Nisaean plain

The Nisaean plain (also spelled Nesaean; Greek: Nḗsaion pedíon)[lower-alpha 1] was a fertile plain in Media, a historic region in Iran.[1][2] It was best known for being the home of the esteemed Nisaean horse.[1][3] The plain may be identical with the Nisaya district mentioned in the Behistun Inscription of Darius the Great (r. 522–486 BC).[1] However, Rüdiger Schmitt notes that this cannot be strictly proven.[1] The name of the plain possibly survived into the Medieval era, as Yaqut al-Hamawi, writing in the 13th century, mentioned a town in Hamadan (ancient Ecbatana) with the name Nisa.[1] The city of Nahavand is located on the Nisaean plain.[2]

The Nisaean plain, surrounding Ecbatana (modern Hamadan)

Notes
  1. Old Iranian *i was ostensibly rendered as ē in the most renowned Greek Herodotean manuscripts.[1]

References
  1. Schmitt 2002.
  2. Sherwin-White & Wiesehöfer 2012.
  3. "The role of Nisaean horse in horse breeding in the Ancient World on ResearchGate".

Sources
  • Schmitt, Rüdiger (2002). "Nisāya". Encyclopaedia Iranica.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Sherwin-White, Susan Mary; Wiesehöfer, Josef (2012). "Laodicea-Nihavend". In Hornblower, Simon; Spawforth, Antony; Eidinow, Esther (eds.). The Oxford Classical Dictionary (4 ed.). Oxford University Press.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

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