Charax Spasinu Totally Explained

Everything about Charax Spasinu totally explained

Charax Spasinu, or Charax Pasinu, Charax Spasinou (Greek: Χάρακα του Σπασίνου), Alexandria (Greek: Αλεξανδρία), and Antiochia in Susiana (Greek: Αντιόχεια της Σουσιανής) was an ancient port at the head of the Persian Gulf (Abadan in today's Iran), and the capital of the ancient kingdom of Characene.
   Although the exact location is still to be determined it appears that it was at the site of the large mound known as Jabal Khuyabir or Naisan near the confluence of the Eulaios/Karkheh and the Tigris Rivers.
   It was originally built by Alexander the Great and named Alexandria, like many other towns, after him. After destruction by floods, it was rebuilt by Antiochus IV (175-164 BCE) and renamed Antiochia. It was provided with a massive antiflood embankment almost 4½ km long by Antiochus's governor, Hyspaosines, and renamed "Charax of Hyspaosines."
   The name Charax derives from Greek Χάραξ 'palisaded fort' - related to Aramaic karkhā "fortified settlement, town". It was used for a number of fortified towns in the Seleucid Empire. According to Pliny the Elder:
ť "The town of Charax is situated in the innermost recess of the Persian Gulf, from which projects the country called Arabia Felix. It stands on an artificial elevation between the Tigris on the right and the Karún on the left, at the point where these two rivers unite, and the site measures two [Roman] miles [3km] in breadth. . . . It was originally at a distance of 1¼ miles [1.9km] from the coast, and had a harbour of its own, but when Juba Juba II (born c. 50 BCE – died c. CE 24) published his work it was 50 miles [74km] inland ; its present distance from the coast is stated by Arab envoys and our own traders who have come from the place to be 120 miles [178km]. There is no part of the world where earth carried down by rivers has encroached on the sea further or more rapidly. . . ."

Although it was nominally a vassal of the Seleucids and, later, the Parthians, it seemed to retain a considerable degree of autonomy at times. It became a centre for Arab trade, largely controlled by the Nabataeans, at least until they became assimilated by the Romans in 106 CE.
   Charax was a rich port with ships arriving regularly from Gerrha, Egypt, India, and beyond. It was also the beginning of the overland trade route from the Persian Gulf to Petra and Palmyra.
   It was visited in 97 CE by the Chinese envoy, Gan Ying 甘英, who referred to it as 于羅 (Pinyin: Yuluo; reconstructed ancient pronunciation *ka-ra), who was trying to reach the Roman Empire via Egypt but, after reaching the Persian Gulf was convinced to turn back by the Parthians.
   In 116 CE the Roman Emperor Trajan visited Charax Spasinu – his most recent, easternmost and shortest-lived possession. He saw the many ships setting sail for India, and wished he were younger, like Alexander had been, so that he could go there himself.
   It was enlarged by an Arabian chieftain, Spasines and afterward named Spasines and Charax Spasinou after him. (External Link

) It was a major trading center of late antiquity as evidenced by the hoards of Greek coins recovered during excavations there. (External Link

)

Isidore of Charax

Isidore of Charax was a 1st century geographer from the city of Charax (Abadan in today's Iran). He is mentionned by Pliny the Elder (23-79) as one of his sources. He wrote several books of which a few fragments are known "Parthian Stations", "Journey Around Parthia", "Description of the World".

Footnotes

Further Information

Get more info on 'Charax Spasinu'.

External Link Exchanges

Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:

<a href="http://charax_spasinu.totallyexplained.com">Charax Spasinu Totally Explained</a>

Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned.