Ctesiphon

E134142

ancient city archaeological site

Ctesiphon was an ancient metropolis on the Tigris River that served for centuries as the principal capital of the Parthian and later Sasanian Persian empires.

Try in SPARQL Jump to: Surface forms Disambiguation Statements Elicitation Referenced by

All labels observed (8)

Label	Occurrences
Ctesiphon canonical	72
Seleucia on the Tigris	2
Seleucia-Ctesiphon	2
ancient city of Ctesiphon	2
City of Amida	1
Ctesiphon region	1
Sasanian capital Ctesiphon	1
Seleucia-Ctesiphon region	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T1124972 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Ctesiphon
Context triple: [Persians, capitalOfHistoricalEmpire, Ctesiphon]

A. Samarra
Samarra is an ancient Iraqi city on the Tigris River renowned for its monumental Islamic architecture, especially the spiral minaret of the Great Mosque of Samarra.
B. Edessa
Edessa is a historic city in northern Greece renowned for its picturesque waterfalls and ancient heritage.
C. Edessa
Edessa was an ancient city in Upper Mesopotamia, renowned as a major early center of Syriac Christianity and culture.
D. Susa
Susa was an ancient city in southwestern Iran that served as a major political and administrative center for several empires, including the Achaemenid Persians.
E. Turkmenabat
Turkmenabat is one of the largest cities in Turkmenistan, serving as an important industrial, transport, and cultural center in the country’s east near the border with Uzbekistan.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Ctesiphon
Target entity description: Ctesiphon was an ancient metropolis on the Tigris River that served for centuries as the principal capital of the Parthian and later Sasanian Persian empires.

A. Samarra
Samarra is an ancient Iraqi city on the Tigris River renowned for its monumental Islamic architecture, especially the spiral minaret of the Great Mosque of Samarra.
B. Edessa
Edessa is a historic city in northern Greece renowned for its picturesque waterfalls and ancient heritage.
C. Edessa
Edessa was an ancient city in Upper Mesopotamia, renowned as a major early center of Syriac Christianity and culture.
D. Susa
Susa was an ancient city in southwestern Iran that served as a major political and administrative center for several empires, including the Achaemenid Persians.
E. Turkmenabat
Turkmenabat is one of the largest cities in Turkmenistan, serving as an important industrial, transport, and cultural center in the country’s east near the border with Uzbekistan.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (48)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	ancient city ⓘ archaeological site ⓘ
alsoKnownAs	Al-Mada’in ⓘ Madā’in ⓘ
battle	Battle of al-Qadisiyyah ⓘ linked to: Battle of Qadisiyyah
capturedBy	Emperor Carus ⓘ Emperor Julian ⓘ linked to: Julian the Apostate Emperor Septimius Severus ⓘ linked to: Septimius Severus Emperor Trajan ⓘ linked to: Trajan Roman Empire ⓘ
conqueredBy	Rashidun Caliphate ⓘ
conqueredInYear	637 ⓘ
coordinateApprox	33.093°N 44.580°E ⓘ
country	Iraq ⓘ
declinedAfter	founding of Baghdad ⓘ
flourishedInPeriod	1st century BCE ⓘ 1st century CE ⓘ late antiquity ⓘ
foundedBy	Parthians ⓘ linked to: Parthian Empire
foundedInCentury	2nd century BCE ⓘ
hadRole	administrative center ⓘ commercial hub ⓘ royal residence ⓘ
knownFor	Taq Kasra ⓘ large brick iwan ⓘ
languageUsed	Middle Persian ⓘ linked to: Middle Persian language Parthian language ⓘ
locatedIn	Mesopotamia ⓘ near modern Salman Pak ⓘ
locatedNear	Baghdad ⓘ
locatedOn	Tigris River ⓘ linked to: Tigris
nearbyCityFoundedBy	Baghdad – Abbasid Caliphate ⓘ linked to: Baghdad
notableBuilding	Palace of Khosrow I ⓘ
oppositeOf	Seleucia on the Tigris ⓘ linked to: Seleucia-on-the-Tigris
partOf	Parthian Empire ⓘ Sasanian Empire ⓘ metropolitan area of Seleucia-Ctesiphon ⓘ
presentIn	Sasanian royal road network ⓘ linked to: The Royal Road
region	Lower Mesopotamia ⓘ
religionPracticed	Christianity ⓘ Judaism ⓘ Zoroastrianism ⓘ
servedAs	capital of the Parthian Empire ⓘ capital of the Sasanian Empire ⓘ principal capital of Sasanian kings ⓘ winter capital of Parthian kings ⓘ
structureType	urban complex ⓘ
UNESCOTentativeList	Iraq ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (82)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Persians → capitalOfHistoricalEmpire → Ctesiphon ⓘ

Hellenistic period → majorCity → Seleucia on the Tigris ⓘ

linked to: Ctesiphon

Assyrian Church of the East → historicalCenter → Seleucia-Ctesiphon ⓘ

linked to: Ctesiphon

Roman–Parthian War of 161–166 → capitalCaptured → Ctesiphon ⓘ

Roman–Parthian War of 161–166 → citySacked → Seleucia on the Tigris ⓘ

linked to: Ctesiphon

Persian → historicalCapital → Ctesiphon ⓘ

Parthian Empire → capital → Ctesiphon ⓘ

Sasanian Empire → capital → Ctesiphon ⓘ

Sasanian Empire → capital → Seleucia-Ctesiphon ⓘ

linked to: Ctesiphon

Sasanian Empire → religiousCenter → Ctesiphon ⓘ

Battle of Ctesiphon (1915) → near → ancient city of Ctesiphon ⓘ

linked to: Ctesiphon

Persia → hasCapitalHistorically → Ctesiphon ⓘ

Shapur I → capitalDuringReign → Ctesiphon ⓘ

Khosrow I → deathPlace → Ctesiphon ⓘ

Khosrow I → capital → Ctesiphon ⓘ

Muslim conquest of Persia → capturedCity → Ctesiphon ⓘ

Parthian campaigns of Septimius Severus → location → Ctesiphon ⓘ

On the Crown → defends → Ctesiphon ⓘ

On the Crown → hasCharacter → Ctesiphon ⓘ

Vologases IV of Parthia → capital → Ctesiphon ⓘ

Vologases IV of Parthia → lostCity → Ctesiphon ⓘ

Capture of Ctesiphon (165) → location → Ctesiphon ⓘ

Capture of Ctesiphon (165) → captured → Ctesiphon ⓘ

Capture of Ctesiphon (165) → opponentCapital → Ctesiphon ⓘ

Saʿd ibn Abi Waqqas → helpedConquer → Ctesiphon ⓘ

Persian monarchy → capital → Ctesiphon ⓘ

Dijlah → associatedWithAncientCity → Ctesiphon ⓘ

Taq Kasra → locatedIn → Ctesiphon ⓘ

Taq Kasra → associatedWithCity → Ctesiphon ⓘ

Mithridates I of Parthia → capitalUsed → Ctesiphon ⓘ

Seleucia-on-the-Tigris → locatedNear → Ctesiphon ⓘ

Seleucia-on-the-Tigris → nearbyTwinCity → Ctesiphon ⓘ

Mithridates II of Parthia → capitalCity → Ctesiphon ⓘ

Khosrow II → capitalDuringReign → Ctesiphon ⓘ

Hiddekel → flowsThroughAncientCityRegion → Ctesiphon region ⓘ

subject linked to: Hiddekel in some historical and religious texts

linked to: Ctesiphon

Ardashir I → capitalEstablishedAt → Ctesiphon ⓘ

Ardashir I → diedIn → Ctesiphon ⓘ

Orodes II of Parthia → capital → Ctesiphon ⓘ

Yazdegerd III → capitalDuringReign → Ctesiphon ⓘ

Yazdegerd III → coronationPlace → Ctesiphon ⓘ

Battle of Ctesiphon (363) → near → Sasanian capital Ctesiphon ⓘ

linked to: Ctesiphon

Phraates IV of Parthia → capital → Ctesiphon ⓘ

Vologases I of Parthia → capital → Ctesiphon ⓘ

Shapur II → deathPlace → Ctesiphon ⓘ

Shapur II → capital → Ctesiphon ⓘ

House of the Exilarchs → seat → Seleucia-Ctesiphon region ⓘ

linked to: Ctesiphon

Ancient Iran → capitalOfMajorState → Ctesiphon ⓘ

Battle of Ctesiphon → near → ancient city of Ctesiphon ⓘ

linked to: Ctesiphon

Sapor → associatedWithPlace → Ctesiphon ⓘ

Siege of Amida → relatedTo → City of Amida ⓘ

linked to: Ctesiphon

All labels observed (8)

How this entity was disambiguated Show

Statements (48)

How these facts were elicited Show

Referenced by (82)

How this entity was disambiguated

How these facts were elicited