Ecbatana

Ecbat'ana (1 Esdras 6:23) or "ECBAT'ANE" (τὰ Ε᾿κβάτανα, 2 Macc. 9:3; Judith 1:1 sq.; Tob. 5:9, etc.; comp. Josephus, Ant. 10:11, 7; 11:4, 6; Α᾿γβάτανα in Ctesias 1; Herod. 1:98; 2:153), the metropolis of Media (Curt. 5:81), situated 88° and 37 degrees, 45 feet, according to Ptolemy (6, 2, 14), and after the time of Cyrus (Strabo, 11:522 sq.; Pausan. 4:24, 1; Xenoph. Cyr. 8:6, 22; Anab. 3, 5, 15) two months in the year the residence of the Persian (later the Parthian) kings. It is somewhat doubtful whether the name of this place is really contained in the Hebrew Scriptures. Many of the best commentators understand the expression בּאִחמתָא, in Ezr 6:2, differently, and translate it in arca "in a coffer" (see Buxtorf and others, and so our English Bible in the margin). The Sept., however, give ἐν πόλει, " in a city," or (in some MSS.) ἐν Α᾿μαθὰ ἐν πόλει, which favors the ordinary interpretation. If a city is meant, there is little doubt of one of the two Ecbatanas being intended; for, except these towns, there was no place in the province of the Medes "which contained a palace" (בַּירָה), or where records are likely to have been deposited. The name Achmetha, too, which at first sight seems somewhat remote from Ecbatana, wants but one letter of Hagmatana, which was the native appellation. The earlier and more correct Greek form of the name, too, was Agbatana (see Steph. Byz. page 19; compare Wesseling ad Herod. 3, 65). Lassen (Biblioth. 3, 36) regards the name as Zendish, Aghwa-Tana, "land rich in horses." Hyde (De rel. vet. Pers. page 541 sq.) compares it with the Persic Abadan, "cultivated place;" Ilgen (on Tobit, l.c.) regards it as Sbemitic; compare Syr. Chamtana, "fortress." For other etymologies, see Simonis Onom. V.T. page 578 sq.; Gesenius, Thes. page 70.

Two cities of the name of Ecbatana seem to have existed in ancient times, one the capital of Northern Media, the Media Atropatene of Strabo; the other the metropolis of the larger and more important province known as Media Magna (see Sir H. Rawlinson's paper on the Atropatenian Ecbatana, in the 10th volume of the Journal of the Geographical Society, art. 2). The site of the former appears to be marked by the very curious ruins at Takht i-Suleiman (lat. 36 degrees 28 feet long. 47 degrees 9 feet); while that of the latter is occupied by hamadan, which is one of the most important cities of modern Persia. There is generally some difficulty in determining, when Ecbatana is mentioned, whether the northern or the southern metropolis is intended. Few writers are aware of the existence of the two cities, and they lie sufficiently near to one another for geographical notices in most cases to suit either site. The northern city was the "seven-walled town" described by Herodotus, and declared by him to have been the capital of Cyrus (Herod. 1:98-99, 153; compare Mos. Choren. 2:84); and it was thus most probably there that the roll was found which proved to Darius that Cyrus had really made a decree allowing the Jews to rebuild their Temple.