QUMIS
Šahr-e
Qumis, Iran
Alternative
name : Saddarvazeh, Hecatompylos
Location : Semnan Province, Iran
Region : Qumis region
Coordinates : 35°57'03.8 N 54°06'46.10 E
Type : Settlement
History
Cultures : Parthian, Persian
Site notes
Condition : In ruins
Qumis
(Middle Persian: Komis), also known as Hecatompylos (in Persian:
Saddarvazeh) was an ancient city which was the capital of the Arsacid
dynasty by 200 BCE. The Greek name Hekatompylos means "one
hundred gates" and the Persian term has the same meaning. The
title was commonly used for cities which had more than the traditional
four gates. It may be understood better as the "Many Gated".
Most scholars locate it at Sahr -e Qumis, in the Qumis region in
west Khurasan, Iran.
Alexander
the Great stopped here in the summer of 330 BCE and it became part
of the Seleucid Empire after his death. The Parni tribe took the
city around 237 BCE and made it one of the first capitals of their
Parthian Empire. It was mentioned as the royal city of the Parthians
by a number of classical writers including Strabo, Pliny, and Ptolemy,
although the Parthians seemed to have used a number of cities as
their "capital" at different periods.
Qumis
was destroyed by an earthquake in 856 AD, and it was probably abandoned
afterwards. The site of this ancient city is now called Šahr-e
Qumis, between Semnan and Damqan in the Semnan Province.
In
2011 plans for an "International Project of Tourism & Recreational
City" were published, using the name of Hecatompylos. The project
envisions using an area of 250 hectares (620 acres) close to the
city of Damghan, which would place the resort at about 30 km (19
mi) northeast of the historic site.
Source
:
https://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Qumis,_Iran