Parthie

The Parthie is an area in the North-East of the plate Iran IEN, old satrapie of the empire of the Achéménides, cradle of the Parthian empire which controlled the Iranian plate and intermittently the Mésopotamie between -190 and 224.

The borders of Parthie were the mountainous chain of the Kopet-Dag in north (today the border between Iran and Turkménistan) and the desert of the Dasht-e-Kavir in the south. In the west the Médie was, in the North-West the Hyrcanie, the North-East the Margiane and south-east the Arie. This area was fertile and irrigated well during antiquity, there were also large forests on this territory.

The texts Assyrian S mention a country named Partakka or Partukka with has one unknown period, its inhabitants were fixed by Mèdes, who reigned on the first Persian empire before being reversed by Cyrus Large the in 550 av. J. - C. Parthie then belonged to the empire Achéménide during the two centuries according to.

History

The power of the beginnings of the empire seems to be over-estimated by certain old historians, which could not clearly separate the later empire, very powerful, of its rather obscure origins. To the origin, two named brothers Arsace and Tiridate went independent of the domination séleucide in zones moved back of septentrional Iran towards 250 av. J. - C. Antiochos III again subjects Parthes to the Séleucide empire in 206 av. J. - C. It is only starting from second half of second century BC that Parthes, descendants of the Scythes, benefitted from the increasing weakness of the Séleucides to gradually control all the territories in the east of the Syria. Having nibbled the empire Séleucide (Anatolia) and their other neighbors, Parthes become the major competitor of Rome in the east of the the Mediterranean.

As from first century BC, Parthes frequently intervene in the policy of the the Eastern Mediterranean and are opposed to the Romains. They acquire their respect when they managed to destroy the army of Crassus in 53 av. J. - C. being seized the major part of the old empire Perse, Parthes become the largest enemies of Rome. The latter in vain tried to destroy their empire by invasions (for example under Trajan). She did not reach that point, although these incursions weakened them probably considerably. In 224, Ardachêr, governor of the province achéménide of Fars/Persis, reversed Artaban IV and founded the dynasty sassanide.

One knows few things of Parthes: they did not have clean literature and their written history is thus summarized with partial descriptions of their conflicts with the Greek Romans, and the Chinese empire. Their force was a combination of the tactics of harassing specific to a tribe of wandering riders with the organization necessary to the establishment of a vast empire, although this last never reached the power of the two Persian empires. The vassal kingdoms of Parthes seem to have constituted most of their territory. The Greek cities (Séleucie of the Tiger) had a certain autonomy. After their defeat, Parthes, then consisted of a small class the noble ones, seem to have disappeared by leaving little from traces.

Culture

The civilization and the culture of Parthes seem to be the continuation of the Achéménides, particularly in their religious system.

According to the French archeologist Ghirshman:

“Parthes brought with them them primitive worship of worship of the natural forces, between-other, the sun and the moon (…) Parthes were not more Zoroastriens that Achéménides (…) The triad Ahura-Mazda - Mithra - Nanaia, adored under Achéménides, seems to be retained under Parthes. The worship of Nanaia was spread under Parthes (…) With Suse, the goddess adored by Parthes was Nanaia (…) The exposure of dead (practical typical zoroastrienne) was not practiced by Parthes (…) The archaeological excavations prove that in the cemeteries parthes, it dead was buried with a Sarcophage on which we recognize a goddess who is supposed being Nanaia.

(…) The archaeological excavations with Nippur, Kakzu and Doura Europos clarified the cemeteries parthes, in which deaths were buried with their funerary furnishing in the terra cotta sarcophagus. These results were confirmed by our discovery of a Parthian cemetery with Suse.

(…) Parthes arsacides, like the Kushans, descending from the wandering people of the Central Asia, were very tolerant towards the foreign religions.

(…) Among the many excavated sanctuaries with Doura Europos, (remained attached to the Parthian empire a long time), not simple a Temple of fire was not discovered, although there was a Parthian important colony in this commercial center. ”

See too

Internal bond

External bonds

Parthes Arsacides: an empire forgotten by Jerome Gaslain, Archeologist, member of the center urban Archeology of the hellenized East.
Shortened Stories Philippiques de Trogue Pumped universal history by Justin.
on the language of Parthes

Random links: