Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Expert horsemen and archers, the Parthians
spent much energy fighting with Rome for
control of Syria, Mesopotamia and Armenia. In
53 BC Roman general Crassus, who had de-
feated Spartacus and was now one of three
men controlling Rome, took on the Parthians at
Carrhae, in modern-day Turkey. Crassus saw
his armies decimated before being captured,
having molten gold poured down his throat to mock his greed, and losing his head. Exten-
ded periods of peace followed, though the Romans and Parthians were only ever an ambi-
tious leader away from a fight.
More enlightened than later dynasties, the Parthians oversaw significant progress in ar-
chitecture and the arts, though little remains today.
The modern term 'parting shot' derives from the
ancient 'Parthian shot'. As Parthian horsemen rode
away from their enemy they would turn in their
saddles and fire arrows at their pursuers. This was
the 'Parthian shot'.
The Sassanids & the Second Persian Empire
Like the Achaemenids before them, the Sassanid rise from small-time dynasty to empire
was nothing short of staggering. Beginning in the province of Fars, Ardashir I (r 224-41)
led a push that saw the Sassanids replace the ailing Parthians in Persia and within 40 years
become a renewed threat to the Roman Empire.
Between 241 and 272 Ardashir's son,
Shapur I, added Bactria to the empire and
fought repeatedly with the Romans. In one of
the most celebrated of all Persian victories,
Shapur's armies defeated the Romans at
Edessa in 260 and took the Roman emperor
Valerian prisoner. You can still see the cities of
Bishapur and Shushtar, where Valerian was
held, and bas-reliefs depicting the victory at
The Sassanids re-formulated Zoroastrianism into a
state religion incorporating elements of Greek, Mi-
thraic and ancient animist faiths. They spoke their
own language, Pahlavi, which is the root of modern
Farsi, and developed the grand
iwan
that dominated
much Persian architecture.
Naqsh-e Rostam.
The Sassanids developed small industries, promoted urban development and encour-
aged trade across the Persian Gulf but eventually they, too, were weakened by seemingly
never-ending conflict with Byzantium. Ironically it was in its last years that the empire
was at its largest, when Khosrow II (590-628) recaptured parts of Egypt, Syria, Palestine
and Turkey. However, after Khosrow was murdered by his son, at least six rulers, includ-
ing Persia's only two women monarchs, came and went in the following five years. Persia
was in no state to resist when the Arabs attacked in 633.
