Qualla: Qumis (Hecatompylos) https://qualla.com/qumis-iran en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:32 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/t/n/q/k/qumis-iran-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Qumis (Hecatompylos) https://qualla.com/qumis-iran Qumis (Hecatompylos): Introduction https://qualla.com/qumis-iran/ Photo credit Uwe Dedering, CC BY-SA 3.0. They called it the City of a Hundred Gates. The Greek name Hecatompylos -- 'hekaton' for hundred, 'pylos' for gates -- was not literally accurate but conveyed scale and grandeur. In a world where most cities had four gates marking the cardinal directions, a city with many gates was a city that mattered. Alexander the Great thought so when he stopped here in the summer of 330 BCE, chasing the retreating Persian king Darius III across the Iranian plateau. The Parthians thought so when they made it one of the first capitals of their empire. The ruins of that city now lie as low mounds in the desert between Semnan and Damghan, called Shahr-e Qumis, largely unexcavated and slowly eroding under the Iranian sun.

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Image: Uwe Dedering | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Sat, 28 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/n/q/k/qumis-iran-wp/tnqk-qumis-hecatompylos-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Qumis (Hecatompylos): Where Empires Paused https://qualla.com/qumis-iran/ Photo credit Uwe Dedering, CC BY-SA 3.0. Alexander arrived at Hecatompylos during his relentless eastward campaign, using it as a staging point before pushing into Central Asia. After his death, the city passed to the Seleucid Empire, his successors' attempt to hold together his conquests. Around 237 BCE, the Parni trib...

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Image: Uwe Dedering | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Sat, 28 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/n/q/k/qumis-iran-wp/tnqk-qumis-hecatompylos-where-empires-paused.mp3 0:06 2 full Qumis (Hecatompylos): The Persian Name Endures https://qualla.com/qumis-iran/ Photo credit Uwe Dedering, CC BY-SA 3.0. The Persian name Qumis carries the same meaning as the Greek -- 'a hundred gates' -- a rare case where conqueror and conquered agreed on what to call a place. The city sat along the Great Khorasan Road, the ancient highway connecting Mesopotamia to Central Asia, making it a natur...

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Image: Uwe Dedering | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Sat, 28 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/n/q/k/qumis-iran-wp/tnqk-qumis-hecatompylos-the-persian-name-endures.mp3 0:06 3 full Qumis (Hecatompylos): Destroyed by the Earth Itself https://qualla.com/qumis-iran/ Photo credit Uwe Dedering, CC BY-SA 3.0. In 856 CE, an earthquake struck the city of Damghan and its surroundings with catastrophic force. The 856 Damghan earthquake is estimated to have killed approximately 200,000 people, making it one of the deadliest earthquakes in recorded history. Qumis, already declining from its...

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Image: Uwe Dedering | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Sat, 28 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/n/q/k/qumis-iran-wp/tnqk-qumis-hecatompylos-destroyed-by-the-earth-itself.mp3 0:06 4 full Qumis (Hecatompylos): Ruins Waiting to Speak https://qualla.com/qumis-iran/ Photo credit Uwe Dedering, CC BY-SA 3.0. In 2011, plans were announced for an 'International Project of Tourism and Recreational City' near Damghan using the ancient name Hecatompylos. The proposed development would cover 250 hectares, placed about 30 kilometers northeast of the actual historic site. The project reflect...

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]]> Sat, 28 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/n/q/k/qumis-iran-wp/tnqk-qumis-hecatompylos-ruins-waiting-to-speak.mp3 0:06 5 full