Ancient States of Persia and Afghanistan: Map & History

The Elamites practised polytheism. Due to scarcity of sources, past scholars assumed that Elamite religion must have been characterized by the "ill-defined character of the individual gods and goddesses....Most of them were not only ineffable beings whose real name was either not uttered or was unknown, but also sublime ideas, not to be exactly defined by the human race." Worship also varied between localities. However, more recent scholarship shows that Elamite deities most likely were not any less defined than those of their Sumerian, Akkadian and Hurrian neighbors.

From Wikipedia: Elam · Religion (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Many archaeological finds suggest that maritime trade along the shores of Africa and Asia started several millennia ago. Trade between the Indus Valley Civilization and the cities of Mesopotamia and Elam can be inferred from numerous find of Indus artifacts, particularly in the excavation at Susa. Various objects made with shell species that are characteristic of the Indus coast, particularly Trubinella pyrum and Fasciolaria trapezium, have been found in the archaeological sites of Mesopotamia and Susa dating from around 2500–2000 BC. Carnelian beads from the Indus were found in Susa in the excavation of the tell of the citadel. In particular, carnelian beads with an etched design in white were probably imported from the Indus Valley, and made according to a technique of acid-etching developed by the Harappans.

From Wikipedia: Elam · History: Trade with the Indus Valley Civilization (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Dated to approximately the 12th century BC, gold and silver figurines of Elamite worshippers are shown carrying a sacrificial goat. These divine and royal statues were meant to assure the king of the enduring protection of the deity, well-being and a long life. Works which showed a ruler and his performance of a ritual action were intended to eternalize the effectiveness of such deeds. Found near the Temple of Inshushinak in Susa, these statuettes would have been considered charged with beneficial power.

From Wikipedia: Elam · Art: Statuettes (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The Assyrians had utterly destroyed the Elamite nation, but new polities emerged in the area after Assyrian power faded. Some time after that region fell to Madius the Scythian (653 BC), Teispes, son of Achaemenes, conquered Elamite Anshan in the mid 7th century BC, forming a nucleus that would expand into the Persian Empire. They were largely regarded as vassals of the Assyrians, and the Medes, Mannaeans, and Persians paid tribute to Assyria from the 10th century BC until the death of Ashurbanipal in 631 BC. After his death, the Medes played a major role in the destruction of the weakened Assyrian Empire in 612 BC.

From Wikipedia: Elam · Legacy (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Atropatene was the only Iranian region to remain under Zoroastrian authority from the Achaemenids to the Arab conquest without any interruption, aside from being briefly ruled by the Macedonian king Alexander the Great (r. 336–323 BC). Under the Atropatids, the region successfully managed to gain a dominant place in Zoroastrianism, which would continue into the Sasanian period, whose monarchs favored Median traditions over that of the Parthians. Moreover, Atropatene also served as a stronghold of Iranian culture.

From Wikipedia: Atropatene · Legacy (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Before Arsaces I founded the Arsacid dynasty, he was chieftain of the Parni, an ancient Central Asian tribe of Iranian peoples and one of several nomadic tribes within the confederation of the Dahae. The Parni most likely spoke an eastern Iranian language, in contrast to the northwestern Iranian language spoken at the time in Parthia. The latter was a northeastern province, first under the Achaemenid Empire, and then the Seleucid Empire. After conquering the region, the Parni adopted Parthian as the official court language, speaking it alongside Middle Persian, Aramaic, Greek, Babylonian, Sogdian and other languages in the multilingual territories they would conquer. Some academics debate the ethnic origins of Arsaces I, such as Hashem Kazemi and Mostafa Dehpahlavan, who argue that he was a Parthian native rather than a member of the invading Parni.

From Wikipedia: Parthian Empire · History: Origins and establishment (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The Parthian Empire had no standing army, yet were able to quickly recruit troops in the event of local crises. There was a permanent armed guard attached to the person of the king, comprising nobles, serfs and mercenaries, but this royal retinue was small. Garrisons were also permanently maintained at border forts; Parthian inscriptions reveal some of the military titles granted to the commanders of these locations. Military forces could also be used in diplomatic gestures. For example, when Chinese envoys visited Parthia in the late 2nd century BC, the Shiji maintains that 20,000 horsemen were sent to the eastern borders to serve as escorts for the embassy, although this figure is perhaps an exaggeration.

From Wikipedia: Parthian Empire · Government and administration: Military (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Parthian art can be divided into three geo-historical phases: the art of Parthia proper; the art of the Iranian plateau; and the art of Parthian Mesopotamia. The first genuine Parthian art, found at Mithridatkert/Nisa, combined elements of Greek and Iranian art in line with Achaemenid and Seleucid traditions. In the second phase, Parthian art found inspiration in Achaemenid art, as exemplified by the investiture relief of Mithridates II at Mount Behistun. The third phase occurred gradually after the Parthian conquest of Mesopotamia.

From Wikipedia: Parthian Empire · Society and culture: Art and architecture (CC BY-SA 4.0)

After the Iberian king Pharasmanes I had his son Rhadamistus (r. 51–55 AD) invade Armenia to depose the Roman client king Mithridates, Vologases I of Parthia (r. c. 51–77 AD) planned to invade and place his brother, the later Tiridates I of Armenia, on the throne. Rhadamistus was eventually driven from power, and, beginning with the reign of Tiridates, Parthia would retain firm control over Armenia—with brief interruptions—through the Arsacid dynasty of Armenia. Even after the fall of the Parthian Empire, the Arsacid line lived on through the Armenian kings. However, not only did the Arsacid line continue through the Armenians, it also continued through the Georgian kings with the Arsacid dynasty of Iberia, and for many centuries afterwards in Caucasian Albania through the Arsacid dynasty of Caucasian Albania.

From Wikipedia: Parthian Empire · History: Continuation of Roman hostilities and Parthian decline (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Chinese sources describe the Guìshuāng (貴霜, Old Chinese: *kuj-s raŋ), i.e. the Kushans, as one of the five aristocratic tribes of the Yuezhi. Many scholars believe that the Yuezhi were a people of Indo-European origin. A number of scholars have suggested a specifically Tocharian origin of the Yuezhi. An Iranic Saka origin has also been suggested by some scholars.

From Wikipedia: Kushan Empire · Origins (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The Kushans inherited the Greco-Buddhist traditions of the Indo-Greek Kingdom they replaced, and their patronage of Buddhist institutions allowed them to grow as a commercial power. Between the mid-1st century and the mid-3rd century, Buddhism, patronised by the Kushans, extended to China and other Asian countries through the Silk Road. Kanishka in particular is well-known in Buddhist tradition for having convened a great Buddhist council in Kashmir.

From Wikipedia: Kushan Empire · Religion: Buddhism (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The Kushans adopted elements of the Hellenistic culture of Bactria. They adopted the Greek alphabet to suit their own language (with the additional development of the letter Þ "sh", as in "Kushan") and soon began minting coinage on the Greek model. On their coins they used Greek language legends combined with Pali legends (in the Kharosthi script), until the first few years of the reign of Kanishka. After the middle of Kanishka's reign, they used Kushan language legends (in an adapted Greek script), combined with legends in Greek (Greek script) and legends in Prakrit (Kharoshthi script).

From Wikipedia: Kushan Empire · Culture (CC BY-SA 4.0)