Location:
Iraq
Coordinates:
33.0936, 44.5808
Events at Ctesiphon (20)
141 BC
ID: 4661
Parthians capture Seleucia - major Hellenistic city falls, Ctesiphon becomes winter capital
ID: 4661
123 BC
ID: 4662
Mithridates II 'the Great' rules - Parthian Empire reaches greatest extent, controls Silk Road
ID: 4662
51
ID: 4667
Vologases I establishes Parthian era - cultural renaissance, Zoroastrian texts compiled
ID: 4667
115
ID: 4668
Trajan captures Ctesiphon - Rome briefly holds Parthian capital, but cannot maintain
ID: 4668
165
ID: 4669
Romans sack Ctesiphon again - Lucius Verus burns palace, plague spreads to Rome
ID: 4669
197
ID: 4037
Severus sacks Ctesiphon - captures Parthian capital, creates new provinces
ID: 4037
198
ID: 4670
Septimius Severus sacks Ctesiphon - third Roman sack, 100,000 enslaved
ID: 4670
240
ID: 4654
Mani begins preaching Manichaeism - syncretic religion combining Zoroastrian, Christian, Buddhist elements
ID: 4654
241
ID: 4674
Shapur I becomes king - expands empire, captures Roman Emperor Valerian
ID: 4674
337
ID: 4678
Shapur II's long reign begins - rules for 70 years, restores Persian power
ID: 4678
363
ID: 4679
Death of Julian in Persia - last pagan emperor killed retreating, Rome never threatens heartland again
ID: 4679
410
ID: 4681
Council of Seleucia-Ctesiphon - Persian Christians organize independently from Rome
ID: 4681
421
ID: 4682
Bahram V 'the Wild Ass' - legendary king, patron of arts, tolerance toward minorities
ID: 4682
531
ID: 4657
Mazdak executed - egalitarian Zoroastrian reformer killed after threatening social order
ID: 4657
531
ID: 4684
Khosrow I Anushirvan begins reign - greatest Sassanid king, reforms, conquests, learning
ID: 4684
579
ID: 4687
Death of Khosrow I - end of Sassanid golden age, succession crisis follows
ID: 4687
602
ID: 4688
Khosrow II begins great war - uses Maurice's murder as pretext for massive invasion
ID: 4688
614
ID: 4689
Persians capture Jerusalem - take True Cross to Ctesiphon, Jews help Persian assault
ID: 4689
628
ID: 4692
Sassanid civil war - Khosrow II killed by son, succession chaos, 8 rulers in 4 years
ID: 4692
632
ID: 4693
Yazdegerd III becomes last Sassanid king - empire exhausted, Arabs begin attacks
ID: 4693