Parthian EmpireThe Parthian Empire (ˈpɑrθiən), also known as the Arsacid Empire (ˈɑrsəsɪd), was a major Iranian political and cultural power in ancient Iran from 247 BC to 224 AD. Its latter name comes from its founder, Arsaces I, who led the Parni tribe in conquering the region of Parthia in Iran's northeast, then a satrapy (province) under Andragoras, who was rebelling against the Seleucid Empire. Mithridates I (171-132 BC) greatly expanded the empire by seizing Media and Mesopotamia from the Seleucids.
SakaThe Saka (Old Persian: ; Kharoṣṭhī: 𐨯𐨐 ; Ancient Egyptian: , ; , old , mod. , ), Shaka (Sanskrit (Brāhmī): , , ; Sanskrit (Devanāgarī): शक , शाक ), or Sacae (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) were a group of nomadic Eastern Iranian peoples who historically inhabited the northern and eastern Eurasian Steppe and the Tarim Basin. The Sakas were closely related to the European Scythians, and both groups formed part of the wider Scythian cultures and ultimately derived from the earlier Andronovo culture, and the Saka language formed part of the Scythian languages.
ParthiaParthia (𐎱𐎼𐎰𐎺 Parθava; 𐭐𐭓𐭕𐭅 Parθaw; 𐭯𐭫𐭮𐭥𐭡𐭥 Pahlaw) is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Medes during the 7th century BC, was incorporated into the subsequent Achaemenid Empire under Cyrus the Great in the 6th century BC, and formed part of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire after the 4th-century BC conquests of Alexander the Great. The region later served as the political and cultural base of the Eastern Iranian Parni people and Arsacid dynasty, rulers of the Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD).
MassagetaeThe Massagetae or Massageteans, also known as Sakā tigraxaudā or Orthocorybantians were an ancient Eastern Iranian Saka people who inhabited the steppes of Central Asia and were part of the wider Scythian cultures. The Massagetae rose to power in the 8th to 7th centuries BCE, when they kickstarted a series of events with wide-reaching consequences by expelling the Scythians out of Central Asia and into the Caucasian and Pontic Steppes. The Massagetae are most famous for their queen Tomyris's alleged defeating and killing of Cyrus, the founder of the Persian Achaemenid Empire.
HyrcaniaHyrcania (hərˈkeɪniə) (Ὑρκανία Hyrkania, Old Persian: 𐎺𐎼𐎣𐎠𐎴 Varkâna, Middle Persian: 𐭢𐭥𐭫𐭢𐭠𐭭 Gurgān, Akkadian: Urqananu) is a historical region composed of the land south-east of the Caspian Sea in modern-day Iran and Turkmenistan, bound in the south by the Alborz mountain range and the Kopet Dag in the east. The region served as a satrapy (province) of the Median Empire, a sub-province of the Achaemenid Empire, and a province within its successors, the Seleucid, Arsacid and Sasanian empires.
Hellenistic periodIn classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC to the death of Cleopatra VII (30 BC) followed by the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in 31 BC and the conquest of Ptolemaic Egypt the following year. The Ancient Greek word Hellas (Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was gradually recognized as the name for Greece, from which the word Hellenistic was derived.
Arsaces II of ParthiaArsaces II (ˈɑrsəsiːz; from Ἀρσάκης; in 𐭀𐭓𐭔𐭊 Aršak, اشک Ašk), was the Arsacid king of Parthia from 217 BC to 191 BC. Arsacēs is the Latin form of the Greek Arsákēs (Ἀρσάκης), itself from Parthian Aršak (𐭀𐭓𐭔𐭊). The Old Persian equivalent is Aršaka- (𐎠𐎼𐏁𐎣). Arsaces II succeeded his father Arsaces I in 217 BC. In 209 BC, the energetic Seleucid king Antiochus III the Great recaptured Parthia, which had been previously seized from the Seleucids by Arsaces I and the Parni around 247 BC.
GeographicaThe Geographica (Γεωγραφικά, Geōgraphiká; Geographica or Strabonis Rerum Geographicarum Libri XVII, "Strabo's 17 Books on Geographical Topics") or Geography is an encyclopedia of geographical knowledge, consisting of 17 'books', written in Greek and attributed to Strabo, an educated citizen of the Roman Empire of Greek descent. There is a fragmentary palimpsest dating to the fifth century. The earliest manuscripts of books 1–9 date to the tenth century, with a 13th-century manuscript containing the entire text.
DahaeThe Dahae, also known as the Daae, Dahas or Dahaeans (𐎭𐏃𐎠; Δαοι; Δααι, ; Δαι, ; Δασαι, ; Dahae; ; Persian: ) were an ancient Eastern Iranian nomadic tribal confederation, who inhabited the steppes of Central Asia. The Dahae may have been the () or () people mentioned in the s as one of the five peoples following the Zoroastrian religion, along with the (), (), (), and (), although this identification is uncertain.
Indo-Greek KingdomThe Indo-Greek Kingdom, or Graeco-Indian Kingdom, also known historically as the Yavana Kingdom (Yavanarajya), was a Hellenistic-era Greek kingdom covering various parts of modern-day Afghanistan, Pakistan and northwestern India. This kingdom was in existence from 200 BC to the beginning of the common era. During its existence the kingdom was ruled over by 30 successive kings. Menander I, being the most well known amongst the Indo-Greek kings, is often referred to simply as "Menander," despite the fact that there was indeed another Indo-Greek King known as Menander II.