List of circular cities

Several ancient cities of Mesopotamia and Persia are known to have had a circular plan.

List of circular cities

List of cities with circular design
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

References

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ a b c d Huff, D. "ARCHITECTURE iii. Sasanian Period". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  3. ^ Leake, W. (20 March 1967). "Travels in Northern Greece". Archive.org. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
  4. ^ Huff, Dietrich. "FĪRŪZĀBĀD". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  5. ^ Morony, Michael. "MADĀʾEN – Encyclopaedia Iranica". www.iranicaonline.org. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  6. ^ Salma, K. Jayyusi; Holod, Renata; Petruccioli, Attilio; André, Raymond (2008). The City in the Islamic World. Leiden: Brill. p. 174. ISBN 9789004162402.
  7. ^ Fontana, Maria Vittoria. "ART IN IRAN xii. IRANIAN PRE-ISLAMIC ELEMENTS – Encyclopaedia Iranica". www.iranicaonline.org. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  8. ^ Huff, Dietrich. "DĀRĀB (2)". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 8 July 2019.