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Hecantopolis

Shahr-i Qumis (Barrington)

Hecantopolis stands for Hecatompylos, one of the chief residences of the Parthian kings from the 2nd century BC. Its Greek name speaks of the city's gates, and Polybius explained it by the many roads that met there. Its exact site is unknown, but it lay near the south coast of the Caspian Sea, perhaps at Shahr-i Qumis in Iran; Alexander reached it in 330 BC while pursuing the Persian king Darius. On the map it is badly misplaced, apparently confused with Ecbatana, and the two-tower picture at Nagae may really belong to this city.

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