Parthian Period
247 BC - 224 AD

Parthians, subject successively to the Assyrians, Medes, Persians, Macedonians under Alexander, and Seleucids, managed to establish themselves as the Seleucids gradually lost control of the lands east of the Euphrates River and were ultimately expelled from Asia Minor. Being excellent horsemen and archers, the Parthians succeeded in founding an independent kingdom that grew into an empire extending from the Euphrates River to the Indus River and from the Oxus (now Amu Darya) River to the Indian Ocean. After the middle of the 1st century BC, Partilla was a rival of Rome, and several wars occurred between the two powers.

247 Parthians began dating their history.
The Parthians were more pragmatic and less pretentious than the Achaemenians. They were militarily formidable owing to their highly maneuverable cavalry.
- Daho-Parno-Parthian tribes chose "chiefs for war and princes for peace" from among the closest circle of the princely family. They were famous for their breeding of horses, for their combat cavalry, and for their fine archers.
- The Parthian language was closely related to Scythian and  Median.
- The Parni, with Arsaces at their head, took the province of Parthia after having defeated Andragoras; soon, neighboring Hyrcania was annexed and the Caspian accessed.
232 Seleucus II arrived in the east to put down the Parthian rebellion.
- He made peace with Arsace5, who recognized his soverignty.
Arsaces, who had remained closely allied with the nomads to the north, fled to the home of the Scythians. Seleucus decided to cross Jaxartes but having suffered losses at the hands of nomads, and after receiving alarming news from the west, he returned to Syria.
- Arsaces changed his policy. He no longer acted as a nomad but rather posed as a chief of state, a worthy successor to the Seleucids, whose example he followed.
- Arsaces crowned himself in the city of Asaak, and the tribe took the name of the Parthians, their close relatives.
- Arsaces founded the city of Nisa, 18 km (12 miles)  northwest of Ashkhabad.
- Arsaces set up his capital at Hecatampylus,32 km (20 miles) west of Damghan.
223 Antiochus III became the Seleudd king.
221 The construction of the Great Wall of China began.
212 Archimedes, the Greek mathematician, died.
212 Antiochus III undertook his campaign for recovery of the high satrapies.
211 Arsaces died and his son, Artabanus (Arsaces II), succeeded.
- Being already solidly established in Parthia and Hyrcania,
- Artabanus tried to extend his possessions, toward Media.
- Antiochus III's operations against Artabanus were successful.
He took Hecatampylus and crossed the mountains separating that province from Parthia, which he occupied. Artabanus fled and took refuge with the friendly Scythians, to the north, as had his father, Arsaces I.
The conflict was ended by a compromise struck due to the Bactrian uprising.
- Antiochus III made peace with Artabanus.
- Antiochus III accorded the title of king to Artabanus, in exchange for recognition of his fealty, and obliged the Parthians to send troops to reinforce the Syrian army.
191 Priapatius succeeded Artabanus.
- Priapatius' name appears in documents found in excavations at Nisa. J,H Phraates succeeded Priapatius.
- Once again the young Parthian kingdom resumed expansionist activities.
- Parthians attacked Media and were successful in the conquest of Mardi tribe near the Caspian.
- Phraates designated his brother Mithradates as a successor, even though he had several sons.
171 Mithradates assumed the imperial diadem.
He opened a new period in the destinies of the kingdom which historians call "phil-Hellinistic" (171 BC-10 AD). This period was characterized by a strong Hellenistic cultural influence, manifested in the use of the Greek language and in particular in the Arts, although national traditions were not completely abandoned.
- To show his complete independence, Mithradates minted coins bearing his likeness, wearing a royal diadem like the Seleucid kings.
166 The plague devastated Italy.
155 Mithradates occupied Media.
- This opened the route to Mesopotamia.
148 Mithradates reached Ecbatana, where he moved his capital. - Rhagae, modern Reyy, south of present-day Tehran, was  re-founded and given the dynastic name of Arsacia.
141 Mithradates took Seleucia on the Tigris and was recognized the king of babylonia. 139 Parthian forces conquered Susiana and Elymais.
138 Phraates II succeeded Mithradates.
- Phraates II was defeated in several battles by the powerful Seleucid army of Antiochus VII Sidetes.
- For the last time, Antiochus VII led a Seleucid army to recover Persia.
129 Phraates II defeated Antiochus VII, the last of the Seleucids.
With the arrival of winter, Antiochus quartered his troops in several localities in Media. The local population, exasperated by the undisciplined Syrian soldiery, rose up in revolt. Antiochus was killed and his son taken prisoner. This was a turning point in the history of the eastern Mediterranean with Greco-Macedonian domination receiving a decisive blow which would lead it to its final collapse 46 years later.
128 Phraates II lost his life fighting the revolt of Sakas, a group  of Scythian nomads to the north of his frontiers.
- With some difficulty, Artabanus II, Phraates II's successor  and uncle, pushed back Sakas toward Drangiana, to which  they gave their name, Sakastan or Sistan.
123 Mithradates II ascended the throne.
- Mithradates II restored order in its eastern frontiers of  Magiana and Aria.
212 Antiochus III undertook his campaign for recovery of the  high satrapies.
211 Arsaces died and his son, Artabanus (Arsaces II), succeeded.
Being already solidly established in Parthia and Hyrcania, Artabanus tried to extend his possessions, toward Media.
Antiochus Ill's operations against Artabanus were successful.
He took Hecatampylus and crossed the mountains separating that province from Parthia, which he occupied. Artabanus fled and took refuge with the friendly Scythians, to the north, as had his father, Arsaces 1.
The conflict was ended by a compromise struck due to the Bactrian uprising.
Antiochus III made peace with Artabanus. Antiochus III accorded the title of king to Artabanus, in exchange for recognition of his fealty, and obliged the Parthians to send troops to reinforce the Syrian army.
191 Priapatius succeeded Artabanus. - Priapatius' name appears in documents found in excavations at Nisa.
176 Phraates succeeded Priapatius.
- Once again the young Parthian kingdom resumed expansionist activities.
Parthians attacked Media and were successful in the conquest of Mardi tribe near the Caspian.
Phraates designated his brother Mithradates as a successor, even though he had several sons.
171 Mithradates assumed the imperial diadem.
He opened a new period in the destinies of the kingdom which historians call "phil-Hellinistic" (171 BC-10 AD). This period was characterized by a strong Hellenistic cultural influence, manifested in the use of the Greek language and in particular in the Arts, although national traditions were not completely abandoned.
- To show his complete independence, Mithradates minted coins bearing his likeness, wearing a royal diadem like the Seleucid kings.
166 The plague devastated Italy.
155 Mithradates occupied Media.
 This opened the route to Mesopotamia.
148 Mithradates reached Ecbatana, where he moved his capital.
- Rhagae, modern Reyy, south of present-day Tehran, was  re-founded and given the dynastic name of Arsacia.
141 Mithradates took Seleucia on the Tigris and was recognized the king of Babylonia. 139 Parthian forces conquered Susiana and Elymais.
138 Phraates II succeeded Mithradates.
- Phraates II was defeated in several battles by the powerful  Seleucid army of Antiochus VII Sidetes.
- For the last time, Antiochus VII led a Seleucid army to recover Persia.
129 Phraates II defeated Antiochus VII, the last of the Seleucids.
With the arrival of winter, Antiochus quartered his troops in several localities in Media. The local population, exasperated by the undisciplined Syrian soldiery, rose up in revolt. Antiochus was killed and his son taken prisoner. This was a turning point in the history of the eastern Mediterranean with Greco-Macedonian domination receiving a decisive blow which would lead it to its final collapse 46 years later.
128 Phraates II lost his life fighting the revolt of Sakas, a group of Scythian nomads to the north of his frontiers.
- With some difficulty, Artabanus II, Phraates II's successor
 and uncle, pushed back Sakas toward Drangiana, to which they gave their name, Sakastan or Sistan.
123 Mithradates II ascended the throne. - Mithradates II restored order in its eastern frontiers of  Magiana and Aria. 
Mithradates II extended his hegemony over Armenia and eastern Asia Minor.
He exerted military pressure on the last Seleucids. 
92  A meeting with Rome that had already formed a "Province of Asia" in Asia Minor became inevitable and took place on the Euphrates.
The two parties recognized the Euphrates as a common frontier. 
91 Mithradates II appointed Gotarzes as satrap of Babylonia. Mithradates II and Gotarzes are depicted in the Parthian bas-relief at Bisotun.
- For the first time, Parthian power entered into direct contact with the Chinese empire and received an embassy from the Han emperor Wu-ti (r.140-87).
The Chinese were particularly interested in the horses raised in Fergana, which they needed to create a fight the nomadic Hsiung-nu, or Huns, on their northern border.
80 Building of the Colosseum was completed in Rome.
70 Phraates III became the Parthian king after a short period  of intrigue and rivalry that saw the succession, in turn, of  Gotarzes, Orodes, and Sanatruces.
- An agreement with the Romans renewed the Euphrates line as a frontier.
- Roman general Pompey succeeded in concluding a real  alliance with Phraates III against Pontus and Armenia.
- A conflict with Rome broke out under Orodes II.
The Roman triumvir Crassus crossed the Euphrates. Grodes II protested and invoked the treaty of friendship in vain. Crassus refused to reply until he arrived at Seleucia on the Tigris. It was a breaking of all the agreements concluded in 69 and 66.
- Under the command of general Surenas, the Parthian light and heavy cavalry engaged the Romans in a battle near to Carrhae. The battle cost Rome seven legions and the lives of Crassus and his son. Through Surena's brilliant victory the routes to Persia and India were closed to Rome.
- The Euphrates became not only a political but also a spiritual frontier, no effort at Latinization was possible any longer.
- With Pompey dead, Caesar was the absolute master of the Roman world.
Calendar was reformed by Caesar.
 44 Caesar was preparing to avenge Crassus' defeat when he was assassinated by Brutus.
- The duty of following through on Caesar's project fell to Mark Antony.
- Having concluded an agreement with Quintus Labienus and anticipating Antony's attack, Parthian commander Pacorus crossed into Syria. 
-Labienus was a Roman commander on the side of  Caesar's assassins who had gone over to the Parthians. 
40 The successes of the two armies were startling; Labienus  took all of Asia Minor, Pacorus all of Syria and Palestine.
- For nearly two years, all of the once Achaemenian western provinces fell to the Parthians.
- Disagreement between Labienus and Pacorus weakened their power.
39 Labienus was defeated and slain. Asia Minor was recovered  by the Romans, and the following year the same fate struck Pacorus and his conquests.
 - The capital was moved to Ctesiphon, where the military camp was transformed into a great metropolis, facing Seleucia across the Tigris.
 - At Nisa, the city was expanded, the royal palaces made larger, and the royal hypogea were enriched with precious pieces of fine Greco-Persian art.
38 Orodes II was assassinated by his son Phraates IV.
36 Mark Antony began to carry out the revenge Caesar had planned.
He brought his army to Armenia, through which he planned to enter Media and attack Parthia from the north. But cold weather and Phraates' cavalry combined to force Mark Antony to abandon the fight and retreat to Syria.
Mark Antony attacked Parthian territory of Phraaspa, possibly Takht-e Soleiman, leading an army of 20,000 infantry, 4,000 cavalry and about 8,000 logistics. They were crushed and forced to retreat west of Tigris.
34 Mark Antony launched another campaign and again suffered heavy losses.
The battle of Carrhae and Mark Antony's defeat raised Parthia to a major power in the eyes of Rome.
- The power struggle between Mark Antony and Octavian began in Rome. This forced Mark Antony to abandon his plans against the Parthians.
31 Octavian (now Augustus) was triumphant over Mark Antony and became the sole master in Rome.
30 Mark Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide.
30 Tiridates II, a pretender to the Parthian throne supported by Rome, obliged Phraates IV to leave Mesopotamia and take refuge with his eastern neighbors, the Scythians, who restored him to power.
27 Octavian was inaugurating the imperial period of Roman history .
20 A pact was signed allowing the return of Roman prisoners and insignia of the conquered legions in the Battle of  Carrhae.
A new phase began in relations between the two states, marked by the conclusion of a real peace that recognized the Euphrates as a border between them. Phraates IV was dealt with as the sovereign of a great nation. Rome renounced its ambitions in the east, and Augustus inaugurated a policy of respect.
- The caravan route to India and China was opened.
- Augustus received ambassadors from the many eastern peoples.
- Armenia remained a source of constant conflict between Parthia and Rome despite apparent resolutions. Controlled by Rome, Armenia would be a channel for penetration into Parthia from the north, but controlled by Parthia, it would offer an outlet on the Black Sea, over which Rome asserted its authority. The rivalry of the two powers over this country would remain for centuries a stumbling block to peace.
2 Phraates V assassinated Phraates IV with his mother's help and assumed the throne. He was Phraates IV's son by Musa, a Roman slave girl given to him by Augustus.
- Jesus Christ (A) was born.
AD
4 Orodes III succeeded Phraates V.
7 The short reign of Orodes III was followed by that of  Vonones. Vonones was Phraates IV's son.
12 Vonones was driven out by the Parthian nobility whose role at this time became dominant in internal politics and  dynastic questions, because of Vonones' Roman habits.
- Vonones' fall brought a change in the destinies of the Empire.
- The anti-Hellenistic period began.
This period embraces a century and a half (12-162). It is characterized by an expansion of the Parthian national culture and an opposition to all foreign things.
12 The barons chose Artabanus III to replace Vonones. They were certainly mistaken in believing they would find him an easy instrument to manipulate. Artabanus was the son of a viceroy of Hyrcania and was only Arsacid on his mother's side.
Artabanus III made an abortive attempt to place his son on the throne of Armenia.
Artabanus III avoided confronting Rome and dedicated himself to internal reforms.
Among the reforms, centralization occupied the place of first importance. He had to reduce the hereditary privileges the barons had carved out for themselves. It was also necessary to recognize the states that made up the kingdom. He put princes of his family on the various thrones of these states.
- Artabanus III made a new attempt to place a son on the throne in Armenia.
This angered the Romans, who, with the aid of the nobility, sent for Tiridates III. Tiridates III was a pretender the barons had crowned in Ctesiphon. They obliged Artabanus III to take refuge with the Dahae, who helped him win back his throne.
30 Probable date of crucifixion of Jesus Christ (A),
37 A meeting with a Roman representative on a bridge in the middle of the Euphrates allowed an agreement to be reached that maintained the status quo in Armenia and recognized the Parthian sovereignty with the river as the frontier.
51 The throne passed to Vologases, an ardent anti-Roman, after the short reign of Vonones II.
- The Parthian Empire, according to the Roman historian Pliny, was composed of 18 kingdoms, 11 in the north and seven in the south, some governed by Arsacid princes and others by local dynasties.
51 A period that showed a slow dissolution of the Parthian state and its disintegration into several small countries, 51-122, began.
58 Hyrcania became independent.
- Vologases wanted his brother, Tiridates, to be king of Armenia, a desire that put him in the position of a break with Rome, which opposed him militarily.
- Upon orders from Nero, Corbulo undertook operations
which were broken off by the exchange of ambassadors.
64 The Great Fire of Rome, Nero's fire, occurred,
65 First persecution of Christians took place in Rome.
66 An agreement was finally reached. Tiridates left for Rome with his whole family surrounded by a retinue of princes and 3,000 Parthian nobles. He received from Nero the crown of Armenia, and an end to hostilities was announced. This was a clear indication of Parthian political victory over the Romans.
- Avesta, the holy book of Zoroastrians, was compiled and coins were issued on which, for the first time, Pahlavi characters were added to the Greek legend.
78 Pacorus came to the throne.
80 Pacorus was replaced by the ephemeral Artabanus IV. 
81 Artabanus IV was permanently replaced by Pacorus.
- The country showed signs of a profound decay.
The barons refused to obey the crown, In the provinces, the army and finances were in the hands of the nobility. Aristocrats occupied the highest positions, and these positions became hereditary. Plots with Rome were hatched.
109 Pacorus was replaced by Osroes, his brother or brother-in law.
114 Emperor Trajan invaded Armenia.
With Armenia occupied, the Emperor descended with his army into Mesopotamia. All Babylonia was taken and Ctesiphon, the capital, fell into the hands of the Romans, who carried off a daughter of Osroes and the golden throne of the Parthian kings. Victorious Trajan went as far as the Persian Gulf, - Parthian reaction was swift. Faced with the gravity of the Roman offensive, all the princes of the royal house, formerly divided by internal strife, united against the invader.
117 At Ctesiphon, Trajan crowned a new vassal king, but revolt was in the wind and attempts to disunite the Parthian chiefs failed.
- The Romans suffered losses, and Trajan abandoned the campaign and died on his way home. This put an end to the short-lived Roman victories.
117 Trajan's successor, Hadrian (r.117-138), abandoned all  pretensions to Armenia, Mesopotamia, and Assyria.
- Hadrian's desire for peace seems to have been sincere. He sent back Osroes' daughter, promised to return the Golden throne.
- 40 years of peace with Rome began.
147 Vologases IV came to the throne.
Although he didn't have to dispute the throne with a pretender during his long reign, underneath the apparent calm the intrigues against him continued, with Rome receiving embassies from the Hyrcanias, the Bactrians, and doubtless from the Kushans.
161 A new clash with Rome came; this time upon the initiative of Vologases IV, who considered himself strong enough to attack.
He occupied Armenia, crossed the Euphrates, and invaded Syria, which had not seen Parthian cavalry for two centuries. The Syrian population, which included Jews driven from Palestine by the Romans, received the Parthians as liberators although the country had been Roman since the time of Pompey, The situation became so serious that Lucius Verus, coemperor with Marcus Aurelius, was dispatched to the east with strong reinforcement taken from the fronts on the Danube and Rhine.
163 The Romans re-took Armenia and succeeded in a campaign similar to that of Trajan's.
164 Ctesiphon fell to the Romans, who razed the royal palace.
But once more success was transitory.
The Roman army had come from Armenia and crossed through Azerbaijan, where plague was endemic. Contaminated, the Roman army was sorely fatigued by disease and obliged to retreat, but not definitively. Lucius Verus, repeating his campaigns in Armenia and northern Mesopotamia, inflicted heavy losses on the Parthians.
193 Septimius Severus became emperor. He began operations that permitted him to occupy first northern and then southern Mesopotamia and, for the third time in a century, Ctesiphon.
- The Parthians in their retreat adopted a scorched-earth policy.
As under Trajan, the starving Roman army went back up the Tigris, failed in its attempt to take Hatra, and left the country.
208 Ardashir, satrap of Pars, began to establish regional authority.
Pars territory consisted of several tribal monarchies, one of  which lay between Pasargadae and Persepolis at Istakhr, where Papak, Ardashir's father, was the keeper of  AdurAnahid, or Anahld Fire Temple.
208 Vologases VI, son of the former Parthian king, succeeded him.
213 Artabanus V, a Parthian prince, started contesting the throne of Vologases VI, with the help of the king of Media.
213 The Arsacid Empire became divided between Vologases VI
(r.208-222), who seems to have ruled in Ctesiphon on the left bank of the middle Tigris in what is now Iraq, and Artabanus V (r.213-224), who was in control of Persia and whose authority at Susa is attested by an inscription of 215 AD.
- A new invasion of Mesopotamia took place under Caracalla, the casus belli being the refusal of Artabanus V to give Caracalla his daughter in marriage.
The young Roman emperor dreamed of rebuilding Alexander's empire but succeeded only in the pillage of Media and destruction at Arbela of the hypogea of the Arsacid kings, whose bones he scattered.
- The Parthian reply was harsh. Artabanus V avenged himself by invading the Roman provinces and destroying several cities.
Rome sued for peace. Artabanus' conditions were too stringent and were refused. Hostilities were taken up again and turned in favor of the Parthians who obtained such a success that the emperor Marcinus paid 200,000,000 sesterces to make peace.
216 Mani, or Manes, the founder of Manichaeism and the second great prophet of pre-Islamic Persia, was born on April 14 near Ctesiphon.
His father, Patek, a native of Hamadan, had joined a religious community practicing baptism and abstinence. Mani's mother was related to the Parthian royal family.
- As a boy Mani saw in vision an angel.
224 Ardashir narrowed his opponents to one, Artabanus V. The process of decentralization and weakening had already started in Parthian territory, and satraps had begun to revolt. It was inevitable that one of the revolts would succeed.
Success came to the ruler of Persis or Pars, Ardashir.
- Ardashir and Artabanus V left their armies aside and met at the battle of Hormizdgan in a hand-to-hand combat.
- Standing over the corpse of his rival, Ardashir claimed the
 title of king of kings.