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Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: PAI-PAS |
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PARTHIA , the mountainous country S.E. of the Caspian Sea, which extends from the Elburz chain eastwards towards Herat, and is bounded on the N. by the fertile plain of Hyrcania (about Astrabad) at the foot of the mountains in the corner of the Caspian and by the Turanian desert; on the S. by the great salt desert of central Iran
inscriptions of Darius; the correct Greek form is Ilap8eaioc. Parthia became a province of the Achaemenian and then of the Macedonian Empire. Seleucus I. and Antiochus I. founded Greek towns: Soteira, Charis, Achaea, Calliope (Appian, Syr. 57; Plin. vi. 15; cf. Strabo xi. 516); the capital of Parthia is known only by its Greek name Hecatompylos (" The Hundred-gated ") from the many roads which met there (Polyb. x. 28), and was, according to Appian, founded by Seleucus I. (cf. Curtius vii. 2)., In 208 many Greek inhabitants are found in the towns of Parthia and Hyrcania (Polyb. x. 31, 11).When about 255 B.C. Diodotus had made himself king of Bactria (q.v.). and tried to expand his dominions, the chieftain of a tribe bf Iranian nomads (Dahan Scythe
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Ptolemy
1 Strabo xi. 515; cf. Justin xli. 4; the Parni are said by Strabo [ibid.] to have immigrated from southern Russia, a tradition wrongly transferred to the Parthians themselves by Justin xli. 1, and Arrian ap. Phot. cod. 58. were created by him (cf. Justin xli. 2). The Scythian nomads became the ruling race; they were invested with large landed property, and formed the council of the king, who appointed the successor. They were archers fighting on horseback, and in their cavalry consisted the strength of the Parthian army; the infantry were mostly slaves, bought and trained for military service, like the janissaries and mamelukes. But these Scythians soon amalgamated with the Parthian peasants. They adopted the Iranian religion of Zoroaster (in the royal town Asaak an eternal fire was maintained), and " their language was a mixture of Scythian and Median " (i.e., Iranian). Therefore their language and writing are called by the later Persians " Pehlevi," i.e. Parthian (Pehlevi is the modern form of Parthawa) and the magnates themselves Pehlevans, i.e. " Parthians," a term transferred by Firdousi to the heroes of the old Iranian legend. But the Arsacid kingdom never was a truly national state; with the Scythian and Parthian elements were united some elements of Greek civilization. The successors of Arsaces I. even founded some Greek towns, and when they had conquered Babylonia and Mesopotamia they all adopted the epithet " Philhellen." To Arsaces I. probably belong the earliest Parthian coins; the oldest simply bear the name Arsaces; others, evidently struck after the coronation in Asaak, have the royal title ((3aanXfws 'Ap thIcev). The reverse shows the seated archer, or occasionally an elephant; the head of the king is beardless and wears a helmet and a diadem; only from the third or fourth king they begin to wear a beard after the Iranian fashion. In honour of the founder of the dynasty all his successors, when they came to the throne, adopted his name and officially (e.g. on the coins) are almost always called Arsaces, whereas the historians generally use their individual names.Of the successors of Arsaces I. we know very little. His son, Arsaces II., was attacked by Antiochus III., the Great, in 209, who conquered the Parthian and Hyrcanian towns but at last granted a peace. The next king, whom Justin calls Priapatius, ruled 15 years (about 190-175); his successor, Phraates I., subjected the mountainous tribe of the Mardi (in the Elburz). He died early, and was succeeded not by one of his sons but by his brother, Mithradates I., who became the founder of the Parthian empire. Mithradates I. (c. 170-138) had to fight hard with the Greeks of Bactria, especially with Eucratides (q.v.); at last he was able to conquer a great part of eastern Iran
For the later history of the Parthian empire reference should be made to PERSIA: Ancient History, and biographical articles on the kings. The following is a list
The names of pretenders not generally acknowledged are put in brackets. Arsaces I. . 248-c. 21I Vonones I. . . . 8-11 (perhaps Tiridates I.) Artabanus II. C. Io-4o Arsaces II. .c. 211-190 (Tiridates III. . 36) Priapatius . . . .c. 190175 (Cinnamus . . . 38) Phraates I. .c. 175-170 (Vardanes I.. 40-45) Mithradates I. . .c. 170138 Gotarzes
Phraates II. . . . c. 138-127 Vonones II 51 Artabanus I. .c. 127124 Vologaeses I. . 5177 Mithradates II. the (Vardanes II. . . . . 55) Great . . co. 124881 Vologaeses II. 7779 ; I11147 Sanatruces I. . 7670 Pacorus . . 78c. 105 Phraates III. . . 70-57 (Artabanus III. . . 8o-81) Orodes I 5737 Orrdes Io6129 (Mithradates III.. . 5754) (Mithradates IV. and his son Phraates IV 372 Sanatruces II., 115; Partha- (Tiridates I I. 3231 and 26) maspates, 116117; and other Phraates V. (Phraa- pretenders.) i The names of the following kings are not known; that one of them was called Artabanus II. is quite conjectural. Vologaeses IV. 191-209 Artabanus IV. . . 209-229 (Vologaeses V. . 209C. 222) The principal works on the Arsacid coinage are (after the earlier publications of Longperier, Prokesch-Ostan, &c.) : Percy Gardner, The Parthian Coinage (London, 1877), and especially W. Wroth, Catalogue of the Coins of Parthia in the British Museum (London, 1903), who carefully revised the statements of his predecessors. Cf. also Petrowicz, Arsacidenmiinzen (Vienna, 1904), and Allotte de la Fuye, " Classement des monnaies arsacides," in Revue numismatique, 4 seiie, vol. viii., 1904. (ED. M.) End of Article: PARTHIA If you wish, you can link directly to this article.
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