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Arsaces I of Parthia
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Image:Coin of Arsaces I of Parthia.jpg thumb|300px|Coin of Arsaces I. The reverse shows a seated archer carrying a bow. A Greek inscription on the right reads ΑΡΣΑΚ[ΟΥ] (from the outside). The incription below the bow is in [[Aramaic.]]
'''Arsaces I of Parthia''' was the chief of the
Parni, one of the nomadic
Scythian or
Dahan (people) Dahan tribes in the desert east of the
Caspian Sea. A later tradition, preserved by
Arrian, derives Arsaces I and his brother
Tiridates I of Parthia Tiridates from the Achaemenian king
Artaxerxes II, but this has evidently no historical value.
Arsaces, seeking refuge before the
Bactrian king
Diodotus I, invaded
Parthia, then a province of the
Seleucid Empire, in about
250 BC. According to
Arrian he was then killed and was succeeded by his brother. But modern historians believe that he ruled Parthia until
211 BC, when he was succeeded by his son
Arsaces II of Parthia Arsaces II.
After him all the other Parthian kings of the
Arsacid Dynasty, amounting to the number of about thirty, officially wear only the name Arsaces. Arsaces is also the person from whom a celebrated
descent from antiquity begins.
With very few exceptions only the name ΑÏ?σακης occurs on the coins of the Parthian kings (in its
genitive form ΑΡΣΑΚΟΥ i.e., "[coin] of Arsaces" — together with various epithets), and the obverse generally shows the seated figure of the founder of the dynasty, holding in his hand a strung bow. The Parthian Empire was finally overthrown in
226 AD 226 by
Ardashir I of Persia Ardashir I (Artaxerxes), the founder of the
Sassanid Dynasty.
In ancient Chinese the name for Parthia was "
Anxi" (Ch:安�, pronounced ''anshiak'' in
Tang dynasty Chinese), a transliteration of the name of the founder Arsaces. Anxi was described by the Chinese explorer
Zhang Qian who visited the neighbouring countries of
Bactria and
Sogdiana in
126 BC, making the first known Chinese report on Parthia.
{| align="center" cellpadding="2" border="2"
|-
| width="30%" align="center" | Preceded by:
'''
Seleucus II Callinicus'''
| width="40%" align="center" | '''
List of kings of Persia King of Parthia'''
| width="30%" align="center" | Succeeded by:
'''
Tiridates I of Parthia Tiridates I'''
|}
References
* {{1911}}
*
Strabo xi.
*
Arrian i (preserved in
Photius and
Syncellus).
Category:211 BC deaths
Category:Monarchs of Persia Arsaces 1
Category:Persian history
Category:History of Iran
Category:Parthian empire *
ca:Arsaces I de PÃ rtia
de:Arsakes I.
fr:Arsace Ier
ja:アルサケス1世
no:Arsakes I
pl:Arsakes
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