At the foot of the Kopetdag, 18 km west of Ashgabat, on the lands of the village of Bagir, there are ruins of ancient settlements. These ruins are the remains of the city of Nisa, the capital of the ancient Parthian state, mentioned by ancient and medieval authors. Nisa had a very large suburb, also surrounded by a rampart. Here were the estates of slave owners, with gardens and vineyards; like modern Bagir, Nisa was buried in their greenery. According to scientific data, Nisa existed at the turn of the 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium AD. The ruins of this ancient city consist of two settlements: the Parthian city in the valley - New Nisa, and the royal fortress on the hill - Old Nisa. The settlements are located one and a half kilometers from each other. In Old Nisa, palace and temple buildings were concentrated. There was also a treasury, a huge wine cellar and warehouses with numerous supplies. The fortress walls were 8-9 meters thick at the base and were reinforced with 43 rectangular towers. In the 1st millennium BC, the current district of the Turkmen capital was part of Parthiene, the land of the "Parthians" or "Parthians". The first historical mention of Parthiene is contained in the Avesta, the sacred book of Zoroastrianism. Parthiene is also mentioned in the Behistun inscription of Darius Hystaspes I (6th century BC); at that time it was one of the tax regions - satrapies of the powerful state of the Achaemenids. In the 4th century BC. Parthiene was part of the empire of Alexander the Great, and soon after his death, of the Hellenistic state of the Seleucids. In the middle of the 3rd century BC, a number of Central Asian peoples revolted against the rule of the Greeks, resulting in their secession from the Seleucids. Parthiene was the center of one of these rebellions, led by the brothers Arshak and Tiridates. On the basis of a coalition of local tribes and peoples, they founded an independent Parthian kingdom, which for about four and a half centuries was headed by representatives of the dynasty, which called itself by the name of its founder, the Arsacids.