Damqan

Despite 7,000 years history Damqan, a town in the province of Semnan in the north-east of Iran, has been forgotten beneath desert sand duns, whilst it is one of the most ancient urban metropolis in the Iranian plateau and hides many secrets covered by sands. With over 7,000 years history and a many historical monuments including Tappeh Hessar which belongs to the Mades, Parthians and Sassanid periods - the Tarikhaneh was built during the Sassanid period and beginning of Islam and many other historical buildings belonging to Seljuks and other periods - Damqan has witnessed many historical epochs. Historiographers ascribe the construction of Damqan to Hooshang, Kyoumars' great grandson and the founder of the legendary Pishidadi dynasty. The historical town has inherited various names such as Qoomes. Qoomes was a province stretching from Sabzevar to Garmsar, from north up to Alborz Mountain Range and to the Lut Desert in the south. Up to the 1st century A.D., Damqan was the capital of that great province. During Alexander's invasion into Iran the Greeks called it Hecatompylos. The Greeks called every big and important city as hecatompylos and they have recorded a similar big and bustling Egyptian city with that appellation.