Parthia
Parthia was an ancient region and later a powerful empire that emerged following the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE. Originally part of the Achaemenian Empire, Parthia gained independence from the Seleucid Empire around 245 BCE under the leadership of Arsaces, marking the beginning of the Arsacid dynasty. The Parthians, largely comprised of nomadic tribes, successfully resisted Hellenistic influence and established a state characterized by skilled cavalry tactics, notably the cataphracts. Throughout its history, Parthia expanded significantly, reaching its height during the reign of Mithradates II (c. 124-87 BCE), when it controlled territory from modern-day India to Asia Minor, with the Euphrates River serving as a boundary with the Roman Empire.
Despite its initial success, Parthia faced increasing challenges from Rome, culminating in significant military confrontations such as the Battle of Carrhae in 53 BCE, where the Parthian cavalry decisively defeated a Roman force. Over the following centuries, internal strife and external pressures led to a decline in centralized power, resulting in fragmentation into smaller states. The Arsacid dynasty ended in 224 CE with the rise of the Sāsānian Empire, marking a significant transition in the region's history. Parthia's legacy includes its cultural exchanges and conflicts with Hellenistic and Roman civilizations, which shaped the political landscape of the ancient Near East.
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Parthia
Date: 400 b.c.e.-224 c.e.
Locale: Southwest Asia in modern-day northeastern Iran
Parthia
Following the death of Alexander the Great (323 b.c.e.), the Greek Empire was divided among his former generals. The eastern portion, corresponding to what had been the Achaemenian Empire established under Cyrus the Great, came under the control of Seleucus I. Within the Achaemenian Empire of the Persians, Parthia had at one time been ruled by Hystaspes (Vishtaspa), a member of Cyrus’s extended family and father of Darius the Great, ruler of the Persian Empire.
Seleucus I was immediately faced with revolts in the satraps, the provinces that had been conquered by Alexander. These revolts resulted in part from rejection of Hellenism and its concept of a master race and also from the invasion of nomads from beyond the Jaxartes River, which marked the eastern boundary. A revolt led by Arsaces, chief of the Scythian Parni, in 245 b.c.e. resulted in the province of Parthia being established as a kingdom independent of the Seleucid Empire.
The establishment of the kingdom of Parthia (PAHR-thee-uh) was made possible by several developments. The precise boundaries of Parthia were largely undefined, and it was inhabited by a collection of peoples who were primarily nomads of ill-defined ethnicity. Their common goal in the initial struggle against the Seleucids was the removal of Greek/Macedonian domination. Their success was based on the combination of their own strengths and the concurrent rise of Rome in the western regions of the Seleucid Empire. The Parthians became known for their cataphracts, the mail-clad cavalry that developed the shoot-and-run tactics that proved effective against the Seleucids and later Rome.
Arsaces was instrumental in establishing the Parthian state, and even long after his death (c. 215 b.c.e.), he was considered the greatest of the Parthian rulers. The Arsacid era or dynasty (c. 245 b.c.e.-224 c.e.) was named after him, and his image was found on Parthian coins for several hundred years.
The defeat (c. 225 b.c.e.) of Seleucus II by Arsaces was the start of decades of consolidation in the region, a process that continued under Arsaces’ successor, Artabanus I. Hecatompylos, a city along the Silk Road, was established as Parthia’s capital, and the fortress city of Dara (a later capital) and the city of Nisa (also an eventual capital) were founded. During the reign of Artabanus I, the region was marked by revolts of other satraps against Antiochus the Great (c. 242-187 b.c.e.), ruler of the Seleucids during the first decades of the second century b.c.e. A military campaign that captured Hecatompylos resulted in a peace treaty between Parthia and the Seleucids, who recognized the existence of Parthia in exchange for the inclusion of the Parthian cavalry in the Seleucid army.
The reign of Mithradates I (r. 171-138 b.c.e.) marked the beginning of the philhellenic period, an era that lasted some two hundred years and was characterized by the increasing influence of the Greek culture and language, even as the political influence of the Greeks began to wane. Mithradates took advantage of the weakening Seleucids by expanding the Parthian kingdom to the west, eventually occupying Media and Ecbatana (modern Hamadān). His opponent, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, was simultaneously dealing with revolts within other regions of his empire, including the Maccabean revolt in Judaea (c. 168-143 b.c.e.), a part of which became the basis of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.
The final attempt by the Greeks to maintain a foothold near Parthia occurred during the reign of Phraates II (r. c. 138-128 b.c.e.). Antiochus VII occupied Media, defeating Phraates in several small battles. However, a revolt of the Medes resulted in the death of Antiochus (c. 129 b.c.e.) and ended the last vestige of Greek political influence in the region.
The reign of Mithradates II (r. c. 124-87 b.c.e.) marked the apogee of the Parthian Empire. Mithradates’ kingdom extended from modern-day India in the east to Asia Minor in the west. The Euphrates River was established as the boundary between Parthia and the growing Roman Empire. In the period following Mithradates’ death, however, conflict began to grow with Rome. The Roman general Pompey the Great hoped to establish Parthia as a state friendly to Rome, if not an occupied buffer.
In 53 b.c.e., a Roman army under the triumvir Marcus Licinius Crassus passed through Armenia into Mesopotamia. His army of 44,000 men was attacked in the desert by a Parthian cavalry of 11,000 men at Carrhae. Crassus and some 30,000 of his men were either killed or captured, ending the attempt by Rome to incorporate Parthia into its empire. The Euphrates River remained a boundary between the two empires, and Rome would never have sufficient influence in the east to displace that of the Hellenists.
Subsequent decades of court intrigue weakened the political influence of Parthia. Though peace was again established with Rome, foreign influences from the east gradually replaced that of the Hellenists. The period between 12 and 160 c.e. was marked by increasing anti-Hellenism as Parthia broke into a succession of smaller states and kingdoms. An invasion by the emperor Trajan temporarily united the region in opposition (c. 120 c.e.) and allowed for a brief period of peace. However, the last years of the Parthian dynasties were marked by revolts and continuing hostilities with Rome. The death of Artabanus V (224 c.e.) in battle with the Persian Ardashīr I represented the end of the Arsacid era and the beginning of that of the Sāsānian shahs.
Bibliography
Lepper, F. Trajan’s Parthian War. Chicago: Ares, 1994.
Wilcox, Peter. Rome’s Enemies 3: Parthians and Sassanids. Vol. 175. Oxford, England: Osprey, 1988.
Yarshater, Ehsan, ed. The Seleucid, Parthian, and Sasanian Periods. Vol. 3 in The Cambridge History of Iran. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1983.