Arsacid dynasty summary

Know about the origins of the Arsacid dynasty, its expansion, and defeat by the Sāsānian dynasty

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Below is the article summary. For the full article, see Arsacid dynasty.

Arsacid dynasty, (247 bc–ad 224) Persian dynasty. It was founded by Arsaces (r. c. 250–211? bc) of the Parni tribe, which originally dwelt east of the Caspian Sea and entered Parthia after the death of Alexander the Great (323 bc), gradually extending control southward. Arsacid power reached its peak under Mithradates I (r. 171–138 bc). The government was influenced by that of the Seleucid dynasty and tolerated the formation of vassal kingdoms. The dynasty legitimized its rule over former Achaemenian territories by claiming descent from the Achaemenian king Artaxerxes II. It controlled trade routes between Asia and the Greco-Roman world and used its resultant wealth to erect many buildings. The dynasty was overthrown in 224 by the Sāsānian dynasty.

Parthia Summary

Parthia, ancient land corresponding roughly to the modern region of Khorāsān in Iran. The term is also used in reference to the Parthian empire (247 bce–224 ce). The first certain occurrence of the name is as Parthava in the Bīsitūn inscription (c. 520 bce) of the Achaemenian king Darius I, but

government Summary

Government, the political system by which a country or community is administered and regulated. Most of the key words commonly used to describe governments—words such as monarchy, oligarchy, and democracy—are of Greek or Roman origin. They have been current for more than 2,000 years and have not