Old Nisa a Parthian royal residence

Kitob haqida

Two outstanding monuments of Central Asian archaeology — the townships of Old and New Nisa — are situated on the grounds of Baghir village, not far away from the city of Ashkhabad. Their name goes back to antiquity. The city of Parthaunisa, where tombs of Parthian kings were located, is mentioned in the description of ancient roads composed in the I cent. A. D. This city was an inportant centre of the Parthian state, which existed since the Ш cent. В. C. up to the III cent. A. D. and rivaled with Rome for supremacy in the Near East. In particular, in 53 В. C. the Parthians managed to bring a crushing defeat upon the Romans in the battle of Karres (a small village in Northern Mesopotamia); thousands of Roman soldiers were sent to settle in the remote Margiana, in the valley of Murghab.