18 Facts About Ctesiphon

Ctesiphon was an ancient city, located on the eastern bank of the Tigris, and about 35 kilometres southeast of present-day Baghdad.

Ctesiphon served as a royal capital of the empires in the Parthian and Sasanian eras for over eight hundred years.

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 measured 30 square kilometers, more than twice the surface of 13.

Archway of Chosroes was once a part of the royal palace in Ctesiphon and is estimated to date between the 3rd and 6th centuries AD.

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In 197, the emperor Septimius Severus sacked Ctesiphon and carried off thousands of its inhabitants, whom he sold into slavery.

Ctesiphon was greatly enlarged and flourished during their rule, thus turning into a metropolis, which was known by in Arabic as al-Mada'in, and in Aramaic as Mahoze.

The oldest inhabited places of Ctesiphon were on its eastern side, which in Islamic Arabic sources is called "the Old City", where the residence of the Sasanians, known as the White Palace, was located.

The southern side of Ctesiphon was known as Asbanbar or Aspanbar, which was known by its prominent halls, riches, games, stables, and baths.

Ctesiphon had several other districts which were named Hanbu Shapur, Darzanidan, Veh Jondiu-Khosrow, Nawinabad and Kardakadh.

Ctesiphon returned it to the Persian king Narses in exchange for Armenia and western Mesopotamia.

Ctesiphon called this new city Weh Antiok Khusrau, or literally, "better than Antioch Khosrau built this".

In 629, Ctesiphon was briefly under the control of Mihranid usurper Shahrbaraz, but the latter was shortly assassinated by the supporters of Khosrau II's daughter Borandukht.

Ctesiphon then continued to be involved in constant fighting between two factions of the Sasanian Empire, the Pahlav faction under the House of Ispahbudhan and the Parsig faction under Piruz Khosrow.

Later on, when the Muslims arrived at Ctesiphon, it was completely desolated, due to flight of the Sasanian royal family, nobles, and troops.

Ctesiphon attempted to demolish the palace and reuse its bricks for his own palace, but he desisted only when the undertaking proved too vast.

Ruins of Ctesiphon were the site of a major battle of World War I in November 1915.

Under Sasanian rule, the population of Ctesiphon was heavily mixed: it included Arameans, Persians, Greeks and Assyrians.