Seleucia

Seleucia

ܣܠܝܩ (Salīq) Σελεύκεια
Archeological map of Seleucia and Ctesiphon sites
Shown within Iraq
Alternative name	Seleukeia, Salīq, Seleucia-on-Tigris, Seleucia on the Tigris
Location	Baghdad Governorate, Iraq
Region	Mesopotamia
Coordinates	33°5′40″N 44°31′20″E / 33.09444°N 44.52222°E / 33.09444; 44.52222
Type	Settlement
Area	5.5 km2 (2.1 sq mi)
History
Builder	Seleucus I Nicator
Founded	c. 305 BC
Abandoned	165 AD
Periods	Hellenistic to Roman Imperial
Cultures	Greek, Parthian, Sasanian
Site notes
Excavation dates	1927–1932, 1936–1937, 1964–1968, 1985–1989
Archaeologists	Leroy Waterman, Clark Hopkins, Antonio Invernizzi, Giorgio Gullini

Seleucia (/sɪˈljuːʃə/; Greek: Σελεύκεια), also known as Seleucia-on-Tigris or Seleucia on the Tigris or Seleucia ad Tigrim, was a major Mesopotamian city, located on the west bank of the Tigris River within the present-day Baghdad Governorate in Iraq. It was founded around 305 BC by Seleucus I Nicator as the first capital of the Seleucid Empire, and remained an important center of trade and Hellenistic culture after the imperial capital relocated to Antioch. The city continued to flourish under Parthian rule beginning in 141 BC; ancient texts claim that it reached a population of 600,000. Seleucia was destroyed in 165 AD by Roman general Avidius Cassius and gradually faded into obscurity in the subsequent centuries. The site was rediscovered in the 1920s by archaeologists.