The Parni, an Aryan tribe with roots in Central Asia, had come to the region of Parthia, east of Media and Persis along the Caspian Sea around 300 BC.
By 247 BC Parni named Arsaces ruled part of the satrapy, and he took control within a decade. This marked the start of the Parthian Empire. The Parthians took their name from the former Achaemenid province of Parthava, which correspond roughly with modern northeastern Iran.
Over the next several decades, Arsaces and the rulers after him took more of Seleucid lands, building a new Persian Empire.
During the reign of Mithridates II and Arodes II, the Parthians conquered all of Iraq, Armenia, eastern Turkey, and eastern Syria.
The Parthian Empire was in the height of its prosperity, one of the most powerful of all the Eastern monarchies. The ancient geographers mention a great numbers of cities in this empire. Ptolemy reckons twenty five.
The Parthian Empire was the enemy of Rome. The Roman Empires fought several fierce battles against the Parthians, from the 1st century BC into the 3rd century AD. These wars were broken by short periods of peace, and the then fighting would begin again.
In 224, during the reign of the Roman Empire Marcus Aurelius Alexander Severus, the Parthian dynasty was displaced by the Sasanid Persian dynasty, founded by Ardashir Shah Papakan.
Persian Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD)
