The various states and civilizations in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

(

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

) have had numerous capital cities and royal centers throughout history. * Ahar; Pishkinid dynasty * Anshan; pre- Achaemenid era * Ardabil; early Safavid era, Sajid * Asaak; Parthian era royal center * Astara; Ispahbads of Gilan * Alamut Castle; Nizari Ismaili state * Amol; Ziyarid, Alavid, Marashis, Dabuyid, Bavandid, Chalavi, ( Parthian Empire climate capital) * Babylon; Achaemenid era *

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

; caliphates, Jalayerid, Buyid * Balkh; in legend, the governmental center of the Kayanian dynasty * Bardsir; Banu Ilyas *

Basra Basra () is a port city in Iraq, southern Iraq. It is the capital of the eponymous Basra Governorate, as well as the List of largest cities of Iraq, third largest city in Iraq overall, behind Baghdad and Mosul. Located near the Iran–Iraq bor ...

; Jalayerid *

Bukhara Bukhara ( ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan by population, with 280,187 residents . It is the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and t ...

; Samanid era *

Ctesiphon Ctesiphon ( ; , ''Tyspwn'' or ''Tysfwn''; ; , ; Thomas A. Carlson et al., “Ctesiphon — ܩܛܝܣܦܘܢ ” in The Syriac Gazetteer last modified July 28, 2014, http://syriaca.org/place/58.) was an ancient city in modern Iraq, on the eastern ba ...

; Parthian, Sasanian era * Damavand; Masmughans of Damavand * Dinavar; Hasanwayhids *

Diyarbakır Diyarbakır is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, it is ...

;

Aq Qoyunlu The Aq Qoyunlu or the White Sheep Turkomans (, ; ) was a culturally Persianate society, Persianate,Kaushik Roy, ''Military Transition in Early Modern Asia, 1400–1750'', (Bloomsbury, 2014), 38; "Post-Mongol Persia and Iraq were ruled by two trib ...

* Fuman; Dabuyid * Farim (Perim); Bavandid * Firozkoh; Ghurid * Firuzkuh; Chalavi * Shahr-e Qumis (Hecatompylos); Parthian era * Ghazna; Ghurid, Khwarazmid, Ghaznavid * Gor (Firuzabad); Sasanian era * Gorgan (Astarabad); Ziyarid, Alavids * Herat; Ghurid, Kartids, Timurid Empire * Hulwan; Annazids * Ij (Ig); Shabankara *

Isfahan Isfahan or Esfahan ( ) is a city in the Central District (Isfahan County), Central District of Isfahan County, Isfahan province, Iran. It is the capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is located south of Tehran. The city ...

; Ziyarid dynasty, Kakuyid Emirate, Injuid dynasty, Seljuk era, Safavid era * Istakhr; Sasanian era * Izeh (Idaj); Hazaraspids *

Ecbatana Ecbatana () was an ancient city, the capital of the Median kingdom, and the first capital in History of Iran, Iranian history. It later became the summer capital of the Achaemenid Empire, Achaemenid and Parthian Empire, Parthian empires.Nardo, Do ...

(later Hamadan); Median Empire, Achaemenid era, Eldiguzids, Seljuks (Greater and Iraq Seljuks) * Kerman; Muzaffarid, Qutlugh-Khanids * Khorramabad; Khorshidi dynasty * Kunya Urgench; early Khwarezmid era * Lafur; Qarinvand dynasty * Lankaran; Talysh Khanate * Lahijan; Karkiya dynasty * Maragheh; Ilkhanid, Ahmadilis, Sajid *

Mashhad Mashhad ( ; ), historically also known as Mashad, Meshhed, or Meshed in English, is the List of Iranian cities by population, second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. ...

; Afsharid *

Merv Merv (, ', ; ), also known as the Merve Oasis, was a major Iranian peoples, Iranian city in Central Asia, on the historical Silk Road, near today's Mary, Turkmenistan. Human settlements on the site of Merv existed from the 3rd millennium& ...

; capital during al-Mamun's caliphate, and Taherid era, Seljuk Empire *

Mosul Mosul ( ; , , ; ; ; ) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. It is the second largest city in Iraq overall after the capital Baghdad. Situated on the banks of Tigris, the city encloses the ruins of the ...

; winter capital during Qara Qoyunlu * Nakhchivan; Eldiguzids *

Nishapur Nishapur or Neyshabur (, also ) is a city in the Central District (Nishapur County), Central District of Nishapur County, Razavi Khorasan province, Razavi Khorasan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Ni ...

; Ilkhanid, Seljuq, Taherid eras * Nisa, Turkmenistan; periodical capital of the Parthian era * Pasargadae; Achaemenid * Persepolis; Achaemenid ceremonial capital * Rey (Rhagae);

Median The median of a set of numbers is the value separating the higher half from the lower half of a Sample (statistics), data sample, a statistical population, population, or a probability distribution. For a data set, it may be thought of as the “ ...

, Ziyarid, Buyid, Seljuk Empire * Rudbar; Justanids *

Qazvin Qazvin (; ; ) is a city in the Central District (Qazvin County), Central District of Qazvin County, Qazvin province, Qazvin province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is the largest city in the provi ...

; early Safavid era *

Sabzevar Sabzevar (; ) is a city in northeastern Iran. It is located in the Central District (Sabzevar County), Central District of Sabzevar County, Razavi Khorasan province, Razavi Khorasan province, serving as the capital of both the county and the ...

; Sarbadars *

Samarkand Samarkand ( ; Uzbek language, Uzbek and Tajik language, Tajik: Самарқанд / Samarqand, ) is a city in southeastern Uzbekistan and among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central As ...

; Samanid, Khwarazmid, Timurid era * Shiraz; Buyid dynasty, Injuid dynasty, Muzaffarid dynasty, Salghurid dynasty,

Zand dynasty The Zand dynasty () was an Iranian dynasty, founded by Karim Khan Zand (1751–1779) that initially ruled southern and central Iran in the 18th century. It later expanded to include much of the rest of contemporary Iran (except for the provi ...

* Soltaniyeh; Ilkhanid * Susa; Achaemenid, Parthian era * Tabriz; Ilkhanid, Khwarezmid, Rawadid, Chupanid, Jalayerid, Eldiguzids, Kara Koyunlu,

, early Safavid era * Tarom; Sallarid * Sari; Qajar, Dabuyid, Alavid, Bavandid, Marashis * Yazd; Kakuyid, Atabegs of Yazd * Zaranj; Saffarid Empire, Mihrabanid, Nasrid *

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

; Qajar era, Pahlavi era, Islamic Republic of Iran 1796–present

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Capitals Of Persia Historical geography of Iran

See also

References