The Cultural and Scientific Position of Gundešapur during the Sassanids

Sassanids who came to power in Iran following the victory of Ardashir Pabakan over the Ardavan the fourth, established a kingdom that became one of the most important and flourishing kingdoms of ancient time. Not only from a political point of view, but also from cultural and scientific positions, this period was an important era in ancient history of Iran. In this regard we can mention evolution of national culture, development of science and establishment of scientific and academic centers, including academic city of Gundešapur in south-western Iran which was already famous in ancient time and was symbol for other medical centers. In this paper it has been tried, based on ancient historical documents and Islamic Geographers' reports and modern researches and by using historical methods, to examine the cultural and scientific position of Gundešapur in Iran's ancient history. For this purpose, we will have a look at the construction of this city by Sassanid kings and examine the toponym of the city and then, we will investigate the academic and medical position of the city.