Ctesiphon in Aramean Lands
"However, the province of Pars and its capital, Istakhr, lacked the merit to host the capital of the empire due to historical events. Mesopotamia became the center of the Eastern Empire. Seleucia and Ctesiphon became the heirs to ancient Babylon, so much so that during the Islamic era, this heritage was transferred to Baghdad. The great Western state, meaning Rome, was a neighbor to Iran. The city of Ctesiphon was located outside the true heartland of Iran, situated in Aramean lands, and the Arab-inhabited areas began just behind the city walls. And Ardashir started... (and Veh-Ardashir was a city that Ardashir built to replace ancient Seleucia, which in the year 165 had fallen into the hands of Avidius Cassius, the Roman general, and had been destroyed). Beyond the Euphrates, at a location where this river bends toward the Tigris—at a distance of 50 kilometers—it appears that an Arab state was formed during this time named Hilah, which was a vassal of the Sasanian Empire of Iran and protected Iran from the raids and incursions of tent-dwelling bedouins (3). In the northern desert of Syria, another Arab state named Ghassan existed, which paid tribute and was an ally of the Romans (4)."
