Ctesiphon

Ctesiphon is a ruin in Iraq's Baghdad Belts. It was once an ancient Persian capital city, but only a former palace, with the world's largest unreinforced arch, remains standing. The town of Salman Pak is nearby, and is also covered in this article.

Understand
Ctesiphon was the capital of the Sasanian Empire from 226 AD to its capture by the Arabs in 637 AD. The city has now largely disappeared.

The palace of Taq Kasra is the only structure remaining above ground. The palace is considered an architectural landmark with its arched iwan hall, open on the facade side, about 37 meters high 26 meters across and 50 meters long. This made it the largest man-made, free standing vault constructed until modern times. The throne room—presumably under or behind the arch—was more than 30 m (110 ft) high and covered an area 24 m (80 ft) wide by 48 m (160 ft) long. It is unclear exactly when Taq Kasra was built, some historians believe the founder is Shapour I who ruled Persia from 242 to 272 AD while other believe that construction began during the reign of Anushiruwan the Just after a campaign against the Byzantines in 540 AD.

A number of artifacts belonging to Ctesiphon can be seen at the Museum of Islamic Art in Berlin.

By car
There are roads connecting nearby Baghdad to Salman Pak.

See




Salman Pak

 * Sweets Factory Hussein Alchukrgi

Eat

 * Ovens and Pastries Mustafa

Sleep
There are no hotels in Ctesiphon or Salman Pak. Baghdad is nearby, however, and it's home to several hotels.

Stay safe
See the warning on the Iraq article for information on the security situation.

Go next

 * Baghdad
 * Baqubah