Where We Work ::: Iraq Heritage Program

Ctesiphon SITE DESCRIPTION

1) Physical Description

Situated roughly 35 km. south of Baghdad and flanking both sides of the Tigris River, the region of al-Mada’in (a Arabic word meaning “the two cities”) received its name from Arab geographers due to the enormous amount of urban remains scattered across its landscape, including most famously the cities of Seleucia on the Tigris and Ctesiphon.

2) Historical Context

After the death of Alexander the Great, Seleukos Nikator founded Seleucia on the Tigris at the end of the fourth century B.C. with the aim of attracting the inhabitants of Babylon, despite its initial status as a Greek colony of the Seleucid kingdom. After a Parthian conquest of the city in 141 B.C., it became an important administrative center for the Arsacid empire. After a long rebellion in the city lasting seven years from 35 to 42 A.D., Ctesiphon became the seat of government and royal residence. Despite three sieges by the Roman army, this region continued to grow into a profitable commercial center. At the beginning of the 3rd century it was captured by the Sasanians and Ardashir was crowned at Cteiphon in 226. Thereafter, Seleucia ceased to function as a capital and various other cities and suburban areas, including the “round city” of Veh Ardashir, were established, creating a unique metropolitan urban landscape. Muslim Arabs took over the area in 637, but it continued to remain prominent until the establishment of the Abbasid capital of Baghdad in the middle of the eighth century.

3) Relevant Historical Themes

From a historical standpoint, the region of al-Mada’in prominently stands out due to the simple fact that it was the political and economic epicenter of Iraq during an important time period which links the country’s ancient past to its more recent Islamic heritage. The Seleucid, Parthian, and Sasanian periods in Iraqi history remain elusive partially due to the minimal amount of work dedicated to them, but their importance has never been questioned. Seleucia on the Tigris, Ctesiphon and Veh Ardashir served as capitals to powerful empires of the Near East that rivaled Rome. From these cities the rulers administered the provinces, staged troops for battle and performed important political and religious ceremonies for maintenance of the empires. With the foundation of the city of Seleucia on the Tigris as a Greek colony, this region became an arena in which the populations from the East and West came together and created a new more cosmopolitan culture that had not yet been seen in Iraq. As a result, this multiculturalism manifested itself in numerous ways as reflected in the artwork and architecture of the region. In the same manner, al-Mada’in became an important intersection of various faiths including polytheistic systems, Christianity, Judaism, Zoastrianism, and Islam. The most prominent example of the enormous power and prestige held in these cities is the Taq-i Kisra, a huge vaulted iwan which continues to this day to be the world’s largest single-span baked-brick arch. Additionally, numerous contemporary sources from outside the region have described its spectacular royal and religious buildings which have yet to be found such as the “White palace” of Ctesiphon. In a similar fashion, this region became an important commercial center for trade allowing for a large accumulation of wealth to be gathered as is reflected in the numerous large and highly decorated residences uncovered in the area. Overall, from a political, economic, or cultural perspective, the exceptional historical significance of this region during the Seleucid, Parthian, and Sasanian periods remains unrivaled.

4) History of Excavation in the Region

Numerous writers and travelers have described the enormous vaulted iwan known as the Taq-i Kisra, and attempted to reconstruct how the entire structure may have appeared in addition to trying to recreate the historical topography of the wider region. However, not until the early twentieth century did Ernst Herzfeld perform architectural surveys and create a plan for the structure. Further confirmation and revision of this architectural mapping came from German (1929-1929) and Italian (1964) expeditions. The latter was an exploratory mission for restoration work which was later carried out by the Directorate-General of Antiquities of Iraq in 1972 to stabilize the south wing and 1975 to re-erect the north wing which had fallen in an earthquake in the 1870s.

American expeditions, led initially by Leroy Waterman and later Robert McDowell initiated the first excavations at Seleucia (1927-1937), establishing the general outline of a grid plan with a canal bisecting the city into a public northern zone and a residential southern area. A mud-brick building containing an official Seleucid archive, which may be a shrine to the heroized founder of the city, as well as two possible square temples were uncovered. Also, a building in the residential sector containing private and official archives in addition to structures in the form of iwans were revealed in the south. The University of Torino (1964-1976 and 1986-1989) continued excavations further establishing the regularity of its grid plan, revealing an enormous official complex located on Tell Umar in the northern part of the city, and investigating ornate residential structures in the south.

Excavation of the ruins of the “round city” at Coche, initially thought to be Ctesiphon but now believed to be Veh-Ardashir, began with two German expeditions led by Oscar Reuther (1928-1929) and Ernst Kühnel (1930-1931) who also worked at many other sites in the region including Tell al-Dhaba’I, Tell Dhahab, al-Ma’aridh, Umm as-Sa’atir, and the church at Qasr bint al-Qadi. Italian teams led by Giorgio Gullini (1966) and Antonio Invernizzi (1976) continued excavations revealing a residential area with an artisans’ quarter and part of the city wall. At the site of al-Ma’arid, which currently appears to be the best estimation for the location of the city of Ctesiphon, another German team led by Jens Kröger excavated a group of large Sasanian houses. Finally, first German and later Iraqi efforts (1985-1986) have exposed an early Islamic residential district at Salman Pak.

5) Previous/Current Use of the Sites

Previously the region contained the political and economic capitals of the Pathian and Sasanian empires as well as an important colony for the Seleucid kingdom. However, after the region was abandoned at the beginning of the Abbasid empire, it has been partially cultivated. The modern town of Salman Pak has expanded over part of it.

6) Cultural, Social, Community Significance

As one of the most important tourist sites in Iraq and due to its close proximity to Baghdad, the archaeological remains in the Mada’in region have been and continue to be a source of cultural pride and celebration. For those visiting the area, the Taq-i Kisra immediately becomes a focal point due to its great enormity and unique architectural style. The ornamentation found on the restored arch of this festival hall as well as the adjacent buildings of this palace serve as a strong reminder that the illustrious center of the Sasanian empire was once located in the heart of Iraq. In the same manner, the domestic architecture excavated at Tell Deheb and Salman Pak respectively displays the once richly decorated houses of the Sasanian and early Islamic periods. Taken together with other less exposed areas of excavation and combined with their rich history, these buildings provide a strong sense of cultural significance for the region.

7) Aesthetic Significance

The aesthetic significance of the Mada’in region is clearly reflected by all of the unique and highly significant decorative and architectural elements which have already been uncovered in the region. The Taq-i Kisra serves as the clearest example of this innovation. As the ceremonial Sasanian throne hall, this structure is the world’s largest single-span built arch. This landmark in architectural history consisted of a large iwan 43.50 m deep and 25.50 m wide with a façade made up of six levels of brickwork forming columns, entablatures, and arched niches, and was roofed by an enormous vault. Though already partially restored by the Directorate-General of Antiquities of Iraq, this monument is just part of a much larger structure which has yet to be excavated in the area. Other significant remains uncovered in the region include numerous highly ornate residential complexes from both the early Islamic (Salman Pak) and Sasanian periods (Seleucia, Coche, al-Ma’aridh, Tell al-Dhaba’I, Tell Dhahab, and Umm an Sa’atir). The large quantities of decorative stucco recovered from these houses as well as their architectural plans have provided much of the knowledge that we have for these periods in Iraq. Overall, these examples just hint at the great potential the region has for uncovering unprecedented artistic and structural remains which would fill a large hole in our understanding of the aesthetics for the Seleucid, Parthian and Sasanian time periods in Iraq.

8) Potential for Future Research

The significance of the region of Ctesiphon is seen through the importance and uniqueness of its individual archaeological and architectural elements. Not only does the manifold quantity of mounds in the area speak to its vast potential for archaeological information, the region itself is important because it contains the political and economic epicenter of three minimally studied periods of the archaeology and history in Iraq. Moreover, its segmented nature of growth as a metropolitan region consisting of many different, yet integrated urban units allows for the study of various chronological windows within a vast array of cultural and political entities.
Overall, this entire region can be considered an area of protection. The main mounds of Seleucia, Coche, and Ctesiphon are the easiest to create boundaries for, but due to the region’s history many smaller sites not necessarily visible from the satellite image most likely exist and should be protected.

9) Assessment of integrity and damage to the sites and monuments

From what can be seen on the image urban encroachment is occurring at a moderate pace on the mounds and agricultural expansion is covering most of the land. Both of these seem to be a serious threat to the preservation of archaeological remains which are currently known in addition to all of the sites yet to be discovered in the area. As far as can be seen from the satellite image, looting has not been a major problem for the area, however a true assessment of this can only be undertaken with ground based fieldwork.

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