Parthia (satrapy)

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Parthia (Old Persian Parthava), before it became the Parthian Empire, was a satrapy (province) of the Achaemenid Empire. The borders of Parthia were the Kopet Dag mountain range in the north (today the border between Iran and Turkmenistan) and the Dasht-e-Kavir desert in the south. It bordered Media on the west, Hyrcania on the north west, Margiana on the north east, and Aria on the south east.

In 522/521 BCE, Parthia revolted against Persian rule, joining the Median rebel king Phraortes. The Persian satrap (governor), Hystaspes, stood his ground against the rebels at Vishpauzatish, where he repelled them on March 8, 521. After receiving reinforcements, he defeated the rebels and Parthia was pacified. The last satrap of Parthia was Phrataphernes, who surrendered to Alexander the Great in 330 BCE. He was later reappointed and is known to have also been a satrap of Hyrcania in 323.

It later also became a satrapy of the Sassanid Empire.

References

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Last updated on Friday February 15, 2008 at 15:16:10 PST (GMT -0800)
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