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Parthian Dark Age
The so-called "Parthian Dark Age" refers to a period of three decades in the history of Parthian Empire between the death (or last years) of Mithridates II in 91 BC, and the accession to the throne of Orodes II in 57 BC, with various date ranges being mentioned by scholars. It is called a "Dark Age" due to a lack of clear information on the events of this period in the empire, except a series of, apparently overlapping, reigns. No written source describing this period has survived, and scholars have been unable to clearly reconstruct the succession of rulers and their regnal years using the existing numismatic sources due to their ambiguities. No legal or administrative document from this period has been preserved. Multiple theories have been proposed to partially address this numismatic problem. Based on the classical sources, the names of the rulers in this period are Sinatruces and his son Phraates (III), Mithridates (III/IV), Orodes (II), the sons of Phraates III, and a ce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parthian Dark Age
The so-called "Parthian Dark Age" refers to a period of three decades in the history of Parthian Empire between the death (or last years) of Mithridates II in 91 BC, and the accession to the throne of Orodes II in 57 BC, with various date ranges being mentioned by scholars. It is called a "Dark Age" due to a lack of clear information on the events of this period in the empire, except a series of, apparently overlapping, reigns. No written source describing this period has survived, and scholars have been unable to clearly reconstruct the succession of rulers and their regnal years using the existing numismatic sources due to their ambiguities. No legal or administrative document from this period has been preserved. Multiple theories have been proposed to partially address this numismatic problem. Based on the classical sources, the names of the rulers in this period are Sinatruces and his son Phraates (III), Mithridates (III/IV), Orodes (II), the sons of Phraates III, and a ce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parthian Empire
The Parthian Empire (), also known as the Arsacid Empire (), was a major Iranian political and cultural power 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 (r. c. 171–132 BC) 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. The Parthians largely adopted the art, architecture, religious beliefs, and royal insignia of their culturally heterogene ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mithridates II Of Parthia
Mithridates II (also spelled Mithradates II or Mihrdad II; xpr, 𐭌𐭄𐭓𐭃𐭕 ''Mihrdāt'') was king of the Parthian Empire from 124 to 91 BC. Considered one of the most magnificent of his dynasty to ever rule Iran, he was known as Mithridates the Great in antiquity. Mithridates II was crowned king after the abrupt death of his predecessor Artabanus I. Inheriting a declining empire that was reeling from military pressure in both the east and west, Mithridates II quickly stabilized the situation in Mesopotamia by gaining the allegiance of Characene, and subduing the insurgent Kingdom of Elymais and also the Arabs, who had continuously raided Babylonia. Mithridates II was the first Parthian king to extend Parthian rule into the Caucasus, where the kingdoms of Armenia, Iberia, and possibly Caucasian Albania became Parthian vassal states. To the east, he defeated and conquered the nomadic tribes in Bactria who had killed both of his predecessors. Sakastan was also reconquered, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orodes II Of Parthia
Orodes II (also spelled Urud II; xpr, 𐭅𐭓𐭅𐭃 ''Wērōd''), was King of Kings of the Parthian Empire from 57 BC to 37 BC. He was a son of Phraates III, whom he murdered in 57 BC, assisted by his elder brother Mithridates IV. The two brothers quickly fell out and entered into a dynastic struggle, in which Orodes was triumphant. Meanwhile, the Roman general and triumvir Marcus Licinius Crassus had made an attempt to extend his share of Roman territory by eastward conquest. This attempt proved disastrous, with Crassus meeting his end in 53 BC, in the Battle of Carrhae, by Orodes' general Surena. Orodes himself had invaded Armenia and forced king Artavasdes II () to submit and abandon his alliance with the Romans. The victory at Carrhae secured for the Parthians the countries east of the Euphrates. Then, the next year they invaded Syria, but with little success. Surena, whose achievements had made him too dangerous, was killed by Orodes, and Pacorus I, the son and heir o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dark Ages (historiography)
The ''Dark Ages'' is a term for the Early Middle Ages, or occasionally the entire Middle Ages, in Western Europe after the fall of the Western Roman Empire that characterises it as marked by economic, intellectual and cultural decline. The concept of a "Dark Age" originated in the 1330s with the Italian scholar Petrarch, who regarded the post-Roman centuries as "dark" compared to the "light" of classical antiquity.. Reprinted from: The term employs traditional black-and-white dualism, light-versus-darkness imagery to contrast the era's "darkness" (ignorance and error) with earlier and later periods of "light" (knowledge and understanding). The phrase ''Dark Age'' itself derives from the Latin ''saeculum obscurum'', originally applied by Caesar Baronius in 1602 when he referred to a tumultuous period in the 10th and 11th centuries. The concept thus came to characterize the entire Middle Ages as a time of intellectual darkness in Europe between the fall of Rome and the Renaissance ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parthian Coinage
Parthian coinage was produced within the domains of the Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD). The coins struck by the Parthians were mainly made of silver, with the main currencies being the drachm and tetradrachm. The tetradrachm, which generally weighed around 16 g, was only minted in Seleucia, first conquered by the Parthians in 141 BC. Design-wise, Parthian coinage was based on Seleucid and Achaemenid satrapal coinage. See also * Achaemenid coinage * Sasanian coinage Sasanian coinage was produced within the domains of the Iranian Sasanian Empire (224–651). Together with the Roman Empire, the Sasanian Empire was the most important money-issuing polity in Late Antiquity. Sasanian coinage had a significant influ ... References Sources * * * * * * * * * * * {{Parthian Empire Parthian Empire Ancient currencies ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sinatruces Of Parthia
Sinatruces (also spelled Sinatrukes or Sanatruces) was king of the Parthian Empire from to . He was presumably a son of the Parthian ruler Mithridates I (). Sinatruces was succeeded by his son Phraates III. Reign The Parthian Empire had since the death of Mithridates II () fallen into a state of turmoil and decline; the authority of the crown had decreased, while the empire lost lands to its neighbours. Sinatruces, who originally resided amongst the Saka of Central Asia, took advantage of the chaotic situation in the empire, and with the aid of the Saka captured the Parthian throne in , at the age of eighty. The name of the Arsacid branch established by Sinatruces on the Parthian throne has been coined by the modern historian Marek Jan Olbrycht as the "Sinatrucids", which ruled the Parthian Empire till 12 AD. The Sinatrucid family was notably supported by the Suren clan of Sakastan. During Sinatruces' reign, the Artaxiad king of Armenia, Tigranes the Great (), took advantag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phraates III Of Parthia
Phraates III (also spelled Frahad III; xpr, 𐭐𐭓𐭇𐭕 ''Frahāt''), was King of Kings of the Parthian Empire from 69 BC to 57 BC. He was the son and successor of Sinatruces (). At Phraates III's accession, his empire could no longer be considered the supreme power in the Near East, because of the ascendancy of Armenia under Tigranes the Great () and Pontus under his ally Mithridates VI Eupator (). Phraates III's reign was thus marked by his efforts to restore his empire to its former position. To the west of his empire, war had engulfed the area. Tigranes and Mithridates VI urged him to join their war against the Roman Republic, while the Romans tried in turn to convince Phraates III to join them. Phraates III seemingly made promises to both parties but remained passive. He awaited the outcome of the war to take advantage of it at the right moment for the Parthians. In 65 BC, Phraates III and his new son-in-law Tigranes the Yo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mithridates IV Of Parthia
Mithridates IV (also spelled Mithradates IV; xpr, 𐭌𐭄𐭓𐭃𐭕 ''Mihrdāt'') was a Parthian king from to 57 to 54 BC. He was the son and successor of Phraates III (). Mithridates IV's reign was marked by a dynastic struggle with his younger brother, Orodes II, who eventually emerged victorious and had Mithridates IV executed, thus succeeding him. Etymology ''Mithridates'' is the Greek attestation of the Iranian name ''Mihrdāt'', meaning "given by Mithra", the name of the ancient Iranian sun god. The name itself is derived from Old Iranian ''Miθra-dāta-''. Biography Mithridates IV was a son of Phraates III (), under whom he served as the ruler of the central province of Media. In 57 BC, Mithridates murdered his father with the assistance of his younger brother Orodes. However, the two brothers quickly fell out, and Orodes revolted with the support of the Suren clan.; ; They both assumed the title of King of Kings to demonstrate their claims of superiority over ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Darius I Of Media Atropatene
Darius I of Media Atropatene, also known as Darius I or Darius (ca. 85 BC – ca. 65 BC), was an Iranian prince who served as a king of Media Atropatene in c. 65 BC. Little is known of the life of Darius I, however he appeared to have succeeded his relative, Mithridates, who served as King of Media Atropatene one year earlier. Darius I was known during his kingship to have been attacked by the Roman general Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ... with his army. However, the circumstances that led Pompey to attack Media Atropatene are unknown. Sometime in 65 BC, Darius I appeared to have died. His relative, Ariobarzanes I succeeded him as King of Media Atropatene. References Sources * 60s BC deaths 1st-century BC Iranian monarchs Rulers of Media Atrop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gotarzes I
Gotarzes I ( xpr, 𐭂𐭅𐭕𐭓𐭆 ''Gōdarz'') was king of the Parthian Empire from 91 BC to 87 or 80 BC. He was the son and successor of Mithridates II (), and was succeeded by his son Orodes I. Name "Gotarzes" is from Middle Iranian ''Gōdarz'' (), itself from the Old Iranian ''*Gau-tarza-'' (literally "Ox-crusher"). Reign Coins, reliefs and Babylonian astronomical diaries label Gotarzes as the son and heir of Mithridates II (). According to a heavily damaged relief at Behistun, Gotarzes had served as "satrap of satraps" under his father. After the death of his father, Gotarzes was proclaimed king at Babylon. At his accession, Gotarzes appointed Mitratu as the general of Babylonia. Gotarzes continued his father's policy by using their vassal, the Artaxiad king of Armenia, Tigranes the Great (), as their representative in their efforts to extend their influence to Syria and Cappadocia. In 87/6 or 83 BC, Tigranes had seized Syria and Cilicia. Gotarzes' had several wive ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orodes I Of Parthia
Orodes I (also spelled Urud I; xpr, 𐭅𐭓𐭅𐭃 ''Wērōd/Urūd''), was king of the Parthian Empire from 80 to 75 BC. He was the son and heir of Gotarzes I (). His reign is relatively obscure. His throne may have been usurped in 87–80 BC by his supposed uncle Mithridates III, however, this has found little support in scholarship. Of his military activities, it is known that Orodes I re-established Parthian rule in Elymais in 78 BC, which had been independent since 81/80 BC. Orodes I later lost the throne to the aged Parthian prince Sinatruces, who belonged to a different branch of the royal Arsacid family. Name ''Orōdēs'' () is the Greek attestation of the Middle Iranian name ''Wērōd/Urūd'' (). The etymology of the name is disputed. The Modern Persian version is ''Viru'' (). Biography Orodes was the son and heir of Parthian king Gotarzes I (). Rahim M. Shayegan (2011) has suggested that Orodes was one of the figures depicted on the rock relief of Gotarzes I at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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