# Was Minas Tirith influenced by Ecbatana?



## Gloranthan (Dec 5, 2022)

I really like the idea of a city/fortress, where it has rings of walls going up a mountain. Minis Tirith would be a fantastic feat of engineering and a nightmare to siege (assuming you had enough men to man it).
The historical city of Ecbatana, once the capital of the Medes, as well as Sus and a seat of the Persian empire, was very similar to Minis Tirith. I think the main difference is that Minis Tirith seems to be cut into the mountain, whereas Ecbatana basically crowns the mountain, with multiple rings. The Mongol invasion and, later, Timur, annihilated the city and its population: now it is only ruins.

I was wondering if Tolkien ever mentioned where the idea for Minas Tirith came from. I have identified the two for a long time (not geographically, but layout-wise), such that that I can't think of one without the other. Perhaps this is just me!


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## Aldarion (Dec 5, 2022)

Good find!


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## Gloranthan (Dec 5, 2022)

Aldarion said:


> Good find!


This post on Stack Exchange suggests several possible influences, including Ecbatana. But from what they're saying over there it doesn't seem like Tolkien ever said, specifically, what the influences were, if any, on Minis Tirith's design.


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## Squint-eyed Southerner (Dec 5, 2022)

Constantinople was also "many-walled".


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## Gloranthan (Dec 5, 2022)

Squint-eyed Southerner said:


> Constantinople was also "many-walled".


Yes, but it didn't have an elevated position with circuits like Minas Tirith. Having multiple walls is a fairly common feature of some cities (a main wall and the citadel wall, at least) but they usually lack the geography and capital to produce a tiered fortress like Ecbatana.


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