Ecbatana

Ecbatana /ɛkˈbætənə/ (Old Persian: 𐏃𐎥𐎶𐎫𐎠𐎴 Hagmatāna or Haŋmatāna, literally "the place of gathering" according to Darius the Great's inscription at Bisotun; Persian: هگمتانه; Middle Persian: 𐭠𐭧𐭬𐭲𐭠𐭭‏; Parthian: 𐭀𐭇𐭌𐭕𐭍 Ahmadān; Akkadian: 𒆳𒀀𒃵𒋫𒉡 ^KURAgamtanu; Elamite: 𒀝𒈠𒆪𒈾 Agmadana; Imperial Aramaic: אַחְמְתָא ʾAḥməṯāʾ; Ancient Greek: Ἀγβάτανα or Ἐκβάτανα) was an ancient city, which was first the capital of the Median Empire in western Iran, and later became the summer capital of the Achaemenid and Parthian empires. It was also an important city during the Seleucid and Sasanian empires. It is believed that Ecbatana is located in the Zagros Mountains, the east of central Mesopotamia, on Hagmatana Hill (Tappe-ye Hagmatāna), an archaeological mound in modern Hamedan in Zagros mountains. Ecbatana's strategic location and resources probably made it a popular site even before the 1st millennium BC. Along with Athens in Greece, Rome in Italy and Susa in Khuzestan, Ecbatana is one of the few ancient cities in the world that is still alive and important, representing the current-day Hamadan.