HISTORYAT A GLANCE |
Alexander the Great, the Seleucids, and the
Parthians
Envisioning a new world empire based on a fusion of Greek and Iranian culture
and ideals, Alexander the Great of Macedon accelerated the disintegration of the
Achaemenid Empire. He was first accepted as leader by the fractious Greeks in
336 B.C. and by 334 had advanced to Asia Minor, an Iranian satrapy. In quick
succession he took Egypt, Babylonia, and then, over the course of two years, the
heart of the Achaemenid Empire -- Susa, Ecbatana, and Persepolis -- the last of
which he burned. Alexander married Roxana (Roshanak), the daughter of the most
powerful of the Bactrian chiefs (Oxyartes, who revolted in present-day
Tadzhikistan), and in 324 commanded his officers and 10,000 of his soldiers to
marry Iranian women. The mass wedding, held at Susa, was a model of Alexander's
desire to consummate the union of the Greek and Iranian peoples. These plans
ended in 323 B.C., however, when Alexander was struck with fever and died in
Babylon, leaving no heir. His empire was divided among four of his generals.
Seleucus, one of these generals, who became ruler of Babylon in 312, gradually
reconquered most of Iran. Under Seleucus's son, Antiochus I, many Greeks entered
Iran, and Hellenistic motifs in art, architecture, and urban planning Although the Seleucids faced challenges from the Ptolemies of Egypt and from
the growing power of Rome, the main threat came from the province of Fars
(Partha to the Greeks). Arsaces (of the seminomadic Parni tribe), whose name was
used by all subsequent Parthian kings, revolted against the Seleucid governor in
247 B.C. and established a dynasty, the Arsacids, or Parthians. During the
second century, the Parthians were able to extend their rule to Bactria,
Babylonia, Susiana, and Media, and, under Mithradates II (123-87 B.C.), Parthian
conquests stretched from India to Armenia. After the victories of Mithradates
II, the Parthians began to claim descent from both the Greeks and the
Achaemenids. They spoke a language similar to that of the Achaemenids, used the
Pahlavi script, and established an administrative system based on Achaemenid
precedents.
Meanwhile, Ardeshir, son of the priest Papak, who claimed descent from the
legendary hero Sasan, had become the Parthian governor in the Achaemenid home
province of Persis (Fars). In A.D. 224 he overthrew the last Parthian king and
established the Sassanid dynasty, which was to last 400 years.
became
prevalent.
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