Nisa, Turkmenistan

Nisa (Ancient Greek: Νῖσος, Νίσα, Νίσαιον;^[1]^[2] Turkmen: Nusaý; also Parthaunisa) was an ancient settlement of the Parthians, located near the Bagyr neighborhood of Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, 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 (reigned c. 250 BC–211 BC) and was reputedly the royal residence of the Parthian kings, although it has not been established that the fortress at Nisa was either a royal residence or a mausoleum.

TypeSettlement

PeriodsParthian Empire

CulturesParthian

AssociatedwithArsaces I, Mithridates I

Quick facts Type, Periods ...

Nisa
Parthaunisa Mithradatkirt Nusaý
Entrance to Nisa
Location within West and Central Asia Show map of West and Central Asia Location within Turkmenistan Show map of Turkmenistan
37°58′0″N 58°11′42″E
Type	Settlement
Periods	Parthian Empire
Cultures	Parthian
Associated with	Arsaces I, Mithridates I
Location	Ashgabat, Turkmenistan
History
Abandoned	100 B.C.
Site notes
Condition	Ruined


UNESCO World Heritage Site
Official name	Parthian Fortresses of Nisa
Criteria	Cultural: (ii), (iii)
Reference	1242
Inscription	2007 (31st Session)
Area	77.9 ha (0.301 sq mi)
Buffer zone	400.3 ha (1.546 sq mi)

Close

In 2007, the fortress was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.^[3]

History

Nisa was a major trading hub in the Parthian Empire.^[4] It was later renamed Mithradātkert (Parthian: 𐭌𐭕𐭓𐭃𐭕𐭊𐭓𐭕, lit. 'fortress of Mithradates') by Mithridates I of Parthia (reigned c. 171 BC–138 BC). The region was famous for the beauty, agility and strength of its horses.^[5]

Nisa was totally destroyed by an earthquake 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 works have been uncovered, as well as a large number of ivory rhytons, and rims (coins) decorated with Iranian subjects or classical mythological scenes.

Gallery

Views of Nisa wall
View of Nisa gate
Oblique view of Nisa ruins
View of Nisa ruins

References

Bibliography

Sorted by year then author (see 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
Daryaee, Touraj (2012). The Oxford Handbook of Iranian History. Oxford University Press. pp. 1–432. ISBN 978-0-19-987575-7.