The Nisaean plain (also spelled Nesaean; Greek: Nḗsaion pedíon)^[a] 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]

Notes

References

Sources

• Schmitt, Rüdiger (2002). "Nisāya". Encyclopaedia Iranica.
• 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.