Great Wall of Gorgan

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The Great Wall of Gorgan (باب الابواب), also called the Gorgan Defense Wall and sometimes Sadd-i-Iskandar, (Arabic for dam or barrier of Alexander) is an ancient defensive facility located in the Gorgan region of northeastern Iran.

The barrier consists of a 155 kilometre long, and 6 to 10 metre wide wall, along the length of which are located a number of fortresses, spaced at intervals of between 10 and 50 kilometres. The wall was built during the Parthian Dynasty to protect Iran from the invasions of the northern (mostly Turkic) tribes. It was restored during the Sassanid era (3-7th centuries AD). Its construction is contemporaneous with that of the Great Wall of China, and it is second only to that edifice as the largest defensive wall in existence.

The confusion of names is in part because this structure does defend the Caspian Gates, through which Alexander passed on his hasty march to Hyrcania and the east.

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