HISTORY 131B Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Orodes Ii Of Parthia, Strategos, Mithraism
Document Summary
Scythians take over parthia (take over helinistic area) Problems: enemies like rome internal (to few material culture: sources from parthian history (greco and chinese, very few parthian inscriptions, numismatic names, titles, ideology, chronology sources to be able to study. Fight people in asia minor, fight the romans and celts. Arsaces (parni leader, conquered astuane, crowned at quchan) Antiochus iii seleucid ruler (lost empire to romans) defeated by arsaces ii. Parthians seen as a helinistic empire (mix of iranian and helenistic) Language, religion (buddism, confucianism, hinduism, silk- produced in china) Mix of people traveling through the same places. Sogdians were the most active desert merchants. Crassus &rome gauging parthian power ruthless, private army. Armenian becomes somewhat under parthian rule (under king orodes ii: rome & mark anthony in iran and armenia, he attacks in atropatene and aermian. Mark anthony and cleopatra trying to defeat octavian. Organization (feudal monarchy) nobility ruling (king doesn"t have absolute power.
