Ecbatana

[Easton] (Ezra 6:2 marg.). (See ACHMETHA.) [Smith] Ezra 6:2 margin. In the apocryphal books Ecbatana is frequently mentioned. Two cities named Ecbatana seem to have existed in ancient times, one the capital of northern Media—the Media Atropatene of Strabo—the other the metropolis of the larger and more important province known as Media Magna. The site of the former appears to be marked by the very curious ruins at Takht-i-Suleiman. [STEPBible TIPNR] A location only mentioned at Ezr.6.2) only referred to as Ecbatana (אַחְמְתָא). [Theographic] (Ezra 6:2), called Ecbatana by classical writers, the capital of northern Media. Here was the palace which was the residence of the old Median monarchs, and of Cyrus and Cambyses. In the time of Ezra, the Persian kings resided usually at Susa of Babylon. But Cyrus held his court at Achmetha; and Ezra, writing a century after, correctly mentions the place where the decree of Cyrus was found.