The Parthians


 
 
Concept Explanation
 

The Parthians

The Parthians:

Parthia, ancient land corresponding roughly to the modern region of Khorasan in Iran. The term is also used in reference to the Parthian empire (247 bc–ad 224). The first certain occurrence of the name is as Parthava in the BÄ«sitÅ«n inscription (c. 520 bc) of the Achaemenian king Darius I but Parthava may be only a dialectal variation of the name Parsa (Persian).

Nothing is known of the history of Parthia while it was part of a satrapy of the Achaemenian Empire. It was joined to Hyrcania (present Gorgan, Iran) in the time of Alexander the Great and the two remained together as a province of the Seleucid kingdom. During the reigns of Seleucus I (312–281 bc) and Antiochus I soter (281–261) the Parni (Aparni) nomads probably moved from Central Asia. into Parthia and seem to have adopted the speech of the Parthians and been absorbed into the settled population.

According to tradition (somewhat disputed), the first ruler of the Parthians and founder of the Parthian empire was Arsaces I, who had been a governor under Diodotus, king of the Bactrian Greeks, and who revolted and fled westward to establish his own rule (c. 250–c. 211 bc). By 200 bc Arsaces’ successors were firmly established along the southern shore of the Caspian sea.

The earliest Parthian capital was probably at Dara (modern Abivard); one of the later capitals was Hecatompylos, probably near modern Dāmghān. The empire was governed by a small Parthian aristocracy, which successfully made use of the social organizations established by the Seleucids and which tolerated the development of vassal kingdoms. Although not an inventive people, the Parthians controlled most of the trade routes between Asia. and the Greco-Roman world, and this control brought them great wealth, which they used on their extensive building activities.

 
 


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