Several ancient cities of Mesopotamia and Persia are known to have had a circular plan.
List of circular cities
| City/town | Establishment | Coordinates | Notes | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sagbat/Hagmatana | 700 BC | |||
| Sam'al | Hittite period | |||
| Ctesiphon | Details are still under discussion. Circularity may be a result of natural growth of the city rather than design. | |||
| Metropolis (Thessaly) | 3rd and 2nd century BC | Early Western travelers reported that the fortifications surrounding the ancient city was completely circular. | ||
| Hatra | 3rd or 2nd century BC | The plan is round, but it lacks "a genuine geometrical concept". | ||
| Gōr (old Firuzabad) | 3rd century | The city plan was a perfect circle of 1,950 m diameter, divided into twenty sectors. The plan also featured a circular city center, with a tower at its very center. | ||
| Veh-Ardashir | 3rd century | The circular wall is uncovered. | ||
| Harran | Sasanian period | |||
| Gay / Jay (Isfahan's twin city) | ||||
| Isfahan | The round city of Isfahan is not uncovered yet. | |||
| Basra | 630s | Known mostly from literature. | ||
| Kufa | 630s | Known mostly from literature. | ||
| Baghdad | 762 | Known as "the round city of Baghdad". | ||
| Darab | 8th century | The uncovered imperfect circular perimeter is reportedly a defensive work built in the 8th century, and the city itself was triangular in design. | ||
| Heraqla | 790s | |||
| Venus Project (design) | 1955 | In Miami, Jacques Fresco presented designs of a circular city. |
See also
References
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- ^ Huff, D. "ARCHITECTURE iii. Sasanian Period". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
- Leake, W. (20 March 1967). "Travels in Northern Greece". Archive.org. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
- Huff, Dietrich. "FĪRŪZĀBĀD". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
- Morony, Michael. "MADĀʾEN – Encyclopaedia Iranica". www.iranicaonline.org. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
- Salma, K. Jayyusi; Holod, Renata; Petruccioli, Attilio; André, Raymond (2008). The City in the Islamic World. Leiden: Brill. p. 174. ISBN 9789004162402.
- Fontana, Maria Vittoria. "ART IN IRAN xii. IRANIAN PRE-ISLAMIC ELEMENTS – Encyclopaedia Iranica". www.iranicaonline.org. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
- Huff, Dietrich. "DĀRĀB (2)". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 8 July 2019.