Parthian Empire: Map & History
The Parthian Empire, also known as the Arsacid Empire, was a major Iranian political and cultural power centered in ancient Iran from 247 BC to 224 AD.
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The Parthian Empire, also known as the Arsacid Empire, was a major Iranian political and cultural power centered in ancient Iran from 247 BC to 224 AD. Its latter name comes from its founder, Arsaces I, who led the Parni tribe in conquering the region of Parthia in Iran's northeast, then a satrapy (province) under Andragoras, who was rebelling against the Seleucid Empire. Mithridates I greatly expanded the empire by seizing Media and Mesopotamia from the Seleucids. At its height, the Parthian Empire stretched from the northern reaches of the Euphrates, in what is now central-eastern Turkey, to present-day Afghanistan and western Pakistan. The empire, located on the Silk Road trade route between the Roman Empire in the Mediterranean Basin and the Han dynasty of China, became a center of trade and commerce.
Modern Countries Once Part of Parthian Empire
At its mapped extent, Parthian Empire covered territory in 18 present-day countries. The period shown is when the mapped borders include that country, and the note says how much of it.
- Armenia110 BCE – 164 CE · nearly all
- Kuwait126 BCE – 237 CE · nearly all
- Bahrain126 BCE – 237 CE · nearly all
- Qatar126 BCE – 237 CE · nearly all
- Iran239 BCE – 237 CE · nearly all
- Iraq144 BCE – 237 CE · nearly all
- United Arab Emirates126 BCE – 237 CE · most
- Syria110 BCE – 164 CE · most
- Turkmenistan239 BCE – 237 CE · most
- Lebanon40–37 BCE · most
- Jordan40–37 BCE · a large part
- Oman126 BCE – 237 CE · a large part
- Afghanistan164 BCE – 237 CE · a small part
- Azerbaijan110 BCE – 164 CE · a small part
- Turkey110 BCE – 164 CE · a small part
- Saudi Arabia126 BCE – 237 CE · a small part
- Uzbekistan91 BCE – 237 CE · a small part
- Pakistan91 BCE – 237 CE · a small part
States and Provinces
Largest Present-Day Cities in Its Territory
Each opens on the live map inside Parthian Empire's borders of that time.
Derived by testing mapped cities against this polity's dated territorial polygons, so the list is indicative and follows the borders in the source dataset.
Parthian Empire in Depth
History
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.
Government and administration
Compared with the earlier Achaemenid Empire, the Parthian government was notably decentralized. An indigenous historical source reveals that territories overseen by the central government were organized in a similar manner to the Seleucid Empire. They both had a threefold division for their provincial hierarchies: the Parthian marzbān, xšatrap, and dizpat, similar to the Seleucid satrapy, eparchy, and hyparchy. The Parthian Empire also contained several subordinate semi-autonomous kingdoms, including the states of Caucasian Iberia, Armenia, Atropatene, Gordyene, Adiabene, Edessa, Hatra, Mesene, Elymais, and Persis. The state rulers governed their own territories and minted their own coinage distinct from the royal coinage produced at the imperial mints.
Society and culture
Although Greek culture of the Seleucids was widely adopted by peoples of the Near East during the Hellenistic period, the Parthian era witnessed an Iranian cultural revival in religion, the arts, and even clothing fashions. Conscious of both the Hellenistic and Persian cultural roots of their kingship, the Arsacid rulers styled themselves after the Persian King of Kings and affirmed that they were also philhellenes ("friends of the Greeks"). The word "philhellene" was inscribed on Parthian coins until the reign of Artabanus II. The discontinuation of this phrase signified the revival of Iranian culture in Parthia. Vologases I was the first Arsacid ruler to have the Parthian script and language appear on his minted coins alongside the now almost illegible Greek.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Parthian Empire (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Parthian Empire Map Over Time
Dated world maps on which Parthian Empire appears, with the other states of the time.
Parthian Empire Timeline
Key historical inflections from foundation to peak territorial expansion
Expansion to peak recorded area of 3,053,740 km² in 162 CE.
Parthian Empire: Frequently Asked Questions
When did the Parthian Empire exist?
The Parthian Empire is dated to 239 BCE – 237 CE, in the Classical Antiquity era.
What was the capital of the Parthian Empire?
The capital of the Parthian Empire was Ctesiphon, Ecbatana, Hecatompylos, Susa, Mithradatkirt, Asaak, Rhages.
How large was the Parthian Empire at its peak?
At its peak in 162 AD the Parthian Empire covered about 3,053,740 km².
How did the map of the Parthian Empire change over time?
The Parthian Empire appears on 5 dated world maps in the atlas, from 200 BCE to 200 CE. Each shows its borders in that year next to the other states of the time.