested 400 representatives I sent to Rome from Alda Hill, sentenced them to slave labor on the farm, and then launched a three-pronged attack on the Sassanian dynasty in AD 23 1.
The first army runs from the north to Taixi Peak, the second army runs from the south, and the third army forms a straight line between them. All three armies met with resistance, but none of them took it seriously. They didn't know that the main force of Sasha's army-including the well-armed cavalry of the famous Savarin knight-was waiting for them.
The three-pronged attack looks good in theory, but in fact, what I have to do is to monitor every attack and send a strike force to the place where he thinks it will cause the most harm, without seriously warning the Romans, and then continue this strategy until the Roman army is fooled and thinks that the Sassanian dynasty has no real threat. He did just that, so that when the Romans arrived at Taixi Peak, they were not ready to deal with the size of their troops or the tactics used at that time. Scholar Kaveh Farrokh quoted the historian Herodian's description of this battle:
The king of Persia attacked the Roman army with all his troops [heavily armored cavalry and archers], caught them by surprise and surrounded them in a trap. Under the fire from all directions, the Roman soldiers were wiped out ... Finally, they were all herded into a ball ... Bombed from all directions ... The Persians trapped the Romans with nets; The Persians shot arrows at the besieged soldiers from all directions and slaughtered the whole army ... They were all destroyed ... This terrible disaster that no one wanted to recall was a setback for the Romans because a huge army was destroyed. ( 185)
Obviously, Severus didn't want to recall the defeat, so he rewrote the incident in his victory speech to the Roman Senate in September 233, claiming that he completely defeated King Sassanian and "destroyed 2 18 elephants, 1800 sickle chariots and120,000 of their [sassanian] cavalry" (. Farouk-and many scholars before him-have noticed the exaggerated figures quoted by Severus. These figures can't be accurate, but his whole "victory speech" is fabricated, so it's not surprising that the exaggerated figures.
After the battle, Ardashir I withdrew from the Persian War and encouraged his son to assume greater responsibility and control. At some point, whether before or after the battle, Ardashir I initiated a policy to let Zoroastrian priests come to the capital to recite the Avesta (Zoroastrian classics) and write them down. This practice will continue under Shapur I's rule, but only under Shapur II (r. 309-379 CE) and Coslaw I (r. 53 1-579 CE). Therefore, Tai Xifeng played an important role in the preservation and development of Zoroastrianism theology. Although there is a fire temple (a place of worship for Zoroastrianism) in the city, it is not one of the fire places for people to make a pilgrimage.
Further development and Taq Kasra
The city flourished during the Shapur I period and became an important cultural center and the center of Sassanian Empire. The decree to establish Gundeshapur College (the leading knowledge center and the first teaching hospital in the region) will be promulgated by cte sink. Construction projects and plans initiated by Ardashir I, under the leadership of Shapur I and his successors, have been greatly expanded, expanding cities in all directions, and creating smaller cities and suburbs in surrounding areas and even along the other side of the Tigris River.
Ardashir I built this extended model for his city Weh-Ardashir (called New Seleucia by the Greeks), where he built his own palace and introduced elements of ancient Persian art and architecture, such as minarets and domes. Later, Sassanian monarchs followed suit and built exquisite buildings decorated with decorative beams, marble floors, mosaics and courtyards around lush gardens. Farok comments:
The city merged with Seleucia and other nearby settlements, forming a huge city called Mada 'in (literally "city"). Many architectural styles and arts of "Big Sion" have influenced (and been influenced by) Western Byzantium. After falling into the hands of * * * people in the 7th century, Ctesiphon will have a great influence on the art and architecture of * * * world. ( 125)
One of the most impressive buildings in this city is the big arch named Tucker casla (or Ctesiphon Arch) built by Shapur I or Coslaw I.. In this respect, just like in all aspects of Sassanian architecture, the builders borrowed from the models of Achaemenid and Parthian Empire, but also borrowed a lot from Roman engineering, design and technology.
One of the decisive characteristics of Sasang culture-whether in architecture or other aspects-is that they learn from the talents and achievements of others in specific fields in the past and improve them. Taq Kasra is one of the best examples of this practice, because it was unmatched by any other culture at that time, and it still is.
The palace that the arch leads to is the residence of the king, but it is surrounded by the administrative office. Sassanian dynasty often concentrated Persia on Taixi Peak based on Achaemenid Empire. However, in keeping with Achaemenid's practice (and only for pragmatic reasons), they only used Ctesiphon as their winter residence and moved to the highland summer residence in warm months. However, as the scholar Homa Katouzian described, * * * continued to do business with cte sink at these times:
State management is centralized along the Achaemenid line. Some vassal States still exist, and the rest provinces are not managed by the governor, but by the governor or Mazban people, who have played an important role in maintaining peace and managing their regions, especially the border provinces. Secretaries, administrators or clerks constitute the heads of the [cte siphon] bureaucracy and manage the status of the army or ministries, including those related to finance, justice and war. (47)
These bureaucrats collected taxes and conscripts from Taixifeng and maintained the Sassanian Empire in other ways. They also supervise trade. As mentioned earlier, Ctesiphon has become the terminal of goods shipped from China to the west, and has become increasingly rich through trade. Taixi Peak will continue to be the greatest and most important city in the empire until it falls into the hands of * * * * * * in the 7th century.
The Fall of Tai Xifeng
Although during the Sassanian dynasty, Roman troops approached and even attacked the city at different times, they always opposed any attempt to seize the city until the invasion of * * * * in 636/637 AD. Before the rule of King Yazd Ged III (632-65 1), the * * * people, the last country of Sassanian dynasty, had been invading Persian territory, and he intended to stop them. He sent his general Rostam Farrokhzad (who died in 636 AD) to command a huge army against them and met them outside the town of al-Qadisiyyah in 636 AD.
With the rise of nearby Baghdad, Taixi Peak was abandoned and reduced to ruins.
Rostam asked them to surrender, but the response was that Sassanians had only two choices: surrender to * * * * and become their slaves or die by the sword; Farouk Zadeh chose the decisive battle. The Battle of Western Asia in Arcadi (AD 636) began with the attack of Sassanian dynasty. Rostam's army outnumbered the * * * army, but the superb tactics of the * * * people and their use of camels in the more effective cavalry in the sand broke Sassan's defense. Rostam was killed and his army was dispersed.
Thereafter, the commander Saeed ibn Abi Waqqas (about 595-674) pushed his troops into the metropolis of Sision. The surrounding cities surrendered and achieved peace, while the people of Taixifeng, including aristocratic families, bureaucrats and garrison troops, abandoned the city and fled. When people arrived, the city was empty. They ransacked it without resistance, emptied the treasury and took the valuables they could carry. The palace was once transformed into a * * * hall, but with the rise of Baghdad, which is mainly made of nearby Mount Tai, the city was abandoned and reduced to ruins.
conclusion
Centuries later, cte sink was forgotten until European explorers rediscovered it in the19th century. However, no one tried to dig or repair it. In A.D. 1888, the banks of the Tigris River flooded and washed away most of the remaining structures (the palace and the throne room adjacent to Tuck casla). The drawings of this site in the 9th century A.D./KLOC-show that the central building and arch were basically intact before the flood, but they were severely damaged after the flood.
Under the leadership of Saddam Hussein, Iraq resumed its work in A.D. 1980 as part of their policy of rebuilding ancient sites (such as Babylon) to commemorate the past and attract tourists, but these efforts were stopped by the Persian Gulf War. 199 1 year. The restoration work continued until 2004. Under the leadership of CE, the northern part of the palace and Tak casla were rebuilt and stabilized. Avers, a Czech company, signed a contract to repair the website and completed their work in 20 17, but two years later, their work collapsed, further damaging Taq Kasra.
At present, the site's ruins rise from a small oasis in Salman Pak village, 22 miles (35 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad. Since 65438+the early 1990s, no security or authority has been stationed on this website regularly, so vandalism and tourists climbing the Tower of Gekas for "* * *" have further damaged this website. Taq Kasra now rises from the empty shell of the magnificent throne room covered with marble floors, carpets and ribbons, and the whole ruins continue to deteriorate. At present, there are no plans to reverse this process.