[1] Alexander the Great stopped here in the summer of 330 BCE and it became part of the Seleucid Empire after his death.

The Parni tribe took the city around 237 BCE and made it one of the first capitals of their Parthian Empire.

It was mentioned as the royal city of the Parthians by a number of classical writers including Strabo, Pliny, and Ptolemy, although the Parthians seemed to have used a number of cities as their "capital" at different periods.

In 2011 plans for an "International Project of Tourism & Recreational City" were published, using the name of Hecatompylos.

The project envisions using an area of 250 hectares (620 acres) close to the city of Damghan, which would place the resort at about 30 km (19 mi) northeast of the historic site.