Les deux tells de l’ancienne et de la nouvelle Nisa signalent le site de l’une des plus anciennes et importantes cités de l’Empire parthe, une grande puissance du milieu du IIIe siècle av. J.-C jusqu’au IIIe siècle de notre ère. Ces tells conservent enfouis dans leur sol les vestiges d’une puissante civilisation antique qui associa avec ingéniosité des éléments de sa culture traditionnelle avec ceux des cultures occidentales hellénistique et romaine. Des fouilles archéologiques dans deux parties du site ont révélé une architecture richement décorée correspondant à des fonctions domestiques, officielles et religieuses. Situé au carrefour d’importants axes commerciaux et stratégiques, cet empire puissant formait une barrière à l’expansion romaine tout en servant d’important centre de communication et de négoce entre l’est et l’ouest, le nord et le sud.

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Nisa was the capital of the Parthian Empire, which dominated this region of central Asia from the mid 3rd century BCE to the early 3rd century CE. As such it formed a barrier to Roman expansion, whilst at the same time serving as an important communications and trading centre, at the crossroads of north-south and east-west routes. Its political and economic power is well illustrated by the surviving remains, which underline the interaction between central Asian and Mediterranean cultures. Criterion (ii): Nisa is situated at the crossroads of important commercial and strategic axes. The archaeological remains vividly illustrate the significant interaction of cultural influences from central Asia and from the Mediterranean world. Criterion (iii): The Parthian Empire was one of the most powerful and influential civilizations of the ancient world, and a brilliant rival of Rome which prevented the expansion of the Roman Empire to the east. Nisa, the capital of the Parthian Empire, is the outstanding symbol of the significance of this imperial power. The integrity and authenticity of the property, and also of the surrounding landscape, in terms of the size of the two tells and the siting of the capital at the foot of the Kopet-Dag mountains, are unquestionable. The two tells do not in any sense represent the original appearance of the Parthian capital, but their present appearance is due solely to natural erosion. The site is gazetted as one of the 1,300 historical and cultural monuments of Turkmenistan. Nisa is also one of the eight State Historical and Cultural Parks (SHCP) that have been created to protect the most significant sites in Turkmenistan. A buffer zone has been established. The property comes within the provisions of the Bagyr town development plan. Serious efforts are still needed to set up an efficient preventive maintenance scheme that will ensure the survival of recently excavated parts of the site. A five-year plan has been formulated for 2006-2010, in order to ensure a better balance between the different activities (e.g. archaeology vis-à-vis conservation) and to combine and harmonize all the existing documents and strategies relating to the site.