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The Parthian Empire (238 B.C. – A.D. 226) was the third Iranian kingdom to dominate Greater Iran in ancient times. Parthia itself was located south-east of the Caspian Sea, between the Kopet Dag mountains and the Dasht-e-Kavir desert.[1] The empire was ruled by the Arsacid Dynasty, and at its height they controlled most of Armenia, Mesopotamia, Iran, and Afghanistan. The Parthians were consummate horsemen, known for a military tactic called the Parthian shot. They are noted in western history for defeating the (Hellenistic) Seleucid Empire in Iran. Their empire subsequently became a rival to the Roman Empire. The predecessors of the Parthians were a Scythian tribe known as the Parni, who were part of the Dahae Confederacy. Ancient Assyrian texts mention a country named Partakka or Partukka in the seventh century BC.[1] At some point it was subjugated by the Medes, who were later overthrown in 550 BC by their Persian vassals, led by Cyrus the Great. For the next two centuries the satrapy of Parthia was part of the Persian Achaemenid Empire. In 522 BC, Parthia joined King Phraortes of Media in a rebellion that was suppressed by Darius the Great[1]. They fought with King Darius III of Persia during the Battle of Gaugamela against the Macedonians led by Alexander the Great (October 1st, 331 BC). They were commanded by Phrataphernes, who surrendered his satrapy to Alexander in the summer of 330. Phrataphernes was reappointed Satrap and also given control over Hyrcania in 323 BC.
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