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ARSACIDS (Persian Aškānīān, اشکانیان), Parthian dynasty which ruled Iran from about 250 BCE to about 226 CE. i. Origins. ii. The Arsacid dynasty. iii. Arsacid coinage. iv. Arsacid religion. v. The “Arsacid” era. vi. Arsacid chronology in traditional history. vii. The Arsacid dynasty of Armenia. viii. Military Architecture Of Parthia.

ARSACIDS i. Origins (اشکانیان) Our sources on the ancestry of the eponymous founder of the dynasty, Arsaces, vary irreconcilably. He is introduced as a bandit who seized Parthia by attacking and killing its satrap, Andragoras (Justin 41.4; Ammianus Marcellinus 23.6.2); as a Bactrian who found the rise of Diodotus unbearable,…

ARSACIDS ii. The Arsacid Dynasty 1. History. The rise of the Arsacids is closely linked to the history of another dynasty, that of the Seleucids. After 308 BCE its founder, Seleucus I, had conquered the eastern part of Iran and also, after the battle of Ipsus (301 BCE), annexed large…

ARSACIDS iii. Arsacid Coinage Under this heading are treated coins which were minted in Iran under the Arsacids and which superseded Seleucid currency in the territories successively taken from the Seleucids. In essentials such as denominations, iconography, and script, they are markedly Hellenistic, but in varying degrees they also show…

ARSACIDS iv. Arsacid religion Nothing is known of the religion of the Parni before they entered Parthia, but it seems likely that it was essentially the ancient Iranian polytheism, perhaps already influenced by Zoroastrianism. The immigrants are known to have adopted the Parthians’ language, and with it they presumably took…

ARSACIDS v. The “Arsacid” era As an indication of their imperial aspirations, the Parthians established their own dynastic era, beginning with the vernal equinox (in Babylon with 1 Nisan = 14 April) 247 BCE. Long doubted, the historicity of this era was proved by a Babylonian tablet equating the Seleucid…

ARSACIDS vi. Arsacid chronology in traditional history The Parthian rule lasted 474 years, longer than any dynastic period in Iranian history. Throughout this period, the Arsacid era and the Seleucid era which preceded it by 64 years, were both in use, and so it would have been easy to recall that…

ARSACIDS vii. The Arsacid dynasty of Armenia Third dynasty of Armenia (in Armenian, Aršakuni), from the first to the mid-fifth century. The preceding dynasty of the Artaxiads became extinct about CE 12, amid a secessionist chaos caused by the perennial struggle of Iran and Rome over Armenia—the second throne, after…

ARSACIDS viii. Military Architecture Of Parthia Some interesting features appeared in the military architecture of the vast Parthian domain ruled by the Arsacids (q.v. Bergamini, pp. 195-214; Colledge, pp. 21-79; Francfort, pp. 23-39; Pugachenkova, pp. 26-60), the dynasty that emerged in the wake of a relatively short occupation of Iranian territories…

ARŠĀMA (Greek Arsámēs, Aramaic ʾršm), name of several Achaemenid notables. It is a compound of aršan “male, hero” and ama “strength,” thus meaning “having a hero’s strength;” the feminine form *Aršāmā (Greek Arsamē) is also attested, in the name of the daughter of Darius the Great (Justi, Namenbuch, p. 29;…

ARSANJĀN, a small town in Fārs on the northeastern fringes of the Zagros mountain massif. It is situated 30 miles to the east of Persepolis and 55 miles northeast of Shiraz; to its southeast lies Lake Nīrīz. There do not seem to be any mentions of Arsanǰān in the older…

ARSANJĀNĪ, ḤASAN, journalist and politician (1301-48 Š./1922-69). Born into a traditional rural family, he was educated at Tehran University, from where he eventually received a doctorate in law. While still a student he was employed by the Agricultural Bank during the reign of Reżā Shah, and was assigned the task…