Darius was the son of hystaspes, the satrap provincial governor of parthia. The least successful parthia armies were those using the most cataphracts and the fewest horse archers. Hystaspes must have been at least fifteen years old and we can assume that he was born before c. Vistaspa, whence ancient greek hystaspes is the avestanlanguage name of a figure of zoroastrian scripture and tradition, portrayed as an early follower of zoroaster, and his patron, and instrumental in the diffusion of the prophets message. Although vishtaspa is not epigraphically attested, he is like zoroaster also. Parthava parthia zoroastrianism, iranshahr, language. According to the 5thcenturybc greek historian herodotus, hystaspes was governor of persis under cyrus ii the great and cambyses ii and accompanied cyrus on his last campaign against the massagetai in 530 bc. Like how parthian expansion crushed seleucid power from the east, roman expansion finished off the remaining western fragments of the seleucid empire in 65 bce. Even duras mighty army cannot stave off a series of defeats as the enemies of parthia circle the empire like hungry wolves. How well would julius caesar have fared in his war against. Parthava parthia was likely the successor nation to nisa nisaya which in turn likely evolved from nisaim, the fifth nation mentioned in vendidads list of nations.
Looks at the rise of the parthian empire after the fall of the the persian empire until its fall under the sassanids in the 220s a. The rise of the parthian arsacid dynasty also saw greek bactria cut off from the. The empire of parthia stretched from modern afghanistan through iran to the euphrates river in iraq, encompassing territories once ruled by persian kings and then by alexander the great and his successors. The roman triumvir, crassus, met an ignominous death fighting the parthians and mark antony led a large army into parthia, but. So, as plutarch suggests in the parallel lives, were he not stabbed to death on the ides of march, caesar would have most likely started an offensive campaign against parthia. The tug of war with rome on the western border of parthia continued almost without cease while parthia had to constantly see to other threats from the north and east. Along the trade routes that linked ancient and newly established cities, hellenistic art and culture. David sellwoods an introduction to the coinage of parthia london. Parthia roughly corresponds to a region in northeastern iran. It has survived long enough for the to expire and the book to enter the public. If you have any guide requests please also post them in the comments, remember to rate. An introduction to collecting coins from elymais by robert. Some such series seem particularly mysterious due to a dearth of extant, reliable ancient writings about the.
He was satrap of persis under cambyses, and probably under cyrus the great also. When darius seized the throne in 522, hystaspes was governor of parthia and hyrcania, where he suppressed a revolt in 521. Now, since plutarch also speculates that caesar had in mind, defeated the parthians, to pass through the caucasus and ukraine and then, from eastern europe, to invade germany, i wonder if this plan could have really been. On the first day of the month garmapada 11 july 521 the battle was fought by them. In book 4, herodotus tells about darius campaign against the scythians. Khreseis hystaspou, a collection of prophecies ascribed to vistaspa, the patron and follower of zarathustra, whom the middle iranian and part of the ancient tradition also identified with dariuss father j. And pacorus knows that marcus licinius crassus is also marching east to extend romes rule from the euphrates to the indus and enslave the whole of parthia. Heavy cavalry in their distinctive scale armour are also rightly feared by enemies. It was bordered by the karakum desert in the north, included kopet dag mountain range and the dashtekavir desert in the south. A political history of parthiachapter 1 wikisource, the. Jona lendering the parthian empire was the most enduring of the empires of the ancient near east. Pages can include limited notes and highlighting, and the copy can include from the library of labels or previous owner inscriptions.
King phraates iv of parthia, son of orodes ii, ruled the parthian empire from 372 bc. They often showed allegiance to judah, travelled to jerusalem, and worshipped the gd of israel there. According to the 5thcentury bc greek historian herodotus, hystaspes was governor of persis under cyrus ii the great and cambyses ii and accompanied cyrus on his last campaign against the massagetai in 530 bc. The region known as parthia lay to the north of persia itself, nestled between the greek satrapy of bactria and the southern third of the caspian sea. You should always consider the kings name a tentative attribution and thus include sellwoods type number with each reference to your coin. Vishtaspa is the avestanlanguage name of a figure of zoroastrian scripture and tradition. Parthia definition and meaning collins english dictionary. His successor as ruler of syria, mesopotamia, and iran was one of his generals, seleucus i, who established the seleucid dynasty. Sellwood types and subtypes parthian coin images needed. Hystaspes birth year can be deduced from the fact that his son darius was born c. In this book exciting new research is presented proving a semiticisraelite connection and even a link to king david within the parthian royal family.
However, he was sent back to persis to keep watch over his eldest son, darius, whom cyrus, after a dream, suspected of considering treason. It was included in the assyrian and persian empires and the macedonian empire. The vendidad is a book of the zoroastrian scriptures, the avesta. Could julius caesar have succeeded in conquering parthia. The term is also used in reference to the parthian empire 247 bcad 224.
This must be reserved for some future work on parthia where the necessity. After cyrus death in december, he was succeeded by his son cambyses, who may have appointed hystaspes as satrap governor of parthia. A sculpted head broken off from a larger statue of a parthian soldier wearing a hellenisticstyle helmet, from the. The sculptures and inscription of darius the great on the. The second chapter of this book concerns parthias status as a superpower in the ancient world. A sculpted head broken off from a larger statue of a parthian soldier wearing a hellenisticstyle helmet, from the parthian royal residence and necropolis of nisa, 2nd century bc from their base in parthia, the arsacid dynasts eventually extended their dominion to include most of greater iran. Roman emperor trajan annexes armenia and declares war on parthia. The same style that brough the romans to thier knees the huns, and that later brought europe to its knees the mongols. Parthia is a historical region located in northeastern iran. The parthian empire, as this book expertly attests, was an empire of transplanted, and multiplied israelites and jews. This book recounts the intense battles between rome and parthia that were among the largest and most pivotal ever fought in the ancient world. Parthia sat astride the trade routes between europe and the orient, and they prospered in this position. The western border between romes dominions and parthia gradually stabilized on the banks of the euphrates, but war was always a threat and though major campaigns by the romans. Parthia synonyms, parthia pronunciation, parthia translation, english dictionary definition of parthia.
Andragoras may not have yet been the ruler satrap of parthia at the time the game begins but will be later and would become king of parthia after he rebelled against seleucid around 250245bc. The history and culture of one of ancient romes most famous. Rome was not the undisputed master of the near east. Parthia roughly corresponds to a region in northeastern iran, though part is in turkmenistan. The name parthia is a continuation from latin parthia, from old persian parthava, which was the parthian language selfdesignator signifying of the parthians who were an iranian people.
He was appointed successor to the throne in 37 bc, after the death of his brother pacorus i. The combined armies of iran drove pithon out of parthia, and he retreated to his own province of media. After a revolt by the greek cities in ionia 499494 bc he invaded greece but was defeated at marathon 490 bc. The satrapy faction of parthia, before arsaces took over, needed a name being different from parthian, so phartava was a very clever choice. Examines its expansion and interactions with rome and its neighbors. In 53 bce against crassus, the parthians trotted out horse archers and annihilated the romans. In battle, mounted parthians often discharged their arrows back towards the enemy while pretending.
Hystaspes governor of persis and parthia britannica. Ahura mazda zarathustra asha vohu manah persiairan faravahar. After the parni nomads had settled in parthia and had built a small independent kingdom, they rose to power under king mithradates the great 1718 bce. Hystaspes must have been at least fifteen years old and we can. By 146, rome had destroyed carthage and crushed the macedonian power in greece. Parthia simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. This depends on partly the strategy the parthians used. Meanwhile, a man called arsaces, of scythian or bactrian origin, was elected leader of the parni tribes. Heir to the persian achaemenid empire and at one stage a satrapy of the seleucids, parthia is a child of diverse parentage.
Greekinfluenced phalanxes and the many hill tribes. Darius the great and persia at its greatest extent brewminate. It bordered media on the west, hyrcania on the north west, margiana on the north east, and aria on the south east during arsacid times, parthia was united with hyrcania as one administrative. In 41 bce, the parthians invaded roman territory with heavily armored cavalry more like kn. This book includes information about events between the parthians and the chinese along the eastern edge of parthias border. Darius the great is seated on his throne in his reception chamber while an audience of delegates from provinces around his mighty empire approach him to bring him tribute. For those who are unfamiliar with it, the oracle of hystaspes is a lost pseudepigraphal book, with only one direct quote surviving, but with perhaps extensive allusions to it found in several ancient writers, primarily lactantius. Herodotus tells us that hystaspes was in the persian army during the last war of cyrus the great, which took place in the last months of 530 and was fought against the massagetes. Parthian empire timeline ancient history encyclopedia. This parthia cav archer army is my favourite for its unorthodox style of warfare. He accompanied cyrus on his expedition against the massagetae. The lions share of its preeminence is owed to arsaces, the charismatic and ambitious leader of the nomadic parni tribes, who rode out of the steppes in 238bc to form an empire of his own.
A particularly fascinating section describes how the parthians were the first inventors of electricity, and the parthian battery on the cover of this book is based upon actual archaeological evidence. Parthia the forgotten ancient superpower and its role in. Hystaspes, the achaemenid governor of the province said to be father of darius i, managed to suppress the. The triumph of empire history of the ancient world book 1. Good condition a copy that has been read, but remains in clean condition. Although littleknown to modern readers the ancient kingdom of parthia played a key role in historical and biblical events. Following the secession of parthia from the seleucid empire and the resultant loss of seleucid military support, andragoras had difficulty in maintaining his borders, and about 238 bceunder the command of arsaces and his brother tiridates the parni invaded parthia and seized. Parthia definition of parthia by the free dictionary. His father hystaspes managed to ward off an attack by parthians 8. The first certain occurrence of the name is as parthava in the bisitun inscription c. But he was sent back to persis, to keep watch over his eldest son darius. Its latter name comes from arsaces i who, as leader of the parni tribe, founded it in the mid3rd century bc when he conquered the region of parthia in irans northeast, then a satrapy province under. An ancient country of southwest asia corresponding to modern northeast iran. Hystaspes, satrap of parthawa, is the father of darius the great according to.
Hystaspes, son of arsames, king of parsa, and father of the achaemenid king darius i. An introduction to collecting coins from elymais by robert l3 bob l the coinage of the many ancient cultures beyond the grecoroman world is often underappreciated. Information by peter kessler, with additional information from epitome of the philippic history of pompeius trogus. Darius seated biblical archaeology ancient iran bible. Werod, was king of kings of the parthian empire from 57 bc to 37 bc. The arch of septimius severus is built in romes forum romanum to commemorate victories over the parthians. He was a son of phraates iii, whom he murdered in 57 bc, assisted by his elder brother mithridates iv. In context to its hellenistic period, parthia also appears as parthyaea geography. When darius seized the throne in 522, hystaspes was governor of parthia. The fully armoured cataphracts were mounted on horses whose head, neck, chest and sides were similarly protected by metal armour and the armys strength lay in the combination of these troops with the light horse archers. Darius i, king of persia in 522486 bc, one of the greatest rulers of the.
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