Hyrcania
| Hyrcania Gurgān |
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| Province of the Median, Achaemenid, Seleucid, Arsacid, and Sasanian Empire | |||||
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| Capital |
Zadracarta (548 BC–225 AD) Gurgān (225–651 AD) |
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| Historical era | Antiquity | ||||
| • | Established | 548 BC | |||
| • | Fall of the Sasanian Empire | 651 AD | |||
| Today part of |
 Iran Turkmenistan
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Hyrcania (/hərˈkeɪniə/) (Greek: Ὑρκανία Hyrkania,Old Persian: Varkâna,Middle Persian: Gurgān, Akkadian: Urqananu) is a historical region composed of the land south-east of the Caspian Sea in modern day Iran, bound in the south by the Alborz mountain range and the Kopet Dag in the east.
The region served as a satrapy (province) of the Median Empire, a sub-province of the Achaemenid Empire, and a province within its successors, the Seleucid, Arsacid and Sasanian empires. Hyrcania bordered Parthia to the east (later known as Abarshahr), Dihistan to the north, Media to the south and Mardia to the west. After the fall of the Sasanian Empire in 651 AD, Hyrcania was known as Tabaristan.
Hyrcania formed part of the Median Empire by 600 BC, and according to Nicolaus Damascenus, was administered as a satrapy by the time of the last Median king, Astyages, who appointed a certain Artasyras as satrap (governor). Upon the fall of the Median Empire, the region willingly submitted to the Achaemenid Empire and was occupied by Cyrus the Great in 549-548 BC, and for a time Artasyras continued as satrap under Cyrus, prior to his replacement by Astyages himself. According to Ctesias, Astyages' grandson Megabernes also served as satrap of Hyrcania. Hyrcanians gave their name to the Hyrcanian Plain in the middle Hermus valley in Lydia where they were settled, most likely during the reign of Cyrus the Great, as part of a policy to establish military colonies in Asia Minor. Under the Achaemenid Empire, Hyrcania served as a sub-province of the satrapy of Parthia, which was also known as the satrapy of Parthia and Hyrcania. At times, Cadusia may have been administered as part of Hyrcania. Fortifications to protect Hyrcania against nomadic incursions were constructed during the Achaemenid period.
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