Archaeologists have unearthed an ancient tomb during excavations in the ancient city of Nahowand in Iran. According to them, this may be the tomb of a Seleucid satrap, reports Tehran Times.
The tomb of the alleged satrap of the Seleucids has been discovered in the modern Iranian region of Hamedan. It was discovered by a team led by archaeologist Mohsen Khanjan. According to him, the tomb sheds new light on the notions of Hellenistic life in west-central Iran. The tomb is located in the area of Tepe Nakarechi, near the site where archaeologists have previously discovered an ancient Seleucid temple. Currently, the tomb is a round hill, about eight meters high, located among orchards in the southeastern part of Nahavand. Nahawand is one of the cities that the Seleucids built during their rule on the territory of modern Iran. It is known that they tried to “Hellenize” their possessions. That is why the Seleucids invited the most famous and skilled Greek sculptors, craftsmen, teachers, artists, historians and even merchants. Surprisingly, very few objects from the Seleucid era have survived, although they have ruled for almost three centuries. Therefore, the discovery of a hitherto unknown tomb can be of great help to archaeologists in studying the Seleucid period in the Iranian plateau. In addition, it can provide evidence of unknown burial rituals from this period of time. Earlier in the same area, archaeologists found other valuable objects such as bronze statues of Greek gods, a stone altar, the top of a column and pottery. By the way, archaeologists do not rule out that before the Seleucids came to this place there may have been an even more ancient settlement.
The Seleucids were a dynasty of rulers of the Hellenistic state founded by Seleucus I Nicator. The latter was the dyad of Alexander the Great, one of those close generals who divided the empire after the death of Alexander the Great. The Seleucid Empire has existed since 312 BC. to 63 BC Seleucus received Babylonia in 321 BC. and expanded its holdings to include much of Alexander the Great’s Middle East. At the height of its power, the empire included Central Anatolia, Persia, the Levant, Mesopotamia and present-day Kuwait, Afghanistan, and parts of Pakistan and Turkmenistan.
