General Notes

[2280151.ged]
ALIA: /Tiridates I, King of Parthia/
Ruled 248 - c. 211 BC, King of Parthia 2
Arsaces, chief of the Parni, one of the nomadic Scythian or Dahan tribes
in the desert east of the Caspian sea. A later tradition, preserved by
Arrian, derives Arsaces I and Tiridates from the Achaemenian king
Artaxerxes II, but this had evidently no historical value. Arsaces,
seeking refuge before the Bactrian king Diodotes, invaded Parthia, then a
province of the Seleucid empire, about 250 B.C. After two years
(according to Arrian), he was killed, and his brother Tiridates succeeded
him and maintained himself for a short time in Parthia during the
dissolution of the Seleucid empire by the attacks of Ptolemy III; he was
defeated and expelled by Seleucus II (c. 238). But when the king was
forced, by the rebellion of his brother Antiochus Hierax, to return to
the west, Tiridates went back and defeated the Macedonians. He was the
real founder of the Parthian empire, which was of very limited extent
until the final decay of the Seleucid empire, occasioned by the Roman
intrigues after the death of Antiochus IV Epiphanes (165 B.C.), enabled
Mithradates I and his successors to conquer Media and Babylonia.
Tiridates adopted the name of his brother, Arsaces, and after him all the
other Parthian kings (who by historians are generally called by their
proper names), numbering about 30, officially bear only the name Arsaces.
Arsaces, Iranian name borne by the Parthian royal house as being
descended from Arsaces, son of Phriapites (date unknown), a chief of the
seminomadic Parni tribe from the Caspian steppes. The first of his line
to gain power in Parthia was Arsaces I, who reigned from about 250 to
about 211 BC. (Some authorities believe that a brother, Tiridates I,
succeeded Arsaces about 248 and ruled until 211; other authorities
consider Arsaces I and Tiridates I to be the same person.)
All Parthian kings after Arsaces I used Arsaces as their throne name;
and, with the rare exceptions of usurpers and contestants for the throne,
all are so designated on their coins and in official documents. By
historians they are generally called by their personal names. The Arsacid
dynasty maintained itself, although not in unbroken succession, until its
overthrow by Ardashir in AD 224. During the time of the Parthian empire
the Arsacids claimed descent from Artaxerxes II, probably to legitimate
their rule over Achaemenid territories. From the Sasanian chronicles they
enter Persian epic poetry under the name Ashkanian (individual rulers as
Ashak, Ashkan).
The name Arsaces was also borne by several kings of Armenia who were of
Parthian royal blood.