Hecatompylos

Hecatompylos was an ancient city in west Khurasan, Iran, which was the capital of the Parthian Arsacid dynasty by 200 BCE. The Greek name Hekatompylos means "one hundred gates," but this title was commonly used for cities which had more than the traditional four gates. It may be understood better as the "Many Gated."

Alexander the Great stopped here in the summer of 330 BCE and it became part of the Seleucid Empire after Alexander's death. The Parni tribe took the city around 238 BCE and made it one of the first capitals of their Parthian Empire. It was mentioned as the royal city of the Parthians by a number of classical writers including Strabo, Pliny, Ptolemy, although the Parthians seemed to have used a number of cities as their "capital" at different periods.

It is estimated to have had an area of 28 km² at its peak, which would indicate a population in the tens of thousands.

The site of this ancient city is now called Šahr-e Qumis, between Semnan and Damqan in the Semnan Province