~History~

THE PARTHIAN KINGDOM

Parthia, ancient empire of Asia, in what now is made up of Iran and Afghanistan. The Parthians were of Scythian descent and adopted Median dress and Aryan speech. They were excellent horsemen and archers. In battle, mounted Parthians often discharged their arrows back toward the enemy while pretending to flee. This is the origin of the phrase, "a Parthian shot."
Parthia was subject successively to the Assyrians, Medes, Persians and Macedonians (under Alexander the Great), and Seleucids. About 250 B.C. the Parthians succeeded in founding an independent kingdom that, during the 1st Century B.C., grew into an empire extending from the Euphrates River to the Indus River and from the Oxus (now Armu Darya) River to the Indian Ocean. The main Parthian cities were Seleucia, Ctesiphon and Hecatompylos. After the middle of the 1st Century B.C. Parthia was a rival of Rome, and several wars occurred between the two powers. In A.D. 226 Parthia was conquered by Ardashir I, King of Persia and founder of the Sassanid Dynasty.