Several ancient cities of Mesopotamia and Persia are known to have had a circular plan.
List of circular cities
edit| City/town | Establishment | Coordinates | Notes | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sagbat/Hagmatana | 700 BC | [1] | ||
| Sam'al | Hittite period | [1] | ||
| Ctesiphon | Details are still under discussion. Circularity may be a result of natural growth of the city rather than design. | [2] | ||
| Metropolis (Thessaly) | 3rd and 2nd century BC | Early Western travelers reported that the fortifications surrounding the ancient city was completely circular. | [3] | |
| Hatra | 3rd or 2nd century BC | The plan is round, but it lacks "a genuine geometrical concept". | [2] | |
| Gōr (old Firuzabad) | 3rd century[dubious – discuss] | The city plan was a perfect circle of 1,950 m diameter, divided into twenty sectors. The plan also featured a circular city center, with a tower at its very center. | [4] | |
| Veh-Ardashir | 3rd century | The circular wall is uncovered. | [5] | |
| Harran | Sasanian period | [1] | ||
| Gay / Jay (Isfahan's twin city) | [6] | |||
| Isfahan | The round city of Isfahan is not uncovered yet. | [2] | ||
| Basra | 630s | Known mostly from literature. | [1] | |
| Kufa | 630s | Known mostly from literature. | [1] | |
| Baghdad | 762 | Known as "the round city of Baghdad". | [2][7] | |
| Darab | 8th century | The uncovered imperfect circular perimeter is reportedly a defensive work built in the 8th century, and the city itself was triangular in design. | [8] | |
| Heraqla | 790s | [1] | ||
| Venus Project (design) | 1955 | In Miami, Jacques Fresco presented designs of a circular city. |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e f Arce, Ignacio (1 January 2008). "Umayyad Building Techniques and the Merging of Roman-Byzantine and Partho-Sassanian Traditions: Continuity and Change". Late Antique Archaeology. 4 (1): 494–495. doi:10.1163/22134522-90000099. ISSN 1570-6893. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
- ^ a b c d Huff, D. "ARCHITECTURE iii. Sasanian Period". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
- ^ Leake, W. (20 March 1967). "Travels in Northern Greece". Archive.org. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
- ^ Huff, Dietrich. "FĪRŪZĀBĀD". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
- ^ Morony, Michael. "MADĀʾEN – Encyclopaedia Iranica". www.iranicaonline.org. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
- ^ Salma, K. Jayyusi; Holod, Renata; Petruccioli, Attilio; André, Raymond (2008). The City in the Islamic World. Leiden: Brill. p. 174. ISBN 9789004162402.
- ^ Fontana, Maria Vittoria. "ART IN IRAN xii. IRANIAN PRE-ISLAMIC ELEMENTS – Encyclopaedia Iranica". www.iranicaonline.org. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
- ^ Huff, Dietrich. "DĀRĀB (2)". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 8 July 2019.