Ecbatana

Greek name for the capital of the ancient Median Empire, later one of the capital cities of the Persian and Parthian empires. It is often spelled Achmetha (Ezr 6:2, kjv), approximating its Aramaic name. The Old Persian name, Hangmatana, may have meant “place of assembly.” Modern Hamadan covers most of the ruins of the ancient city.

The city is at 6,300 feet (1,920.1 meters) on the eastern slopes of Mt Oronte (Alvand), a granite peak reaching to a height of 12,000 feet (3,657.4 meters) above sea level, part of an impassable range broken only by the pass leading to Ecbatana. Major trade routes converged on this pass and gave Ecbatana its strategic importance.