Nisa ( grc, Νῖσος and Νίσα and Νίσαιον; also Parthaunisa, tk, Nusaý) was an ancient settlement of the

Parthia Parthia ( peo, 𐎱𐎼𐎰𐎺 ''Parθava''; xpr, 𐭐𐭓𐭕𐭅 ''Parθaw''; pal, 𐭯𐭫𐭮𐭥𐭡𐭥 ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Med ...

ns, located near th
Bagyr neighborhood
of

Ashgabat Ashgabat or Asgabat ( tk, Aşgabat, ; fa, عشق‌آباد, translit='Ešqābād, formerly named Poltoratsk ( rus, Полтора́цк, p=pəltɐˈratsk) between 1919 and 1927), is the capital and the largest city of Turkmenistan. It lie ...

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...

, 18 km west of the city center. Nisa is described by some as the first seat of the Arsacid Empire. It is traditionally assumed to have been founded by

Arsaces I Arsaces or Arsakes (, , Graecized form of Old Persian ) is the eponymous Greek form of the dynastic name of the Parthian Empire of Iran adopted by all epigraphically attested rulers of the Arsacid dynasties. The indigenous Parthian and Armenian ...

(reigned c. 250 BC–211 BC) and was reputedly the royal residence of the

Parthian kings Parthian may be: Historical * A demonym "of Parthia", a region of north-eastern of Greater Iran * Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD) * Parthian language, a now-extinct Middle Iranian language * Parthian shot, an archery skill famously employed by ...

, although it has not been established that the fortress at Nisa was either a royal residence or a mausoleum. In 2007, the fortress was declared a

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

History

Nisa was a major trading hub in the Parthian Empire. Nisa was later renamed Mithradātkert

Parthian Parthian may be: Historical * A demonym "of Parthia", a region of north-eastern of Greater Iran * Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD) * Parthian language, a now-extinct Middle Iranian language * Parthian shot, an archery skill famously employed by ...

: 𐭌𐭕𐭓𐭃𐭕𐭊𐭓𐭕 ("fortress of Mithradates") by Mithridates I of Parthia (reigned c. 171 BC–138 BC). The region was famous for the fast and beautiful horses.Oppian of Apamea, Cynegetica or The Chase, §1.306–315
/ref> Nisa was totally destroyed by an

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fr ...

, which occurred during the 1st decade BC.

Excavations

Excavations at Nisa have revealed substantial buildings, mausoleums and shrines, many inscribed documents and a looted treasury. Many

Hellenistic art Hellenistic art is the art of the Hellenistic period generally taken to begin with the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and end with the conquest of the Greek world by the Romans, a process well underway by 146 BCE, when the Greek mainlan ...

works have been uncovered, as well as a large number of ivory rhytons, the outer rims (coins) decorated with Iranian subjects or classical mythological scenes. Nisa-Overview-2015

Gallery

Nisa.jpg File:Parthian Fortresses of Nisa-130388.jpg, Views of Nisa wall File:Parthian Fortresses of Nisa-130390.jpg, View of Nisa gate File:Parthian Fortresses of Nisa-130389.jpg, Oblique view of Nisa ruins File:Parthian Fortresses of Nisa-130391.jpg, View of Nisa ruins

References

Bibliography

Sorted by year then author (se
Italian Archaeological Mission in Old Nisa
: Bibliography. Publications of Centro Scavi di Torino and contributions of the members of the Italian Expeditions to Nisa. Retrieved: 30 August 2009. *MASSON M.E., PUGACHENKOVA G.A., The Parthians rhytons of Nisa, Monografie di Mesopotamia (Introduction by A. Invernizzi), Firenze, Le Lettere. 1982 *Invernizzi A., KOSHELENKO G.A., «Soviet-Italian Excavations in Old Nisa (Season 1990) », Mesopotamia, XXV, pp. 47–50. 1990 *GABUTTI A., «The Italian Excavation in Old Nisa: the Northern Corner of the Round Hall Complex», Mesopotamia XXXI, pp. 161–177, 1996 *Invernizzi A., «Archaeological research in Old Nisa 1990–1994», in La Persia e l’Asia Centrale da Alessandro al X secolo, Atti dei Convegni Lincei, 127, Roma, pp. 237–249. 1996 *Invernizzi A., «New Archaeological Research in Old Nisa, 1990–1991», in The Art and Archaeology of Ancient Persia. New Light on the Parthian and Sasanian Empire, ed. V. Sarkhosh Curtis, R. Hillenbrand, J.M. Rogers, London-New York, 8–13. 1998 *Invernizzi A., «Old Nisa and the Art of the Steppes», Bulletin of the Asia Institute, 10, 33–38. 1998 *Invernizzi A., «Parthian Nisa. New Lines of Research», in J. Wiesehöfer (ed.), Das Partherreich und seine Zeugnisse, Beiträge des internationalen Colloquiums – Eutin, 1996, (Historia Einzelschriften, 122), Stuttgart, 45–59. 1998 *Invernizzi A., «The Square House at Old Nisa», Parthica 2, pp. 13–53. 2000 *Invernizzi A., «Arsacid Dynastic Art», Parthica 3, pp. 133–157. 2001 *Invernizzi A., «Arsacid Palaces», in The Royal Palace Institution in the 1st Millennium BC (Ed. I. Nielsen), Athens, pp. 295–312. 2001 *LIPPOLIS C., book review of V.N. PILIPKO, Staraja Nisa. Zdanie s Kvadratnym Zalom, Moskva, 1996, su Parthica, 3, 2001, 2001
pp. 221–234. 2001 * KOSHELENKO G, LAPCHIN A., «Ricerche nel complesso del Tempio Rotondo a Nisa Vecchia», Parthica 4, pp. 9–45. 2002 * LIPPOLIS C., «Novije Issledovanija Staroj Nisji», Kulturnye Ziennosti 2000–2001, Ashkhabad. 2003 * LIPPOLIS C., «Nisa-Mithradatkert: the building to the north of the Round Hall. Preliminary Report of the 2000–2001 excavations campaign», Central Asia Cultural Values, vol. I, n. 2, June 2003, p. 1–17. 2003 *LIPPOLIS C., book review of PILIPKO V.N., Staraja Nisa – Osnovnye itogi arheologicheskogo izuchenija v sovetskij period, su Parthica 5, 2003, p. 3–13. 2003 * Invernizzi A., «The culture of Nisa, between steppe and empire», After Alexander-Central Asia before Islam. Themes in the history and archaeology of Western Central Asia, British Academy Conference, 23–25 June 2004. *Invernizzi A., «Thoughts on Parthian Nisa», in Parthica 6, pp. 133–143. 2004 *Invernizzi A., «Representations of Gods in Parthian Nisa», Parthica 7 (2005), pp. 71–80. 2005 *

External links