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63-617: The kingdom was founded in 19/20 when the governor of Drangiana ( Sakastan ) Gondophares declared independence from the Parthian Empire . He would later make expeditions to the east, conquering territory from the Indo-Scythians and Indo-Greeks , thus transforming his kingdom into an empire. The domains of the Indo-Parthians were greatly reduced following the invasions of the Kushans in

126-734: A northwestern Iranian language . No Parthian literature survives from before the Sassanid period in its original form, and they seem to have written down only very little. The Parthians did, however, have a thriving oral minstrel-poet culture , to the extent that their word for "minstrel" ( gosan ) survives to this day in many Iranian languages and especially in Armenian ( gusan ), on which it exercised heavy (especially lexical and vocabulary) influence. These professionals were evident in every facet of Parthian daily life, from cradle to grave, and they were entertainers of kings and commoners alike, proclaiming

189-516: A wine storage ) at Nisa , in present-day Turkmenistan. A handful of other evidence of written Parthian has been found outside Parthia, the most important of these being the part of a land-sale document found at Avroman (in the Kermanshah province of Iran ), and more ostraca, graffiti and the fragment of a business letter found at Dura-Europos in present-day Syria . The Parthian Arsacids do not seem to have used Parthian until relatively late, and

252-524: A Greek education, brought me to the sages at an age somewhat too early perhaps, for I was only twelve at the time, but they brought me up like their own son; for any that they admit knowing the Greek tongue they are especially fond of, because they consider that in virtue of the similarity of his disposition he already belongs to themselves." The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea is a surviving 1st century guide to

315-692: A bare chest, jewelry, belt, baggy trousers). A palette from the Naprstek Museum in Prague shows an Indo-Parthian king seated crossed-legged on a large sofa, surrounded by two attendants also in Parthian dress. They are shown drinking and serving wine. Some pockets of Parthian rule remained in the East, even after the takeover by the Sassanids in 226. From the 2nd century several Central-Asian Buddhist missionaries appeared in

378-466: A certain Tiridates rebelled against Phraates IV , probably with the support of the nobility that Phraates had previously persecuted. The revolt was initially successful, but failed by 25 BC. In 9/8, the Parthian nobility succeeded in putting their preferred king on the throne, but Vonones proved to have too tight a budgetary control, so he was usurped in favor of Artabanus II , who seems to have been

441-496: A frontality in representations which is considered as characteristic of Parthian art. Such palettes have only been found in archaeological layers corresponding to Indo-Greek, Indo-Scythian and Indo-Parthian rule, and are essentially unknown the preceding Mauryan layers or the succeeding Kushan layers. Very often these palettes represent people in Greek dress in mythological scenes, but a few of them represent people in Parthian dress (head-bands over bushy hair, crossed-over jacket on

504-618: A moment in question." Taking advantage of the uncertain political situation, Andragoras , the Seleucid governor of Parthia, proclaimed his independence and began minting his own coins. Meanwhile, "a man called Arsaces , of Scythian or Bactrian origin, [was] elected leader of the Parni ", an eastern-Iranian peoples from the Tajen/Tajend River valley, south-east of the Caspian Sea . Following

567-611: A non-Arsacid Parthian nobleman. But when Artabanus attempted to consolidate his position (at which he was successful in most instances), he failed to do so in the regions where the Parthian provincial rulers held sway. By the 2nd century AD, the frequent wars with neighboring Rome and with the nomads, and the infighting among the Parthian nobility had weakened the Arsacids to a point where they could no longer defend their subjugated territories. The empire fractured as vassalaries increasingly claimed independence or were subjugated by others, and

630-507: A quantity of Hellenistic artifacts combined with elements of Buddhist worship ( stupas ). Some other temples, such as nearby Jandial may have been used as a Zoroastrian fire temple . The statues found at Sirkap in the late Scythian to Parthian level (level 2, 1–60 AD) suggest an already developed state of Gandharan art at the time or even before Parthian rule. A multiplicity of statues, ranging from Hellenistic gods, to various Gandharan lay devotees, are combined with what are thought as some of

693-500: A ruler of Seistan in what is today eastern Iran, probably a vassal or relative of the Apracarajas . He may have replaced previous Parthian governors of Seistan, such as Cheiroukes or Tanlismaidates . These Parthian satraps had been ruling the region of Sakastan since the time when Mithridates II (124–88 BC) had vanquished the Sakas of the region. Around 20–10 BC, he made conquests in

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756-404: A vassal of Seleucus I Nicator and governor of Bactria (and, it seems, also of Aria and Margiana ) was appointed governor of Parthia. For the next 60 years, various Seleucids would be appointed governors of the province. In 247 BC, following the death of Antiochus II , Ptolemy III seized control of the Seleucid capital at Antioch , and "so left the future of the Seleucid dynasty for

819-576: Is in the Behistun inscription of Darius I , where Parthia is listed (in the typical Iranian clockwise order) among the governorates in the vicinity of Drangiana . The inscription dates to c. 520 BC. The center of the administration "may have been at [what would later be known as] Hecatompylus ". The Parthians also appear in Herodotus' list of peoples subject to the Achaemenids; the historiographer treats

882-609: Is the Gondophares referred to in the Takht-i-Bahi inscription. There were other minor kings: Sanabares was an ephemeral usurper in Seistan, who called himself Great King of Kings, and there was also a second Abdagases Coin , a ruler named Agata in Sind, another ruler called Satavastres Coin , and an anonymous prince who claimed to be brother of the king Arsaces, in that case an actual member of

945-460: Is thought to have been a capital of the Indo-Parthians. Large strata were excavated by Sir John Marshall with a quantity of Parthian-style artifacts. The nearby temple of Jandial is usually interpreted as a Zoroastrian fire temple from the period of the Indo-Parthians. Some ancient writings describe the presence of the Indo-Parthians in the area, such as the story of Saint Thomas the Apostle , who

1008-469: The Hindu deity Shiva have also been found issued in the reign of Gondophares I. On their coins and in the art of Gandhara, Indo-Parthians are depicted with short crossover jackets and large baggy trousers, possibly supplemented by chap -like over-trousers. Their jackets are adorned with rows of decorative rings or medals. Their hair is usually bushy and contained with a headband, a practise largely adopted by

1071-681: The Medes during the 7th century BC, was incorporated into the subsequent Achaemenid Empire under Cyrus the Great in the 6th century BC, and formed part of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire after the 4th-century BC conquests of Alexander the Great . The region later served as the political and cultural base of the Eastern Iranian Parni people and Arsacid dynasty, rulers of the Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD). The Sasanian Empire ,

1134-596: The Arsacids were themselves finally vanquished by the Persian Sassanids , a formerly minor vassal from southwestern Iran, in April 224. Parthia was likely the first region conquered by Ardashir I after his victory over Artabanus IV, showing the importance of the province to the founder of the Sasanian dynasty. Some of the Parthian nobility continued to resist Sasanian dominion for some time, but most switched their allegiance to

1197-558: The Buddhist triratna symbol (apart from the later Sases ), nor do they ever use depictions of the elephant or the bull, possible religious symbols which were profusely used by their predecessors. They are thought to have retained Zoroastrianism , being of Iranian extraction themselves. This Iranian mythological system was inherited from them by the later Kushans who ruled from the Peshawar - Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa region of Pakistan . Coins of

1260-720: The Chinese capital cities of Luoyang and sometimes Nanjing , where they particularly distinguished themselves by their translation work. The first known translators of Buddhist texts into Chinese are actually Parthian missionaries, distinguished in Chinese by their Parthian surname "An", for "Anshi", "country of the Arsacids ". Indo-Scythians Indo-Parthians References Sources Drangiana Drangiana or Zarangiana ( Greek : Δραγγιανή , Drangianē ; also attested in Old Western Iranian as 𐏀𐎼𐎣 , Zraka or Zranka ,

1323-652: The Islamic period. These poems have the characteristics of oral literature and may have continued the oral traditions of Parthian minstrels. City-states of "some considerable size" existed in Parthia as early as the 1st millennium BC, "and not just from the time of the Achaemenids or Seleucids." However, for the most part, society was rural, and dominated by large landholders with large numbers of serfs, slaves, and other indentured labor at their disposal. Communities with free peasants also existed. By Arsacid times, Parthian society

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1386-571: The Parthians from the 1st century AD. Individuals in Indo-Parthian attire are sometimes shown as actors in Buddhist devotional scenes. It is usually considered that most of the excavations that were done at Sirkap near Taxila by John Marshall relate to Indo-Parthian layers, although more recent scholarship sometimes relates them to the Indo-Greeks instead. These archaeological researches provided

1449-447: The Parthians, Chorasmians, Sogdians and Areioi as peoples of a single satrapy (the 16th), whose annual tribute to the king he states to be only 300 talents of silver. This "has rightly caused disquiet to modern scholars." At the Battle of Gaugamela in 331 BC between the forces of Darius III and those of Alexander the Great , one such Parthian unit was commanded by Phrataphernes , who

1512-692: The Province), is identified with great probability with the extensive Achaemenid site of Dahan-e Gholaman southeast of Zabol in Iran . Another significant center was the city of Prophthasia , possibly located at modern Farah in Afghanistan . On occasion Drangiana was governed by the same satrap as neighboring Arachosia . In 330-329 BC, the region was conquered by Alexander the Great . Drangiana continued to constitute an administrative district under Alexander and his successors . At Alexander's death in 323 BC, it

1575-469: The Sasanians very early. Several families that claimed descent from the Parthian noble families became a Sasanian institution known as the " Seven houses ", five of which are "in all probability" not Parthian, but contrived genealogies "in order to emphasize the antiquity of their families." Parthia continued to hold importance throughout the 3rd century. In his Ka'be-ye Zardusht inscription Shapur I lists

1638-668: The Sawad to Istakhr, from there irst to Sagistan, then to Gurgan, then to Abrasahr, Merv, Balkh, and Khwarizm to the farthest boundaries of the provinces of Kohrasan, whereupon he returned to Merv. Ater he had killed many people and sent their heads to the Fire temple of Anahedh he returned from Merv to Pars and settled in Gor. Then envoys of the king of the Kushan, of the kings of Turan and Mokran came to him with declarations of their submission." The city of Taxila

1701-462: The advent of Christianity, but there is no evidence for this assumption, and Senior's research shows that Gondophares I could be dated even before 1 AD. If the account is even historical, Saint Thomas may have encountered one of the later kings who bore the same title. The Greek philosopher Apollonius of Tyana is related by Philostratus in Life of Apollonius Tyana to have visited India, and specifically

1764-491: The city of Taxila around 46 AD. He describes constructions of the Greek type, probably referring to Sirkap , and explains that the Indo-Parthian king of Taxila, named Phraotes , received a Greek education at the court of his father and spoke Greek fluently: "Tell me, O King, how you acquired such a command of the Greek tongue, and whence you derived all your philosophical attainments in this place?" [...]-"My father, after

1827-519: The death of Gondophares I, the empire started to fragment. The name or title Gondophares was adapted by Sarpedones , who become Gondophares II and was possibly son of the first Gondophares. Even though he claimed to be the main ruler, Sarpedones’ rule was shaky and he issued a fragmented coinage in Sind, eastern Punjab and Arachosia in southern Afghanistan. The most important successor was Abdagases , Gondophares’ nephew, who ruled in Punjab and possibly in

1890-642: The early representations of the Buddha and Bodhisattvas. Today, it is still unclear when the Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhara exactly emerged, but the findings in Sirkap do indicate that this art was already highly developed before the advent of the Kushans . Numerous stone palettes found in Gandhara are considered as good representatives of Indo-Parthian art. These palettes combine Greek and Persian influences, together with

1953-564: The establishment of the Silk road in 114 BC, when Hecatompylos became an important junction. Nisa (Nissa, Nusay) or Mithradātkert, located on a main trade route, was one of the earliest capitals of the Parthian Empire (c. 250 BC). The city is located in the northern foothills of the Kopetdag mountains, 11 miles west of present-day city of Ashgabat (the capital of Turkmenistan ). Nisa had

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2016-546: The first of his imperial campaigns – against Sardis ." According to Greek sources, following the seizure of the Achaemenid throne by Darius I , the Parthians united with the Median king Phraortes to revolt against him. Hystaspes , the Achaemenid governor of the province (said to be father of Darius I), managed to suppress the revolt, which seems to have occurred around 522–521 BC. The first indigenous Iranian mention of Parthia

2079-456: The former Indo-Scythian kingdom, perhaps after the death of the important ruler Azes . Gondophares became the ruler of areas comprising Arachosia , Seistan , Sindh , Punjab , and the Kabul valley, but it does not seem as though he held territory beyond eastern Punjab . Gondophares called himself "King of Kings", a Parthian title that in his case correctly reflects that the Indo-Parthian empire

2142-482: The former governor, became governor of Hyrcania . In 320 BC, at the Partition of Triparadisus , Parthia was reassigned to Philip , former governor of Sogdiana . A few years later, the province was invaded by Peithon , governor of Media Magna, who then attempted to make his brother Eudamus governor. Peithon and Eudamus were driven back, and Parthia remained a governorate in its own right. In 316 BC, Stasander,

2205-526: The homeland of Seistan. After a short reign, Sarpedones seems to have been succeeded by Orthagnes , who became Gondophares III Gadana . Orthagnes ruled mostly in Seistan and Arachosia, with Abdagases further east, during the first decades AD, and was briefly succeeded by his son Ubouzanes Coin . After 20 AD, a king named Sases , a nephew of the Apracaraja ruler Aspavarma, took over Abdagases’ territories and became Gondophares IV Sases . According to Senior, this

2268-415: The language first appears on Arsacid coinage during the reign of Vologases I (51–58 AD). Evidence that use of Parthian was nonetheless widespread comes from early Sassanid times; the declarations of the early Persian kings were—in addition to their native Middle Persian —also inscribed in Parthian. The old poems known as fahlaviyat mostly come from the areas which were considered part of Parthia in

2331-589: The last state of pre-Islamic Iran , also held the region and maintained the seven Parthian clans as part of their feudal aristocracy. The name "Parthia" is a continuation from Latin Parthia , from Old Persian Parthava , which was the Parthian language self-designator signifying "of the Parthians " who were an Iranian people. In context to its Hellenistic period , Parthia also appears as Parthyaea . Parthia

2394-511: The people of the region seem to have been subjects of the Medes , and 7th century BC Assyrian texts mention a country named Partakka or Partukka (though this "need not have coincided topographically with the later Parthia"). A year after Cyrus the Great 's defeat of the Median Astyages , Parthia became one of the first provinces to acknowledge Cyrus as their ruler, "and this allegiance secured Cyrus' eastern flanks and enabled him to conduct

2457-695: The power and influence of this handful of Parthian noble families was such that they frequently opposed the monarch, and would eventually be a "contributory factor in the downfall" of the dynasty. From about 130 BC onwards, Parthia suffered numerous incursions by various nomadic tribes, including the Sakas , the Yuezhi , and the Massagetae . Each time, the Arsacid dynasts responded personally, doing so even when there were more severe threats from Seleucids or Romans looming on

2520-581: The province of Parthia in second place after Pars. The Abnun inscription describes the Roman invasion of 243/44 as an attack on Pars and Parthia. Considering the Romans never went further than Mesopotamia, "Pars and Parthia" may stand for the Sasanian Empire itself. Parthia was also the second province chosen for settlement by Roman prisoners of war after the Battle of Edessa in 260 . The Parthians spoke Parthian ,

2583-512: The regions of Isfahan , Ray , Hamadan, Mah-i Nihawand and Azerbaijan . The same definition is found in the works of al-Khawazmi and Hamza al-Isfahani . Al-Dinawari , while not using the word Parthia, considered Jibal to be the realm of the last Parthian king, Artabanus IV. As the region inhabited by Parthians, Parthia first appears as a political entity in Achaemenid lists of governorates ("satrapies") under their dominion. Prior to this,

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2646-581: The routes commonly being used for navigating the Arabian Sea. It describes the presence of Parthian kings fighting with each other in the area of Sindh, a region traditionally known at that time as "Scythia" due to the previous rule of the Indo-Scythians there: An inscription from Takht-i-Bahi bears two dates, one in the regnal year 26 of the Maharaja Guduvhara (again thought to be a Gondophares), and

2709-555: The ruling dynasty in Parthia . But the Indo-Parthians never regained the position of Gondophares I, and from the middle of the 1st century AD the Kushans under Kujula Kadphises began absorbing the northern Indian part of the kingdom. The Indo-Parthians managed to retain control of Turan and Sakastan , which they ruled until the fall of the Parthian Empire at the hands of the Sasanian Empire circa 230 CE. Pahares I (160-230 AD)

2772-518: The secession of Parthia from the Seleucid Empire and the resultant loss of Seleucid military support, Andragoras had difficulty in maintaining his borders, and about 238 BC – under the command of "Arsaces and his brother Tiridates " – the Parni invaded Parthia and seized control of Astabene (Astawa), the northern region of that territory, the administrative capital of which was Kabuchan ( Kuchan in

2835-615: The second half of the 1st. century. They managed to retain control of Sakastan , until its conquest by the Sasanian Empire in c. 224/5. In Baluchistan , the Paratarajas , a local Indo-Parthian dynasty, fell into the orbit of the Sasanian Empire circa 262 CE. The Indo-Parthians are noted for the construction of the Buddhist monastery Takht-i-Bahi ( UNESCO World Heritage Site ) in Mardan, Pakistan. Gondophares I originally seems to have been

2898-502: The south, Khuzistan to the south-west, Media to the north-west, the Alborz Mountains to the north, Abarshahr to the north-east, and Kirman to the east. In the late Sasanian era, Parthia came to embrace central and north-central Iran but also extended to the western parts of the plateau as well. In the Islamic era, Parthia was believed to be located in central and western Iran. Ibn al-Muqaffa considered Parthia as encompassing

2961-476: The south. It bordered Media on the west, Hyrcania on the north west, Margiana on the northeast, and Aria on the east. During Arsacid times, Parthia was united with Hyrcania as one administrative unit, and that region is therefore often (subject to context) considered a part of Parthia proper. By the early Sasanian period, Parthia was located in the central part of the Iranian plateau, neighboring Pars to

3024-477: The vulgate). A short while later the Parni seized the rest of Parthia from Andragoras, killing him in the process. Although an initial punitive expedition by the Seleucids under Seleucus II was not successful, the Seleucids under Antiochus III recaptured Arsacid controlled territory in 209 BC from Arsaces' (or Tiridates') successor, Arsaces II . Arsaces II sued for peace and accepted vassal status, and it

3087-405: The weakening of Seleucid rule is unclear, but by the mid-2nd century BC the area was conquered by the expanding Parthian Empire of the Arsacids . Parthia Parthia ( Old Persian : 𐎱𐎼𐎰𐎺 Parθava ; Parthian : 𐭐𐭓𐭕𐭅 Parθaw ; Middle Persian : 𐭯𐭫𐭮𐭥𐭡𐭥 Pahlaw ) is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran . It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of

3150-451: The western borders of their empire (as was the case for Mithridates I ). Defending the empire against the nomads cost Phraates II and Artabanus I their lives. The Roman Crassus attempted to conquer Parthia in 52 BC but was decisively defeated at the Battle of Carrhae . Caesar was planning another invasion when he was assassinated in 44 BC. A long series of Roman-Parthian wars followed. Around 32 BC, civil war broke out when

3213-503: The worthiness of their patrons through association with mythical heroes and rulers. These Parthian heroic poems, "mainly known through Persian of the lost Middle Persian Xwaday-namag , and notably through Firdausi's Shahnameh , [were] doubtless not yet wholly lost in the Khurasan of [Firdausi's] day." In Parthia itself, attested use of written Parthian is limited to the nearly three thousand ostraca found (in what seems to have been

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3276-624: The year 103 of an unknown era. We do not know the religion of the House of Suren although we know they were in religious conflict with the Zoroastrian Arsacid dynasty . Unlike the Indo-Greeks or Indo-Scythians, there are no explicit records of Indo-Parthian rulers supporting Buddhism, such as religious dedications, inscriptions, or even legendary accounts. Also, although Indo-Parthian coins generally closely follow Greek numismatics, they never display

3339-438: Was a historical region and administrative division of the Achaemenid Empire . This region comprises territory around Hamun Lake , wetlands in endorheic Sistan Basin on the Iran - Afghan border, and its primary watershed Helmand river in what is nowadays southwestern region of Afghanistan . In ancient times Drangiana was inhabited by an Iranian tribe which the ancient Greeks called Sarangians or Drangians. Drangiana

3402-437: Was a ruler of Turan following the partition of the remains of the Indo-Parthian kingdom . The kingdom of Sakastan was ruled by a second king with the name Sanabares II (160-175 AD). The Kingdoms of Turan and Sakastan ended when they submitted to the Sasanian ruler Ardeshir I circa 230 CE. These events were recorded by Al-Tabari , describing the arrival of envoys to Ardeshir at Gor : “Then he [Ardashir] marched back from

3465-405: Was at the time Achaemenid governor of Parthia. Following the defeat of Darius III, Phrataphernes surrendered his governorate to Alexander when the Macedonian arrived there in the summer of 330 BC. Phrataphernes was reappointed governor by Alexander. Following the death of Alexander, in the Partition of Babylon in 323 BC, Parthia became a Seleucid governorate under Nicanor . Phrataphernes,

3528-445: Was divided into the four classes (limited to freemen). At the top were the kings and near family members of the king. These were followed by the lesser nobility and the general priesthood, followed by the mercantile class and lower-ranking civil servants, and with farmers and herdsmen at the bottom. Little is known of the Parthian economy, but agriculture must have played the most important role in it. Significant trade first occurs with

3591-454: Was governed by Stasanor of Soloi , and later, in 321 BC, it was allotted to another Cypriot , Stasandros. By the end of the 4th century BC, Drangiana was part of the Seleucid Empire , but in the second half of the 3rd century BC it was at least temporarily annexed by Euthydemos I of Bactria . In 206-205 BC Antiochos III (222-187 BC) seems to have recovered Drangiana for the Seleucids during his Anabasis . The history of Drangiana during

3654-424: Was known as Pahlaw in the Middle Persian sources of the Sasanian period, and Pahla or Fahla by later Islamic authors, but mainly referred to the Parthian region in the West of Iran. The original location of Parthia roughly corresponds to a region in northeastern Iran , but part is in southern Turkmenistan . It was bordered by the Kopet Dag mountain range in the north, and the Dasht-e Kavir desert in

3717-473: Was not until Arsaces II's grandson (or grand-nephew) Phraates I , that the Arsacids/Parni would again begin to assert their independence. From their base in Parthia, the Arsacid dynasts eventually extended their dominion to include most of Greater Iran . They also quickly established several eponymous branches on the thrones of Armenia , Iberia , and Caucasian Albania . Even though the Arsacids only sporadically had their capital in Parthia, their power base

3780-495: Was only a loose framework: a number of smaller dynasts certainly maintained their positions during the Indo-Parthian period, likely in exchange for their recognition of Gondophares and his successors. These smaller dynasts included the Apracarajas themselves, and Indo-Scythian satraps such as Zeionises and Rajuvula , as well as anonymous Scythians who struck imitations of Azes coins. The Ksaharatas also held sway in Gujarat , perhaps just outside Gondophares' dominions. After

3843-421: Was possibly subdued by another Iranian people, the Medes , and later, certainly, by the expanding Persian Achaemenid Empire of Cyrus the Great (559-530 BC). According to Herodotus , during the reign of Darius I (522-486 BC), the Drangians were placed in the same district as the Utians , Thamanaeans , Mycians , and those deported to the Persian Gulf . The capital of Drangiana, called Zarin or Zranka (like

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3906-447: Was recruited as a carpenter to serve at the court of king "Gudnaphar" (thought to be Gondophares) in India. The Acts of Thomas describes in chapter 17 Thomas' visit to king Gudnaphar in northern India; chapters 2 and 3 depict him as embarking on a sea voyage to India, thus connecting Thomas to the west coast of India. As Senior points out, this Gudnaphar has usually been identified with the first Gondophares, who has thus been dated after

3969-440: Was there, among the Parthian feudal families, upon whose military and financial support the Arsacids depended. In exchange for this support, these families received large tracts of land among the earliest conquered territories adjacent to Parthia, which the Parthian nobility then ruled as provincial rulers. The largest of these city-states were Kuchan , Semnan , Gorgan , Merv , Zabol and Yazd . From about 105 BC onwards,

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