Ecbatana (m)

Ecbatana is the name given to the capital of the ancient Median Empire and is known today as Hamad?n in Iran. It is mentioned in the Bible (Ezra 6:2 Tobit 3:7 Judith 1:1 and 2Maccabees 9:3) and by the Greek historians Herodotus and Xenophon. Ecbatana is one of a number of ancient cities that various writers have suggested as the inspiration for Plato’s Atlantis. This particular association is probably based on its reported seven concentric walls of different colours.*[Similar claims have been made for other Persian cities, such as Susa and Firuzabad^(a).]*

However, as archaeological excavations drew to a close in 2006 no remains of anything earlier than the Parthians (248–224 AD) had been found although the dig had reached down to virgin soil. Not a single piece of Median evidence was found.

*[^(a) http://www.atlantisbolivia.org/boliviaandthesumerianconnection.htm]*