CHARAX
SPASINU
![](charaxspasinu.png)
Charax
Spasinu shown within Iraq
![](Hyspaosines.jpg)
Hyspaosines
(209 - 124 BC), founder and king of Characene, had his capital in
Charax
Location
: Iraq
Region
: Basra Governorate (location is related to Maysan)
Coordinates
:
30°53'41 N 47°34'41 E
Charax
Spasinu, also called Charax Spasinou, Charax Pasinu, Spasinu Charax,
Alexandria or Antiochia in Susiana, was an ancient port at the head
of the Persian Gulf, and the capital of the ancient kingdom of Characene.
Etymology
:
The name Charax, probably from, literally means "palisaded
fort", and was applied to several fortified Seleucid towns.
Charax was originally named Alexandria, after Alexander the Great,
and was perhaps even personally founded by him. After destruction
by floods, it was rebuilt by Antiochus IV (175-164 BC) and renamed
Antiochia. It was at this time provided with a massive antiflood
embankment almost 4½ km long by Antiochus's governor, Hyspaosines,
and renamed "Charax of Hyspaosines."
There
is a theory that Charax derives from the Aramaic word Karkâ
meaning 'castle', but Charax often attested at several other Seleucid
towns with the meaning palisade.
Location
of Charax :
![](Charax_(Peutinger_Map).png)
The
town of Charax Spa. on the 4th century Peutinger map
Charax was located on a large mound known as Jabal Khuyabir at Naysan
near the confluence of the Eulaios/Karkheh and the Tigris Rivers
as recorded by Pliny.
According
to Pliny the Elder :
The
town of Charax is situated in the innermost recess of the Persian
Gulf, from which projects the country called Arabia Felix. It stands
on an artificial elevation between the Tigris on the right and the
Karún on the left, at the point where these two rivers unite,
and the site measures two [Roman] miles [3 km] in breadth... It
was originally at a distance of 1¼ miles [1.9 km] from the
coast, and had a harbour of its own, but when Juba [Juba II, c.
50 BC—c. AD 24] published his work it was 50 miles [74 km]
inland; its present distance from the coast is stated by Arab envoys
and our own traders who have come from the place to be 120 miles
[178 km]. There is no part of the world where earth carried down
by rivers has encroached on the sea further or more rapidly...
The Description of Pliny matches the depiction on the Peutinger
Table.
The
Jabal Khuyabir tell is now 1km south of the confluence of the Eulaios/Karkheh
and the Tigris Rivers as the river shifted course during a well
documented storm event in 1837.
Naysan
could be a colloquial Arabic corruption of Maysan, the name of the
Characene region during the early Islamic era. First excavations
and research started in 2016.
Archaeology
:
Excavations on the site started in 2016, which revealed that the
city was laid out on a grid pattern with housing block 185 by 85
m square. These belong to the largest blocks in the ancient world.
Two large public buildings were detected, but are not yet excavated.
History
:
A history of the Charax can be distilled primarily from ancient
texts and numismatic sources, as the city has never been properly
excavated.
The
city was established by Alexander the Great in 324 BC, replacing
a small Persian settlement, Durine. This was one of Alexander's
last cities before his death in 323 BC. Here he established a quarter
(deme) of the port called Pella, named after Alexander’s own
town of birth, where he settled Macedonian veterans. The city passed
to the Seleucid Empire after Alexander's death, until it was destroyed
at some point by flooding.
The
city was rebuilt c. 166 BC by order of Antiochus VI Dionysus, who
appointed Hyspaosines as satrap to oversee the work. The political
instability that followed the Parthian conquest of most of the Seleucid
Empire allowed Hyspaosines to establish an independent state, Characene,
in 127 BC. He renamed the city after himself.
Charax
remained the capital of the small state for 282 years, with the
numismatic evidence suggesting it was a multi-ethnic Hellenised
city with extensive trading links. The Romans under Trajan annexed
the city in AD 116. Characene independence was re-established 15
years later under the rule of Mithridates, a son of the Parthian
King Pacoros, during the civil war for the Parthian throne. From
this time the coinage from Charax indicates a more Parthian culture.
In
AD 221–222, an ethnic Persian, Ardašer, who was satrap
of Fars, led a revolt against the Parthians, establishing the Sasanian
Empire. According to later Arab histories he defeated Characene
forces, killed its last ruler, rebuilt the town and renamed it Astarabad-Ardašir.
The area around Charax that had been the Characene state was thereon
known by the Aramaic/Syriac name, Maysan, which was later adapted
by the Arab conquerors.
Charax
continued, under the name Maysan, with Persian texts making various
mention of governors through the fifth century and there is mention
of a Nestorian Church here in the sixth century. The Charax mint
appears to have continued through the Sassanid Empire and into the
Umayyad empire, minting coin as late as AD 715.
Charax
was finally abandoned during the 9th century because of persistent
flooding and a dramatic decrease in trade with the west.
Economy
:
The original Greek town was enlarged by an Arabian chieftain, Spasines,
and afterward named Spasines and Charax Spasinou after him. It was
a major trading center of late antiquity as evidenced by the hoards
of Greek coins recovered during excavations there.
Although
it was nominally a vassal of the Seleucids and, later, the Arsacids,
it seemed to have retained a considerable degree of autonomy at
times. It became a centre for Arab trade, largely controlled by
the Nabataeans, at least until they became assimilated by the Romans
in AD 106.
Charax
was a rich port with ships arriving regularly from Gerrha, Egypt,
India, and beyond. Trajan observed the ships bound for India during
his visit while Strabo calls the city an emporium and Pliny notes
that the city was a centre of trade for rare perfumes and was also
a centre for pearl diving. It was also the beginning of the overland
trade route from the Persian Gulf to Petra and Palmyra and also
into the Parthian Empire.
Coins
:
Prior to the invasion of Trajan Charax minted coins of a Hellenistic
type while after the invasion the coinage was of a more Parthian
character. Charax minted coin through the Sassanid Empire and into
the Umayyad Caliphate, minting coin as late as AD 715.
Notable
persons :
It was visited in AD 97 by the Chinese envoy, Gan Ying, who referred
to it as (Pinyin: Gànluò; reconstructed ancient pronunciation
*ka-ra), who was trying to reach the Roman Empire via Egypt but,
after reaching the Persian Gulf was convinced to turn back by the
Parthians.
In
AD 116, the Roman Emperor Trajan visited Charax Spasinu –
his most recent, easternmost and shortest-lived possession. He saw
the many ships setting sail for India, and wished he were younger,
like Alexander had been, so that he could go there himself.
Isidore
of Charax, a 1st-century geographer, came from Charax Spasinu.
Robert
Eisenman contends that it was this city, and not the better-known
Antioch in which Paul established his first church.
Source
:
https://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Charax_Spasinu