Parthian Empire - Decline and fall

The Parthian Empire was the dominating force on the Iranian plateau beginning in the late 3rd century BCE, and intermittently controlled Mesopotamia between ca 190 BCE and 224 CE. Parthia was the arch-enemy of the Roman Empire in the east and it limited Rome's expansion beyond Cappadocia (central Anatolia). The Parthian empire was the most enduring of the empires of the ancient Near East. After the Parni nomads had settled in Parthia and had built a small independent kingdom, they rose to power under king Mithradates the Great ...

Including:

• Parthian Empire - Origins
• Parthian Empire - The Parthian Empire
• Parthian Empire - Government
• Parthian Empire - Contact with China
• Parthian Empire - Conflicts with Rome
• Parthian Empire - Expansion to India
• Parthian Empire - Decline and fall
• Parthian Empire - Parthian rulers
• Parthian Empire - Etymololgy of Parthia

Read more here: » Parthian Empire: Encyclopedia - Parthian Empire

The Armenian compromise served its purpose, but nothing in it covered the deposition of an Armenian king. After 110 CE, the Parthian king Vologases III dethroned the Armenian ruler, and the Roman emperor Trajan decided to invade Parthia in retaliation. War broke out in 114 CE and the Parthians were severely beaten. The Romans conquered Armenia, and in the following year, Trajan marched to the south, where the Parthians were forced to evacuate their strongholds. In 116 CE, Trajan captured Ctesiphon, and ...

See also:

Parthian Empire, Parthian Empire - Origins, Parthian Empire - The Parthian Empire, Parthian Empire - Government, Parthian Empire - Contact with China, Parthian Empire - Conflicts with Rome, Parthian Empire - Expansion to India, Parthian Empire - Decline and fall, Parthian Empire - Parthian rulers, Parthian Empire - Etymololgy of Parthia

Read more here: » Parthian Empire: Encyclopedia II - Parthian Empire - Decline and fall

The Parthians were members of the Parni tribe, a nomadic people of Iranian origin, who spoke an Iranian language and entered the Iranian plateau from Central Asia. They were consummate horsemen, known for the 'Parthian shot': turning backwards at full gallop to loose an arrow directly to the rear. Later, at the height of their power, Parthian influence reached as far as Ubar in Arabia, the nexus of the frankincense trade route, where Parthian-inspired ceramics have been found. The power of the early Parthian empire seems to have been overestimated by some ancient histo ...

See also:

Parthian Empire, Parthian Empire - Origins, Parthian Empire - The Parthian Empire, Parthian Empire - Government, Parthian Empire - Contact with China, Parthian Empire - Conflicts with Rome, Parthian Empire - Expansion to India, Parthian Empire - Decline and fall, Parthian Empire - Parthian rulers, Parthian Empire - Etymololgy of Parthia

Read more here: » Parthian Empire: Encyclopedia II - Parthian Empire - Origins

Main article:Indo-Parthian Kingdom Also during the 1st century BCE, the Parthians started to make inroads into eastern territories that had been occupied by the Indo-Scythians and the Yuezhi. The Parthians gained control of parts of Bactria and extensive territories in northern India, after defeating local rulers such as the Kushan Empire ruler Kujula Kadphises, in the Gandhara region. Around 20 CE, Gondophares, one of the Parthian conquerors, declared his independence from the Parthian empire and established t ...

See also:

Parthian Empire, Parthian Empire - Origins, Parthian Empire - The Parthian Empire, Parthian Empire - Government, Parthian Empire - Contact with China, Parthian Empire - Conflicts with Rome, Parthian Empire - Expansion to India, Parthian Empire - Decline and fall, Parthian Empire - Parthian rulers, Parthian Empire - Etymololgy of Parthia

Read more here: » Parthian Empire: Encyclopedia II - Parthian Empire - Expansion to India

In 53 BCE, the Roman general Crassus invaded Parthia, but was defeated at the Battle of Carrhae by a Parthian commander called Surena in the Greek and Latin sources, most likely a member of the Sûrên clan. This was the beginning of a series of wars that were to last for almost three centuries. The Parthian armies included two types of cavalry: the heavily-armed and armoured cataphracts and light brigades of mounted archers. For the Romans, who relied on heavy infantry, the Parthians were hard to defeat, as the cavalry was much faste ...

See also:

Parthian Empire, Parthian Empire - Origins, Parthian Empire - The Parthian Empire, Parthian Empire - Government, Parthian Empire - Contact with China, Parthian Empire - Conflicts with Rome, Parthian Empire - Expansion to India, Parthian Empire - Decline and fall, Parthian Empire - Parthian rulers, Parthian Empire - Etymololgy of Parthia

Read more here: » Parthian Empire: Encyclopedia II - Parthian Empire - Conflicts with Rome

After the conquest of Media, Assyria, Babylonia and Elam, the Parthians had to organize their empire. The former elites of these countries were Greek, and the new rulers had to adapt to their customs if they wanted their rule to last. As a result, the cities retained their ancient rights and civil administrations remained more or less undisturbed. An interesting detail is coinage: legends were written in the Greek alphabet, a practice that continued until the 2nd century CE, when local knowledge of the language was in decline and few people ...

See also:

Parthian Empire, Parthian Empire - Origins, Parthian Empire - The Parthian Empire, Parthian Empire - Government, Parthian Empire - Contact with China, Parthian Empire - Conflicts with Rome, Parthian Empire - Expansion to India, Parthian Empire - Decline and fall, Parthian Empire - Parthian rulers, Parthian Empire - Etymololgy of Parthia

Read more here: » Parthian Empire: Encyclopedia II - Parthian Empire - Government

Initially, ca. 250 BCE, a king named Arsaces established his dynasty's independence from Seleucid rule in remote areas of northern Iran in what is today known as Turkmenistan, where his descendants of the same name ruled until Antiochus III the Great briefly made them submit to Seleucid authority again in 206 BCE. It was not until the 2nd century BCE that the Parthians were able to profit from the continuing erosion of the Seleucid Empire, gradually capturing all its territories east of Syria. Once the Parthians had gained Herat, the ...

See also:

Parthian Empire, Parthian Empire - Origins, Parthian Empire - The Parthian Empire, Parthian Empire - Government, Parthian Empire - Contact with China, Parthian Empire - Conflicts with Rome, Parthian Empire - Expansion to India, Parthian Empire - Decline and fall, Parthian Empire - Parthian rulers, Parthian Empire - Etymololgy of Parthia

Read more here: » Parthian Empire: Encyclopedia II - Parthian Empire - The Parthian Empire

The Chinese explorer Zhang Qian, who visited the neighbouring countries of Bactria and Sogdiana in 126 BCE, made the first known Chinese report on Parthia. In his accounts Parthia is named "Ānxī" (Chinese: 安息), a transliteration of "Arsacid", the name of the Parthian dynasty. Zhang Qian clearly identifies Parthia as an advanced urban civilization, which he equates to those of Dayuan (in Ferghana) and Daxia (in Bactria). "Anxi is situated several thousand li west of the region of the Great Yuezhi (in Transoxonia). Th ...

See also:

Parthian Empire, Parthian Empire - Origins, Parthian Empire - The Parthian Empire, Parthian Empire - Government, Parthian Empire - Contact with China, Parthian Empire - Conflicts with Rome, Parthian Empire - Expansion to India, Parthian Empire - Decline and fall, Parthian Empire - Parthian rulers, Parthian Empire - Etymololgy of Parthia

Read more here: » Parthian Empire: Encyclopedia II - Parthian Empire - Contact with China