ArrianArrian of Nicomedia (ˈæriən; Greek: Ἀρριανός Arrianos; Lucius Flavius Arrianus; 86/89-after 146/160 AD) was a Greek historian, public servant, military commander, and philosopher of the Roman period. The Anabasis of Alexander by Arrian is considered the best source on the campaigns of Alexander the Great. Scholars have generally preferred Arrian to other extant primary sources, though this attitude has changed somewhat in light of modern studies into Arrian's method.
EcbatanaEcbatana ɛkˈbætənə (𐏃𐎥𐎶𐎫𐎠𐎴 Hagmatāna or Haŋmatāna, literally "the place of gathering" according to Darius I's inscription at Bisotun; Persian: هگمتانه; Middle Persian: 𐭠𐭧𐭬𐭲𐭠𐭭; Parthian: 𐭀𐭇𐭌𐭕𐭍 Ahmadān; Akkadian: kura-gam-ta-nu; Elamite: 𒀝𒈠𒁕𒈾 Ag-ma-da-na; אַחְמְתָא Aḥmeta; Ἀγβάτανα or Ἐκβάτανα) was an ancient city, which was first the capital of Media in western Iran, and later was an important city in Persian, Seleucid, and Parthian empires.
JiaozhiJiaozhi (standard Chinese, pinyin: Jiāozhǐ), or Giao Chỉ, was a historical region ruled by various Chinese dynasties, corresponding to present-day northern Vietnam. The kingdom of Nanyue (204–111 BC) set up the Jiaozhi Commandery (; Quận Giao Chỉ, chữ Hán: 郡交趾) an administrative division centered in the Red River Delta that existed through Vietnam's first and second periods of Chinese rule. During the Han dynasty, the commandery was part of a province of the same name (later renamed to Jiaozhou) that covered modern-day northern and central Vietnam as well as Guangdong and Guangxi in southern China.
Arsaces I of ParthiaArsaces I (ˈɑrsəsiːz; from Ἀρσάκης; in 𐭀𐭓𐭔𐭊 Aršak) was the first king of Parthia, ruling from 247 BC to 217 BC, as well as the founder and eponym of the Arsacid dynasty of Parthia. The leader of the Parni, one of the three tribes of the Dahae confederacy, Arsaces founded his dynasty in the mid-3rd century BC when he conquered the satrapy of Parthia (now shared between Turkmenistan and Iran) from Andragoras, who had rebelled against the Seleucid Empire.
Book of the Later HanThe Book of the Later Han, also known as the History of the Later Han and by its Chinese name Hou Hanshu (), is one of the Twenty-Four Histories and covers the history of the Han dynasty from 6 to 189 CE, a period known as the Later or Eastern Han. The book was compiled by Fan Ye and others in the 5th century during the Liu Song dynasty, using a number of earlier histories and documents as sources. In 23 CE, Han dynasty official Wang Mang was overthrown by a peasants' revolt known as the Red Eyebrows.
Sino-Roman relationsSino-Roman relations comprised the (primarily indirect) contacts and flows of trade goods, of information, and of occasional travellers between the Roman Empire and the Han Empire of China, as well as between the later Eastern Roman Empire and various Chinese dynasties. These empires inched progressively closer to each other in the course of the Roman expansion into the ancient Near East and of the simultaneous Han Chinese military incursions into Central Asia. Mutual awareness remained low, and firm knowledge about each other was limited.
Artavasdes II of ArmeniaArtavasdes II (ΑΡΤΑΒΑΖΔΟΥ Artabázēs) was king of Armenia from 55 BC to 34 BC. A member of the Artaxiad Dynasty, he was the son and successor of Tigranes the Great (95-55), who ascended the throne of a still powerful and independent state. His mother was Cleopatra of Pontus, thus making his maternal grandfather the prominent Pontus king Mithridates VI Eupator. Like his father, Artavasdes continued using the title of King of Kings, as seen from his coins.
Artabanus I of ParthiaArtabanus I (𐭍𐭐𐭕𐭓 Ardawān), incorrectly known in older scholarship as Artabanus II, was king of the Parthian Empire, ruling briefly from 127 to 124/3 BC. His short reign ended abruptly when he died during a battle against the Yuezhi in the east. He was succeeded by his son Mithridates II. Artabanus is the Latin form of the Greek Artábanos (Ἁρτάβανος), itself from the Old Persian *Arta-bānu ("the glory of Arta."). The Parthian and Middle Persian variant was Ardawān (𐭍𐭐𐭕𐭓).
Artabanus III of ParthiaArtabanus III (𐭍𐭐𐭕𐭓 Ardawān), incorrectly known in older scholarship as Artabanus IV, was a Parthian prince who competed against his brother Pacorus II (78-110) for the Parthian crown from 79/80 to 81. Artabanus III's claim to the throne seems to have little support in the Parthian Empire, with the exception of Babylonia. Artabanus III's most notable action was to give refuge to a Pseudo-Nero named Terentius Maximus. Artabanus III initially agreed to lend military aid to Terentius Maximus to capture Rome, until he found about the real identity of the impostor.
Artabanus IV of ParthiaArtabanus IV, also known as Ardavan IV (Parthian:𐭓𐭕𐭐𐭍), incorrectly known in older scholarship as Artabanus V, was the last ruler of the Parthian Empire from c. 213 to 224. He was the younger son of Vologases V, who died in 208. Artabanus is the Latin form of the Greek Artábanos (Ἁρτάβανος), itself from the Old Persian *Arta-bānu ("the glory of Arta."). The Parthian and Middle Persian variant was Ardawān (𐭓𐭕𐭐𐭍). In 208, Vologases VI succeeded his father Vologases V as king of the Parthian Empire.
