Estakhr

Estakhr (in Persian: استخر) was an ancient city located in southern Iran, in Fars province, five kilometers north of Persepolis. It was a prosperous city during the time of Achaemenid Persia. At first, Estakhr was an Achaemenid city in present-day Fârs Province, Iran. It gained its importance not only from its close association with Persepolis, but commanded the western end of an ancient caravan route that ran from the Indus Valley via Kandahar and Seistan to Persia/Parthia. It temporarily became the capital of Sassanian Persia during the reign of Ardashir I before the capital moved to Ctesiphon. During the Sasanid period the royal treasury of the empire known as ganj ī šāhīgān is said to have been in Eṣṭaḵr. In 915-16, Masʿūdī himself...