Drangiana or Zarangiana ( el, Δραγγιανή, ''Drangianē''; also attested in Old Western Iranian as 𐏀𐎼𐎣, ''Zraka'' or ''Zranka'', was a historical region and administrative division of the

Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest em ...

. This region comprises territory around Hamun Lake, wetlands in endorheic Sistan Basin on the Iran-

Afghan Afghan may refer to: *Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia *Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity ** Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...

border, and its primary

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

Helmand river in what is nowadays southwestern region of Afghanistan.

History

In ancient times Drangiana was inhabited by an Iranian tribe which the ancient Greeks called Sarangians or Drangians. Drangiana was possibly subdued by another Iranian people, the Medes, and later, certainly, by the expanding Persian

Cyrus the Great Cyrus II of Persia (; peo, 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 ), commonly known as Cyrus the Great, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, the first Persian empire. Schmitt Achaemenid dynasty (i. The clan and dynasty) Under his rule, the empire embraced ...

(559-530 BC). According to Herodotus, during the reign of

Darius I Darius I ( peo, 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 ; grc-gre, Δαρεῖος ; – 486 BCE), commonly known as Darius the Great, was a Persian ruler who served as the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 522 BCE until his ...

(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 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 A satrap () was a governor of the provinces of the ancient Median and Achaemenid Empires and in several of their successors, such as in the Sasanian Empire and the Hellenistic empires. The satrap served as viceroy to the king, though with consid ...

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 was governed by Stasanor of

Soloi Soli or Soloi ( el, Σόλοι) is an ancient Greek city on the island of Cyprus, located next to the town of Karavostasi, southwest of Morphou (Guzelyurt), and on the coast in the gulf of Morphou. Since 1974 the site has been within the territ ...

, and later, in 321 BC, it was allotted to another

Cypriot Cypriot (in older sources often "Cypriote") refers to someone or something of, from, or related to the country of Cyprus. * Cypriot people, or of Cypriot descent; this includes: **Armenian Cypriots **Greek Cypriots **Maronite Cypriots **Turkish C ...

, Stasandros. By the end of the 4th century BC, Drangiana was part of the

Seleucid Empire The Seleucid Empire (; grc, Βασιλεία τῶν Σελευκιδῶν, ''Basileía tōn Seleukidōn'') was a Greek state in West Asia that existed during the Hellenistic period from 312 BC to 63 BC. The Seleucid Empire was founded by the ...

, but in the second half of the 3rd century BC it was at least temporarily annexed by Euthydemos I of

Bactria Bactria (; Bactrian: , ), or Bactriana, was an ancient region in Central Asia in Amu Darya's middle stream, stretching north of the Hindu Kush, west of the Pamirs and south of the Gissar range, covering the northern part of Afghanistan, southwe ...

. 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 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 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 conqueri ...

.Schmitt (1995).

Notes

References

* * G. Gnoli, "Dahan-e Ḡolāmān," ''Encyclopaedia Iranica'', vol. 6 (1993) 582-585.
Drangiana by Jona Lendering
* R. Schmitt, "Drangiana," ''Encyclopaedia Iranica'', vol. 7 (1995) 534-537. {{Achaemenid Provinces Achaemenid satrapies Historical Iranian peoples Iranian countries and territories History of Zoroastrianism Nomadic groups in Eurasia Ancient Greek geography Geographic history of Afghanistan