Additional Interesting Info on the Parthians: The Parni were members of the larger Dahae tribal confederacy(Residing near the Jaxartes river) before breaking off and settling slightly south east of Bactria. Before converting to Zoroastrianism the Parni practiced Iranian Polytheism. The Parthians had several different “capital cities”... which was essentially any city that the Parthians rode into and held court. However, this was usually Ctesiphon for most of the year and Ecbatana in the hot summer months. The general executed after the battle of Carrhae was from the Suren Clan. The Suren clan founded their own kingdom(indo-Parthian) later. I would guess having that prominent family member executed played into the family’s decision to separate from the empire. Ancient sources differ on the Parthian response to Caracalla’s marriage proposal. They either said yes and he killed the wedding party (red wedding style) or they said “no” and then they went to war. TYPO AT 10:46 Caption should be "63 AD Peace Treaty", not "63BC Peace Treaty"
Hey Epimetheus, could you post the geographical map you made for the region of eastern Med and Middle East and the Iranian Plateau in this video? It's really good.:D
Archemenids: Powerful. Balanced. Parthians: Defensive Persia. +20 to def when fighting inside your borders. Sassanids: Agressive Persia: +25 to atk when fighting outside your borders.
@Iranian Azeri well if they claimed ancestry from Cyrus the great and Achaemenids that makes them Persian, atleast the ruling class. Also afghan is a nationality not ethnicity and 40% pf their population is Persian.
@Iranian Azeri Totally agree with your comment. Persians were just one of many Iranic Tribes. Just like modern day Germans are just one of the Germanic people. Danes ,Norwegians , Swedes, Dutch are also Germanic people but not Germans. During Sassanid era Persians gained prominence and due to that, several other tribes adopted Persian language. In terms of genetics ( especially looking at Paternal Y DNA), it is a whole different story.
dude ,,,seems way ahead of it's time ,,, i agree ,, but ,,im of the belief that the same culture is at the heart of many big events since then ,,and academia is more than aware and omitting the details forming the connection from published works ,,and other means of stifling any common knowledge of connecting
Parthian prince: I'm bored....How about we have a civil war? His brother: Oo Oo (raising his hand excitedly) can I join in? His cousin: Nah mate I feel like sacking Armenia again. Who's in? Their King: for f**s sake we were supposed to fight the Romans!! it says so in the calendar! Fight the Romans on Thursday THEN civil war for the weekend. And we already sacked Armenia yesterday. Parthian nobles: "sad noises"
I am glad you enjoy my dry humor. :) Seeing all the internet Cen-sor-SH!P these days...it is a good time to be a "faceless man"- keep the faith my brother-E
@@EpimetheusHistory I wish I could upvote you a million times. I totally agree with what you say. As despicable cancel culture is, there is a silver lining: the fools are turning on each other 🤣 I guess the Parthians and Romans aren't the only ones keen on civil war
Thanks Cy! I am happy you enjoy my illustrations! This year has been very tough....trying to get back into the rhythm I was in before. BTW you have an awesome channel :)
You hardly ever hear this in the European version of history but the Eastern limit of Rome was always Persia, whether in the form of the Parthians or the Sassanids. The real prize for Rome was always the east which it could never really conquer and not necessarily Europe. With a few exceptions, the major battles of Rome were with and its main concern was always Persia. It was centuries of battles with Persia that weakened both lands which were one of the main reasons for the success of the Arab invasion. Read "The Silk Roads: A New History of the World" by Peter Frankopan.
Not really. Caracalla knew that the marriage wouldn't be accepted. It was just an excuse to invade Parthia. Infact he tried to invade Parthia earlier because Roman hostages were in Parthian hands.
@@shanedoesyoutube8001 he is talking about Mithridates the First of PARTHIA, Mithridates the Sixth (that famous one) was king of PONTUS. I know, i know, ancient people werent very creative naming their childs haha
@Hassan Abdulsalam Though Parthians disappeared long before the Seljuks however their effects continued for a long time, even after their disappearance.
Educational and entertaining, can't ask for more...but please keep them coming. I find that after the third time I watch them, I start remembering and enjoying your videos more than the first time I watch them.
Surena, the general who crushed the Romans in the Battle of Carrhae and was supposedly executed by the Parthian Emperor, is described by Plutarch as follows -- "Surena was no ordinary person; but in fortune, family and honour, the first after the king; and in point of courage and capacity, as well as in size and beauty, superior to the Parthians of his time. If he went only upon an excursion into the country, he had a thousand camels to carry his baggage, and two hundred carriages for his concubines. He was attended by thousand heavy-armed horse, and many more of the light-armed rode before him. Indeed, his vassals and slaves made up a body of cavalry little less than ten thousand."
"Rostam Pahlav" of the Iranian clan "Suren", known in the West simply as "Surena". His real first name, Rostam means "Strong as a River" and has been a popular name in the Iranian realm for centuries. The first name "Surena" has become relatively popular in the last 2 or 3 decades in Iran as more has been known about him among the general population. After his huge victory over the Romans at Carrhae, he became more popular than the king which is an automatic death sentence and a universal tragedy. You can see many instances across the history of very popular generals that end up losing their life once they become more popular than the king. The Parthians were the second pre-Islamic Iranian empire, preceded by the Acheminids (with a Greek Seleucid interruption) and followed by the Sassanids. Other powerful Parthian clans besides clan Suren were clan Karen and clan Mehran which were influential during the Sassanian Empire too. They lost much of their power after the Arab invasion of Iran but clan Mehran seems to have lasted for a few centuries more in what is now the Semnan province of Iran. Some of Surena's fame contributed to the creation of the mythological Iranian hero of "Rostam", the same name as the main hero of the epic "Shahnameh" or The Book of Kings written by Ferdowsi. Indeed Surena and the mythological Rostam are archetypes of the Iranian archetypal myth of a very powerful figure with many positive attributes that is NOT the king but without him, the king could not have stayed in power. Surena made it possible for the Parthian king Orodes II to rule, the same way the mythological Rostam made it possible for king Kaykavus to rule and much the same way Ali Ibn Abi Talib made the success of the prophet Muhammad possible. Hence, one of the many reasons why Ali fits the Iranian psyche of how a real hero is supposed to be and is popular in Iran.
تو تاریخ جعلیه پهلوی رو خوندی چی میگی واسه خودت اولا که سورینا بلوچ بود واشکانیان سورینارو ساختن دومن دران زمان اصلا صیغه نبود وبلوچها تا به امروز هم صیغه نمیکنن .واین تاریخ جعلیه وربطی به ایران وفارس نداره
This is really one of your best video to date, always had interest in Parthians, we dont know much of them which is a shame, they were Nomadic and didn't built so much fortifications and cities like later Sassanians. It is seen from their Nomadic Scythian heritage and they were also tolerated to other religions and customs, they appreciated a lot of Hellenic culture.
@Just Man You mean the Western Roman Empire? I mean yeah, it was one of the factors that led to the fall of Western Rome, but what's your point anyway?
Next up: Ghaznavids? Lakhmids? Himyar? Or maybe the Durranis of Afghanistan? Maybe an episode breaking down the satrap system in Achamenid and Sassanid Persia? Also Oman Sultanate and their history with east African coast would be intresting. Just some suggestions from a longtime sub, keep it up man!
@Just Man Iran belongs to anyone who loves Iran, it's an ancient land of thousand nations. There have been several so called Iranians in the course of history who betrayed that land. You are too low to determine whom Iran belongs to!
great video, really like your style of telling narrative history, especially of the not so well known civilizations that are not completely obscure, like a good middle ground of known and unknown stories, 10/10
I believe a video on the Medes wouldn’t be a too bad idea either, I don’t see one on them. You could talk about how they united the Iranian people and such.
Very well put together, best overall vid on TH-cam for parthians. One correction is that the rival of Crassus was Pompey and not Caesar, whom he benefited under his wing bailing him out of debts and having his son serve with him.
Rome attacked Parthia during the time of civil war and political turmoil, in fact they did not even send an army to confront Rome, so this is not as big a victory as Westerners claim.
@@mithridatesvi1650 Cyrus the great control 2 out 3 of the known world Cyrus the great is one of the best military commander in history if not the greatest in history never lost a battle conquered Median empire, Neo-Babylonian Empire , Lydian empire, Gandhara Kingdom or empire was powerful state , Elam , ancient Phoenicia ,Cyrus' Conquest of Elam Part of the Wars of Cyrus the Great also beat Iranic nomads and others created the most powerful empire of is time the biggest the world has seen in that time Cyrus was outnumber many time for example Cyrus defeated Lydians three times. He won the battle of Pteria while he had 20 000 to 30 000 soldiers but Lydians had 90 000 to 95 000 He won the battle of Thymbra while he had 49 000 to 50 000 soldiers but Lydians had 105 000 to 110 000 soldiers. He conquered Sardis and defeated the Ionians. He established a large empire 10 years(or less) and rulled over it for 30 years. Cyrus the great was outnumbered in half of his battles. He never lost a war Cyrus defeated and conquered the 2 most powerful empires of is time tell me one military commander that conquered 2 most powerful empires of there time at there height the Medes and Babylonians were at the height of their power) AT HEIGHT OF THEIR POWER Alexander never beat Iranian empire at their height of their power) Hannibal Barca couldn’t even conquered Rome before Rome was empire and Alexander didn’t beat the Iranian empire at height Cyrus actually beat the most powerful Empires of is time at there height
@@AminCad several important generals under every empire in the middle-east were Armenian. Some Jewish too. Both ethnicities know how to enter the clubs of political and economic power and elite status. Not trying to insult either ethnicity but they know how to gain status.
Great job, sir! I truly appreciate your dry sense of humor as you described the extraordinary tug of war between rival factions within Rome, Parthia and the Sassanids.
FYI, the word ' Baghdad ' is a Persian word consisting of two words of Bagh and Da'd. Meaning God Given. The Arab word for what was later to become the capital of the Muslim Arabs was Madaen. This is the plural of Medina ( city ) which in Arabic means two cities. This referred to the two cities on the oppposite banks of the river Tigris. There are many theories, none proven, of who the Parthians were, but Ardeshir ( Arsacid in Roman ) himself considered his lineage Persian. Their capital as you know was Ecbatana which is about 200 Km south West of Tehran.
Fascinating that some groups after taking over they choose to adapt the culture and language (morph into) of the captured instead of imposing their own. It would be curious to see a list of these groups and try to understand the reason for it. Perhaps the persians had left such a complex bureaucracy that it was quickly adapted by everyone to maintain large lands with diverse ethnic groups
Most of the Parthian kings were Medes.! The culture, language, and much more of the empire was also realized. The Medes rebelled and finally agreed with Ardashir to end the parthian state and create the Sassanid Empire.! Many sources consider the Ardshir family to be the parthian as a change of dynastic power.!!
@@Ardonbb all parthians kings are descandant of arshak/arsaces who was a Scythian Iranian from Central Asia. the Parthians claimed to be descendants of the Achaemenid Persians. and the Medes no longer existed as a people at that time. Ardashir was a Persian from the Fars region who was powerful. He simply overthrew Artaban, the last Parthian king. please don't try to rewrite history
@@lel3225 you don't know history.! Many Parthian kings were kings of Media. You say there was no media then🤣🤣🫵🏻. There is no such thing as Persian history.! Pripatius and Tiridates were Medes, not Arsacea. Prepatius was a Seleucid vassal.!! During the reign of Mithras, he introduced the culture and language of the Medes into the empire and abolished the culture of Arsaki and selucia. He moved his capital to Baghdad.
Well, i am seeing it because you posted about it, but being honest, i didn't even know you made this video because TH-cam never recommended it, it really is a good video but it isn't liked by the algorithm for some reason
@S U Greeks were vassal of Darius the Great and also Greeks destroyed one Iranian empire the Achaemenid Empire under one of the worst ruler in history of Iran but Iranians like Parthians and Scythians destroyed 3 Greek empires the Seleucid empire, Indo Greek and Greco-Bactrian Kingdom and Seleucid and Greco Bactrian Empires were among the biggest and most powerful Empires of there time both got destroyed by Mithridates I the Great of Parthian Empire and also Mithridates the Great the poison king of the Pontic empire who spoke 22 languages and Rome deadliest enemy was Persian origin IRANIC ORIGIN NOT GREEK descendants of the the greatest ruler and military commander in history CYRUS THE GREAT
What makes the Parthians so interessting is that they kept the hellenistic greek culture allong with persian influence. Awesome video I really enjoyed it!
This ancient history documentary sheds light on the Parthians, a formidable empire that challenged Rome with its unique tactics and resilient warriors. 🏹🏇
Hello, I would like to ask a question. I found a video on TH-cam in which the claim was made that Parthian officials were called "Sophoi" and priests "Magoi" - to make a reference to the Magoi mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew, but according to current theory, they were rather Zoroastrian priests from Media (Moghu). Both are, in my opinion, Greek terms that were probably used for these persons in the Hellenistic period, but certainly not by the Parthians or Persians of that time themselves. Is there any historical evidence that Parthian officials bore such designations? I cannot find any references to this anywhere.
You asked for it ... the three Maji were three Zoroastrian priests of the Parthian era of Iran. As for their origin: Zoroastrianism goes back some 3600 years ago. Ofc in pre-Zoroastrian times the Iranian people did already have their deities and a strong priestly class called the Maji and pronounced Mogh in Persian. Zoroaster was a Maji or a priest himself except at some point he received revelations and ended up establishing Zoroastrianism. At first, the Maji were against him and hated him. It was only later and with the aid of a king that his religion took off. The other Maji ended up adopting this religion but maintained their power as the priestly class for many many centuries. The Parthian Empire or the Arsacid Empire as the second Persian Empire in Iran was very multi-ethic in which many religions were practiced but Zoroastism was the main religion among the Iranians, as well as in many lands surrounding Iran such as Armenia. The Parthians ruled from 247 BC to 224 AD which does cover the period of the birth of Jesus. So the Three Kings from the East seem to have been three Zoroastrian priests or three Moghs or three Maji out of Iran. By the way, Maji is the origin of the word "magic" in European languages.
@@hutek4202 Thats not the same guy, what you talk is Marcus Licinius Crassus, and the gold thing is a myth made decades after his death. I think you didn't watched the carefully the part of Mithridates I
@@wankawanka3053 not arabia music, go read some history about sassanid you fought a 14 years old king, iranshahr was going to collapse at that time and wanted to start a new dynasty
Parthian : how many times would you like to sacked our capital? Roman : yes. You have to give it to the parthian though no matter how many times thier capital get sacked they always came back stronger.
Wouldn’t that feed need to be like 2 hours long? That is such a complicated and controversially divided area that it’s be difficult to talk about objectively without the video being excessive in length. It’s be very interesting, of course. But oh boy, I don’t envy having to make that video.
There is some inaccuracy. The seleucids kindom didn't control Judea after the 2th century bc. There is also no historical proof Crasus was executed with molten gold. He possibly was killed during the battle or during an attempt to rout.
The battle trick of the Parthians, to turn back and shoot your bow to get the pursuers..was first a thing (a Pathian shot), we have changed it only slightly to be a " parting shot"...
You asked for feedback on why this video didnt do better, a simple observation. Most the video is watching a map with different color blobs growing and shrinking while you give context to the history. More variety with you presentation
Is it true that Rostam of Shahname is based on general Surena? If I remember correctly Rostam was also born in Sistan region where Surena originated from
"Rostam Pahlav" of the Iranian clan "Suren", known in the West simply as "Surena". His real first name, Rostam means "Strong as a River" and has been a popular name in the Iranian realm for centuries. The first name "Surena" has become relatively popular in the last 2 or 3 decades in Iran as more has been known about him among the general population. After his huge victory over the Romans at Carrhae, he became more popular than the king which is an automatic death sentence and a universal tragedy. You can see many instances across the history of very popular generals that end up losing their life once they become more popular than the king. Some of Surena's fame contributed to the creation of the mythological Iranian hero of "Rostam", the same name as the main hero of the epic "Shahnameh" or The Book of Kings written by Ferdowsi. Indeed Surena and the mythological Rostam are archetypes of the Iranian archetypal myth of a very powerful figure with many positive attributes that is NOT the king but without him, the king could not have stayed in power. Surena made it possible for the Parthian king Orodes II to rule, the same way the mythological Rostam made it possible for king Kaykavus to rule and much the same way Ali Ibn Abi Talib made the success of the prophet Muhammad possible. Hence, one of the many reasons why Imam Ali fits the Iranian psyche of how a real hero is supposed to be and is popular in Iran. As you know, the Parthians were the second pre-Islamic Iranian empire, preceded by the Acheminids (with a Greek Seleucid interruption) and followed by the Sassanids. Other powerful Parthian clans besides clan Suren were clan Karen and clan Mehran which were influential during the Sassanian Empire too. They lost much of their power after the Arab invasion of Iran but clan Mehran seems to have lasted for a few centuries more in what is now the Semnan province of Iran. General Rostam Farokhzad, as brave and significant as he was, simply got his first name due to the fame of Rostam Pahlav of the clan Suren that by then had already entered Iranian mythology.
Additional Interesting Info on the Parthians:
The Parni were members of the larger Dahae tribal confederacy(Residing near the Jaxartes river) before breaking off and settling slightly south east of Bactria.
Before converting to Zoroastrianism the Parni practiced Iranian Polytheism.
The Parthians had several different “capital cities”... which was essentially any city that the Parthians rode into and held court. However, this was usually Ctesiphon for most of the year and Ecbatana in the hot summer months.
The general executed after the battle of Carrhae was from the Suren Clan. The Suren clan founded their own kingdom(indo-Parthian) later. I would guess having that prominent family member executed played into the family’s decision to separate from the empire.
Ancient sources differ on the Parthian response to Caracalla’s marriage proposal. They either said yes and he killed the wedding party (red wedding style) or they said “no” and then they went to war.
TYPO
AT 10:46 Caption should be "63 AD Peace Treaty", not "63BC Peace Treaty"
First
Hey Epimetheus, could you post the geographical map you made for the region of eastern Med and Middle East and the Iranian Plateau in this video? It's really good.:D
So your basically saying the red wedding happened in Iran. Anyone who whants to create a fantasy move should just create a move about Irans history
@@arianrezaie4729 but Iranian history is not fantasy...
I see that someone is watcjing Yore history channel.
Man I love that all these different empires get their own characters. Your library of drawings must be getting pretty large!
It’s getting kinda
*T H I C C*
Yeah, it's like a more serious Hetalia
Archemenids: Powerful. Balanced.
Parthians: Defensive Persia. +20 to def when fighting inside your borders.
Sassanids: Agressive Persia: +25 to atk when fighting outside your borders.
Iran is very mountainous. That is the key to its defensiveness through history. Geopolitics.
@@R3GARnator should I woosh you?
Parthians claimed ancestry from the Achaemenids and cyrus the great, so they were Persian.
@Iranian Azeri well if they claimed ancestry from Cyrus the great and Achaemenids that makes them Persian, atleast the ruling class. Also afghan is a nationality not ethnicity and 40% pf their population is Persian.
@Iranian Azeri Totally agree with your comment. Persians were just one of many Iranic Tribes. Just like modern day Germans are just one of the Germanic people. Danes ,Norwegians , Swedes, Dutch are also Germanic people but not Germans. During Sassanid era Persians gained prominence and due to that, several other tribes adopted Persian language. In terms of genetics ( especially looking at Paternal Y DNA), it is a whole different story.
Mithridates I's tactics and strategy for rulership seem legit way ahead of their time.
dude ,,,seems way ahead of it's time ,,, i agree ,,
but ,,im of the belief that the same culture is at the heart of many big events since then ,,and academia is more than aware and omitting the details forming the connection from published works ,,and other means of stifling any common knowledge of connecting
Parthian prince: I'm bored....How about we have a civil war?
His brother: Oo Oo (raising his hand excitedly) can I join in?
His cousin: Nah mate I feel like sacking Armenia again. Who's in?
Their King: for f**s sake we were supposed to fight the Romans!! it says so in the calendar! Fight the Romans on Thursday THEN civil war for the weekend. And we already sacked Armenia yesterday.
Parthian nobles: "sad noises"
haha😂 Hilarious...and more or less accurate
Ultimate lol
Parthian Civil War is basically Roman civil war but with more horses
@@protarngonist2449 Parthian and Roman were the same. The Room was actually north west Persia and it was different from Rome
Very nice 😂
"He decided it was a good time to invade the Roman Empire. It was not." The dry humor, it cracks me up.
I am glad you enjoy my dry humor. :) Seeing all the internet Cen-sor-SH!P these days...it is a good time to be a "faceless man"- keep the faith my brother-E
@@EpimetheusHistory I wish I could upvote you a million times. I totally agree with what you say.
As despicable cancel culture is, there is a silver lining: the fools are turning on each other 🤣
I guess the Parthians and Romans aren't the only ones keen on civil war
@@johnsmith-ir1ne Lmao, I agree with you.
Great one man, along with your telling of history, I always love your uniquely personal touch with your illustrations. Looking forward to more!
Thanks Cy! I am happy you enjoy my illustrations! This year has been very tough....trying to get back into the rhythm I was in before. BTW you have an awesome channel :)
@@EpimetheusHistory Thanks my friend, but the inspiration for mine comes from great channels likes yours! Looking forward to more!
Sad Seleucid noises...
Happy Iranian noises 😅
Happy Ptolemy sounds.
ATG IMM they’re talking about noises not noses
@@vicwang5543 Or chins XD
I mean seulicides were pretty weak at the time so it makes sense
The Persian word for Arsacid is Aršaki since Arsacid comes from Arsaces which is Aršak (pronounced Ar-Shak) in Persian
damn man, wasn't expecting to see you here, i follow your insta btw, you might know me as: alireza aliabadi 5 :)
Who are the probable descendants of Arsaki? I usually heard its Pathanis. Is it true?
Ar-Shak is modern name of Arsacid
@@xerxes8191 Armenians still save the name Arshak ❤️
@@siranushkhachatryan4495 the ancient names are different from modern names
I like both the Parthians and Sassanids tbh. Both empires that stood up to Rome. Whenever they clashed it made huge battleground
You hardly ever hear this in the European version of history but the Eastern limit of Rome was always Persia, whether in the form of the Parthians or the Sassanids. The real prize for Rome was always the east which it could never really conquer and not necessarily Europe. With a few exceptions, the major battles of Rome were with and its main concern was always Persia. It was centuries of battles with Persia that weakened both lands which were one of the main reasons for the success of the Arab invasion.
Read "The Silk Roads: A New History of the World" by Peter Frankopan.
ایرانی ها روم را خورد کردند
So in conclusion. Cararcalla's invasion into Parthia was a simp crussade.
Lol, imagine being one of his soldier, that forced to cosplaying macedonian phalanx, must be an embarassing moment.
When you put it that way...
@@muhamadsayyidabidin3906
I believe one of his soldiers killed Caraculla on the road when he was taking a dump.
Not really. Caracalla knew that the marriage wouldn't be accepted. It was just an excuse to invade Parthia. Infact he tried to invade Parthia earlier because Roman hostages were in Parthian hands.
@@austinford1530 The Canaanites hate the Persians
Mithridates I seems to be pretty chill and wise for this period.
Mithradates s real name is mithradata
Having watched Overly Sarcastic Productions' History Hijinks- Failed assassinations, you should check out Mithridates *the sixth*
@@shanedoesyoutube8001 I mean obviously the newer version is better
@@shanedoesyoutube8001 he is talking about Mithridates the First of PARTHIA, Mithridates the Sixth (that famous one) was king of PONTUS.
I know, i know, ancient people werent very creative naming their childs haha
@@WILLIAN_1424 and then the Brits and Gallic Franks preserve that kind of bitchass
One of the underrated empires
@Hassan Abdulsalam
RIP:Roman invasion of Iran
@Hassan Abdulsalam
Though Parthians disappeared long before the Seljuks however their effects continued for a long time, even after their disappearance.
Shut up
@Iranian Azeri
😅😅one of the biggest jokes i have ever heard
@Iranian Azeri they got completely disappeared just like Lydians,Hittites,Elamites etc. Nobody is nowadays parthian
Educational and entertaining, can't ask for more...but please keep them coming. I find that after the third time I watch them, I start remembering and enjoying your videos more than the first time I watch them.
Surena, the general who crushed the Romans in the Battle of Carrhae and was supposedly executed by the Parthian Emperor, is described by Plutarch as follows -- "Surena was no ordinary person; but in fortune, family and honour, the first after the king; and in point of courage and capacity, as well as in size and beauty, superior to the Parthians of his time. If he went only upon an excursion into the country, he had a thousand camels to carry his baggage, and two hundred carriages for his concubines. He was attended by thousand heavy-armed horse, and many more of the light-armed rode before him. Indeed, his vassals and slaves made up a body of cavalry little less than ten thousand."
What do you mean
"Rostam Pahlav" of the Iranian clan "Suren", known in the West simply as "Surena". His real first name, Rostam means "Strong as a River" and has been a popular name in the Iranian realm for centuries. The first name "Surena" has become relatively popular in the last 2 or 3 decades in Iran as more has been known about him among the general population.
After his huge victory over the Romans at Carrhae, he became more popular than the king which is an automatic death sentence and a universal tragedy. You can see many instances across the history of very popular generals that end up losing their life once they become more popular than the king.
The Parthians were the second pre-Islamic Iranian empire, preceded by the Acheminids (with a Greek Seleucid interruption) and followed by the Sassanids. Other powerful Parthian clans besides clan Suren were clan Karen and clan Mehran which were influential during the Sassanian Empire too. They lost much of their power after the Arab invasion of Iran but clan Mehran seems to have lasted for a few centuries more in what is now the Semnan province of Iran.
Some of Surena's fame contributed to the creation of the mythological Iranian hero of "Rostam", the same name as the main hero of the epic "Shahnameh" or The Book of Kings written by Ferdowsi. Indeed Surena and the mythological Rostam are archetypes of the Iranian archetypal myth of a very powerful figure with many positive attributes that is NOT the king but without him, the king could not have stayed in power. Surena made it possible for the Parthian king Orodes II
to rule, the same way the mythological Rostam made it possible for king Kaykavus to rule and much the same way Ali Ibn Abi Talib made the success of the prophet Muhammad possible. Hence, one of the many reasons why Ali fits the Iranian psyche of how a real hero is supposed to be and is popular in Iran.
Persia had no concubines, because they had pride and respect for women, and Zoroastrianism was their religion. Same with some Chinese dynasties.
تو تاریخ جعلیه پهلوی رو خوندی چی میگی واسه خودت اولا که سورینا بلوچ بود واشکانیان سورینارو ساختن دومن دران زمان اصلا صیغه نبود وبلوچها تا به امروز هم صیغه نمیکنن .واین تاریخ جعلیه وربطی به ایران وفارس نداره
@@a_l7515 Bs.
This is really one of your best video to date, always had interest in Parthians, we dont know much of them which is a shame, they were Nomadic and didn't built so much fortifications and cities like later Sassanians. It is seen from their Nomadic Scythian heritage and they were also tolerated to other religions and customs, they appreciated a lot of Hellenic culture.
Ya..but they made treaties...
I think the Parthians were Greeks mixed with the local people.
Hi, said the Parthians. Taking over the entire place
Heyyy said the Romans, eating the entire Mediterranean for breakfast
@Just Man You mean the Western Roman Empire? I mean yeah, it was one of the factors that led to the fall of Western Rome, but what's your point anyway?
*"during the four decade long raid of Mithridates the First"* what a fucking time to be alive that must be
Parthian were one of the main group of ancient iran.median.persian.parthian.amards.saca.elamate....
In conclusion when theres no one else to fight, fight your family 🤗
History repeats itself. When there are no enemies to fight, people look within their own borders to eat themselves alive 🤦♂️
This is why nations must always maintain a stringent ruling philosophy and always find a unifying purpose for their people.
and when there IS everyone else to fight, DEFINATELY fight your family, First!
And now I officially run out of Epimetheus videos to watch. It has been quite the trip in time. Lovely drawings too
Thanks! Working on more :)
Probably many do not know that Parthian
were actually Iranian!
So little has been done on this so important civilization. Thank you!
I find the fact that history is full of giant migrations of people groups really interesting, especially since these days its extremely rare.
True
Someone’s gonna wright about europe immigration crisis eventually, so I’ll just do it myself
Well, just look at the colonisation of america and australia, which happend relatively recent.
Human migration is practically the norm of human history.
@@Ake-TL Yeah, they conquered us. We live under syrian rule now. Totally. Well, not really.
Dude who knew the Parthians were so wholesome, I assumed they just kinda tolerated the Greeks but damn
They didn't just tolerate them they literally had the word friend of the greeks on their coins
Next up: Ghaznavids? Lakhmids? Himyar? Or maybe the Durranis of Afghanistan? Maybe an episode breaking down the satrap system in Achamenid and Sassanid Persia? Also Oman Sultanate and their history with east African coast would be intresting. Just some suggestions from a longtime sub, keep it up man!
Let's do every faction from Total war rome 2
@@christianweibrecht6555 agree we should start with saba
Ghaznavids +1 most underrated islamic empire
Ghaznavids would be good
They're all nations and cultures I know next to nothing about. As that era of time in that part of the world isn't covered much.
Been watching you for 3 years now and I've never regretted a moment very informative much appreciated
Thanks Aaron for watching since back then! :)
Love Iran Love Afganistan from Tajikistan ♥️🇹🇯🇮🇷🇦🇫♥️
❤
Love the world from India
@Just Man Iran belongs to anyone who loves Iran, it's an ancient land of thousand nations. There have been several so called Iranians in the course of history who betrayed that land. You are too low to determine whom Iran belongs to!
in a few years time, china will invade your country, take care
❤️❤️ for tajikistan
great video, really like your style of telling narrative history, especially of the not so well known civilizations that are not completely obscure, like a good middle ground of known and unknown stories, 10/10
I believe a video on the Medes wouldn’t be a too bad idea either, I don’t see one on them. You could talk about how they united the Iranian people and such.
Very well put together, best overall vid on TH-cam for parthians. One correction is that the rival of Crassus was Pompey and not Caesar, whom he benefited under his wing bailing him out of debts and having his son serve with him.
Great video man.
Things we either forgot a out or we never knew.
A great Iranian Empire.
Iran tha par islam nahi
@@शिवबाआमचामल्हारी Exactly
@@शिवबाआमचामल्हारी Islam was founded in early 7th century AD.
@@veryraedAnd it wasn't the religion of the majority of Iranians until several centuries later if I remember correctly right?
Great Kurd Emporior
Persians are awesome, needs dlc in Imperator rome.
Hello my persian brothers and sisters from Armenia ..Long live Iran
❤
Great video 👌, have you thought to cover the various units and military structure of the Seleucid Empire.
Another interesting video, thanks for that! Keep up the good work.
When you're a second-century Roman Emperor and you're bored, so you decide to sack Ctesiphon again.
Rome attacked Parthia during the time of civil war and political turmoil, in fact they did not even send an army to confront Rome, so this is not as big a victory as Westerners claim.
We call Vologases "Balâsh" in Persian.
@Armin S It's not really simplified, it just underwent pretty consistent sound changes.
w --> b
rd --> l
xš --> š
Wardāxš --> Balāš
beautifull to see this channel again
Amazing job, as always! Thanks
Love your take on the Parthians! One of my favourite periods/empires. Cheers!
Yore History not as perfect as yours
Yay new video! Thanks!
Good video as always
I wish the Parthians wrote more down then we'd have more sources on central asia from this time
Please, talk about the Kingdom of Pontus and its king Mithridates VI
One of Rome deadliest enemy
@@yaqubleis6311 My personal favourite
@@mithridatesvi1650 Nader shah is my favourite military commander of all time
@@mithridatesvi1650 Cyrus the great control 2 out 3 of the known world Cyrus the great is one of the best military commander in history if not the greatest in history never lost a battle conquered Median empire, Neo-Babylonian Empire , Lydian empire, Gandhara Kingdom or empire was powerful state , Elam , ancient Phoenicia ,Cyrus' Conquest of Elam Part of the Wars of Cyrus the Great also beat Iranic nomads and others created the most powerful empire of is time the biggest the world has seen in that time Cyrus was outnumber many time for example Cyrus defeated Lydians three times.
He won the battle of Pteria while he had 20 000 to 30 000 soldiers but Lydians had 90 000 to 95 000
He won the battle of Thymbra while he had 49 000 to 50 000 soldiers but Lydians had 105 000 to 110 000 soldiers. He conquered Sardis and defeated the Ionians. He established a large empire 10 years(or less) and rulled over it for 30 years. Cyrus the great was outnumbered in half of his battles. He never lost a war Cyrus defeated and conquered the 2 most powerful empires of is time tell me one military commander that conquered 2 most powerful empires of there time at there height the Medes and Babylonians were at the height of their power) AT HEIGHT OF THEIR POWER Alexander never beat Iranian empire at their height of their power) Hannibal Barca couldn’t even conquered Rome before Rome was empire and Alexander didn’t beat the Iranian empire at height Cyrus actually beat the most powerful Empires of is time at there height
@@yaqubleis6311 You are totaly right
I love this narration. Thanks :)
*Damn even in 2020 Armenia Still can't catch a break.*
Several important generals under the Sasanian Empire were Armenian.
@Arian Jangali makes sense, as Parthians had a major presence in Armenia
@Arian Jangali same goes to georgian and azerbaijani, Parthia just owned the region
Armenia hasn't catched a day of rest since Noah's Ark times smh
@@AminCad several important generals under every empire in the middle-east were Armenian.
Some Jewish too.
Both ethnicities know how to enter the clubs of political and economic power and elite status.
Not trying to insult either ethnicity but they know how to gain status.
Great job, sir! I truly appreciate your dry sense of humor as you described the extraordinary tug of war between rival factions within Rome, Parthia and the Sassanids.
General Surena❤
He was a great General , so sad he was execution !!
@@Fery-Mythology man won one single battle, against the worst roman general chill out
@@pooroldman5089 lol what?
Sir I inform u that ur fabulous content moved me to an instant subscription.Have a nice day.
Imagine if he talked about the Tu'i Tonga Empire
The what???
Came back for a second viewing to bump up the view count after seeing your update, my brother. Keep up the good work!
FYI, the word ' Baghdad ' is a Persian word consisting of two words of Bagh and Da'd. Meaning God Given. The Arab word for what was later to become the capital of the Muslim Arabs was Madaen. This is the plural of Medina ( city ) which in Arabic means two cities. This referred to the two cities on the oppposite banks of the river Tigris. There are many theories, none proven, of who the Parthians were, but Ardeshir ( Arsacid in Roman ) himself considered his lineage Persian. Their capital as you know was Ecbatana which is about 200 Km south West of Tehran.
Arsaces = arshak not ardashir bro. Ardashir = sassanid Arshak = parthian
Fascinating that some groups after taking over they choose to adapt the culture and language (morph into) of the captured instead of imposing their own. It would be curious to see a list of these groups and try to understand the reason for it. Perhaps the persians had left such a complex bureaucracy that it was quickly adapted by everyone to maintain large lands with diverse ethnic groups
The first one on the list is the Hittites (Hatti).
Iranians (Parthians, Persians and Medes)
Most of the Parthian kings were Medes.! The culture, language, and much more of the empire was also realized. The Medes rebelled and finally agreed with Ardashir to end the parthian state and create the Sassanid Empire.! Many sources consider the Ardshir family to be the parthian as a change of dynastic power.!!
@@Ardonbb all parthians kings are descandant of arshak/arsaces who was a Scythian Iranian from Central Asia. the Parthians claimed to be descendants of the Achaemenid Persians. and the Medes no longer existed as a people at that time. Ardashir was a Persian from the Fars region who was powerful. He simply overthrew Artaban, the last Parthian king. please don't try to rewrite history
@@lel3225 hahahahaha. You dream To much i think.!
@@lel3225 you don't know history.! Many Parthian kings were kings of Media. You say there was no media then🤣🤣🫵🏻. There is no such thing as Persian history.! Pripatius and Tiridates were Medes, not Arsacea. Prepatius was a Seleucid vassal.!! During the reign of Mithras, he introduced the culture and language of the Medes into the empire and abolished the culture of Arsaki and selucia. He moved his capital to Baghdad.
Yes the seven noble families consisted of that
One of my favorite Persian empires
عزیز جان پارتها اصلا فارس نبودن. اگه دقت کنی تو ویدیو پرشیا رو فتح کردن
Persian????😂
They were Partian.
Iranic empires?
another great one
Well, i am seeing it because you posted about it, but being honest, i didn't even know you made this video because TH-cam never recommended it, it really is a good video but it isn't liked by the algorithm for some reason
Thanks for leaving the comment :) is good info.
One of the best Empire of ancient time the Parthian Empire ruled 300 years or more as super power Empire
Who told you that it was a super power for 300 years ?
You have inferiority complex and misery to other nations. Poor Yaqub
@S U source ?
@@AltaicTroll Parthia Was super strong!
@S U Greeks were vassal of Darius the Great and also Greeks destroyed one Iranian empire the Achaemenid Empire under one of the worst ruler in history of Iran but Iranians like Parthians and Scythians destroyed 3 Greek empires the Seleucid empire, Indo Greek and Greco-Bactrian Kingdom and Seleucid and Greco Bactrian Empires were among the biggest and most powerful Empires of there time both got destroyed by Mithridates I the Great of Parthian Empire and also Mithridates the Great the poison king of the Pontic empire who spoke 22 languages and Rome deadliest enemy was Persian origin IRANIC ORIGIN NOT GREEK descendants of the the greatest ruler and military commander in history CYRUS THE GREAT
Very nice, very clear. Thanks :)
Very good Thank you👍❤
Great topic, thx.
Can you make a video about the Gupta empire or Maurya empire.
@Just Man so ? He was Indian that's all
What makes the Parthians so interessting is that they kept the hellenistic greek culture allong with persian influence. Awesome video I really enjoyed it!
They were related to scythians
@Armin S I wouldn't really call them that tbf
@Armin S nah they definitely re wrote history so it favors them
@Armin S EU lapdog go back to israel
Parthians were turkish people.
they mentioned my empire
This ancient history documentary sheds light on the Parthians, a formidable empire that challenged Rome with its unique tactics and resilient warriors. 🏹🏇
greetings to all the dimili (zazas) the talysh the gilaki and the mazandarani and to those who love and respect us 😀😀
Hello, I would like to ask a question.
I found a video on TH-cam in which the claim was made that Parthian officials were called "Sophoi" and priests "Magoi" - to make a reference to the Magoi mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew, but according to current theory, they were rather Zoroastrian priests from Media (Moghu). Both are, in my opinion, Greek terms that were probably used for these persons in the Hellenistic period, but certainly not by the Parthians or Persians of that time themselves.
Is there any historical evidence that Parthian officials bore such designations? I cannot find any references to this anywhere.
You asked for it ... the three Maji were three Zoroastrian priests of the Parthian era of Iran.
As for their origin: Zoroastrianism goes back some 3600 years ago. Ofc in pre-Zoroastrian times the Iranian people did already have their deities and a strong priestly class called the Maji and pronounced Mogh in Persian. Zoroaster was a Maji or a priest himself except at some point he received revelations and ended up establishing Zoroastrianism. At first, the Maji were against him and hated him. It was only later and with the aid of a king that his religion took off. The other Maji ended up adopting this religion but maintained their power as the priestly class for many many centuries.
The Parthian Empire or the Arsacid Empire as the second Persian Empire in Iran was very multi-ethic in which many religions were practiced but Zoroastism was the main religion among the Iranians, as well as in many lands surrounding Iran such as Armenia. The Parthians ruled from 247 BC to 224 AD which does cover the period of the birth of Jesus.
So the Three Kings from the East seem to have been three Zoroastrian priests or three Moghs or three Maji out of Iran. By the way, Maji is the origin of the word "magic" in European languages.
I love your videos Man
Amazing video! Thanks, I'd love to see your host of ilustrations
thumbnail looks like a tf2 mod
also nice vid. im subbing for more
Great work
The Parthian Empire seems the friendliest empire ever, considering how they treated Basileus Demetrius II.
Best treated prisoner
(they poured molten gold down crassus' throat)
@@hutek4202 Thats not the same guy, what you talk is Marcus Licinius Crassus, and the gold thing is a myth made decades after his death.
I think you didn't watched the carefully the part of Mithridates I
Javanmardi (Parthian chivalric code of honor) is one of the most important pillars of Iranian masculinity.
wich was more powerfull the parthian empire or the sassanid empire?
Parthians regional power
Sassanians global power
Go figure it out
Definitely Sasanid
Parthians were good at defending the main land.
Sassanids good at world domination until...
@@PersianHistorian arabia music starts playing
@@wankawanka3053 not arabia music, go read some history about sassanid you fought a 14 years old king, iranshahr was going to collapse at that time and wanted to start a new dynasty
Anyone else get a really strong urge to play Rome total war after watching this?
Please, make more videos on East and Southeast Asia
i Love your videos
Parthian : how many times would you like to sacked our capital?
Roman : yes.
You have to give it to the parthian though no matter how many times thier capital get sacked they always came back stronger.
Would you consider doing a Video about the caucasus? The caucasus has a long and diverse history to talk about.
Wouldn’t that feed need to be like 2 hours long? That is such a complicated and controversially divided area that it’s be difficult to talk about objectively without the video being excessive in length.
It’s be very interesting, of course. But oh boy, I don’t envy having to make that video.
I would be genuinely happy to see mentioning of Georgia 😊
Made my day!
I love history
Man, it must of sucked to live in those border areas....
What are we today
There is some inaccuracy.
The seleucids kindom didn't control Judea after the 2th century bc.
There is also no historical proof Crasus was executed with molten gold. He possibly was killed during the battle or during an attempt to rout.
Underrated channel, nice vid
The battle trick of the Parthians, to turn back and shoot your bow to get the pursuers..was first a thing (a Pathian shot), we have changed it only slightly to be a " parting shot"...
some things never change✨
That’s an empire many people don’t talk about
@KURDİSH MUSİC HOME ppl lived in East of iran are kurd?
Awesome content
Could you do one about the Swedish Empire?
I saw the community post, I think some videos just won't get picked up by the "algo"
This video is as great as your others
Time to play RTW Ab Urbe Condita as the Parthian empire again
it is so hard to play as parthia you have no powerfull troop in the begining and ptolemic empire in your neighborhood is very aggressive
Make a history of Champa video please
Parthians are nomadic people well there in the family of indo-Iranians I think
They are. Their descendants are Northern Iranian, from Mazandaran and Gorgan provinces
Great video👌
Parthians (and other Iranians tribes), Armenians, Albanians & Greek tribes are metioned in the oldest hymns of Hindu literature Rigveda.
May I know what are their names in Sanskrit?
@@alphabeta525
The five Aryan tribes that move westward as per rigveda are -
Nationality - Sansrkut name
Iranians = Parthava / Parshava
Paktuns = Pkhta / Bhalna
Greeks = Alina (ancient: Helena)
Armenians = Bhrgu (Phrygians)
Albanian = Shimyu (Sirmios)
These are also the 5 indo-aryan languages, as per medieval researcher linguists which remain together for a longer time & then separated.
©Shri.Shrikantrao TaLgeri.
Albanians ?????? Really ?
Albanians what you mean the ones in caucasus
Great video, thanks!
That strange feeling when Rome on the map is not red...
You asked for feedback on why this video didnt do better, a simple observation.
Most the video is watching a map with different color blobs growing and shrinking while you give context to the history.
More variety with you presentation
Is it true that Rostam of Shahname is based on general Surena? If I remember correctly Rostam was also born in Sistan region where Surena originated from
No it based on Rostam e Farokhzad an Iranian General during late Sassanid era which fought Muslim Arabs
"Rostam Pahlav" of the Iranian clan "Suren", known in the West simply as "Surena". His real first name, Rostam means "Strong as a River" and has been a popular name in the Iranian realm for centuries. The first name "Surena" has become relatively popular in the last 2 or 3 decades in Iran as more has been known about him among the general population.
After his huge victory over the Romans at Carrhae, he became more popular than the king which is an automatic death sentence and a universal tragedy. You can see many instances across the history of very popular generals that end up losing their life once they become more popular than the king.
Some of Surena's fame contributed to the creation of the mythological Iranian hero of "Rostam", the same name as the main hero of the epic "Shahnameh" or The Book of Kings written by Ferdowsi. Indeed Surena and the mythological Rostam are archetypes of the Iranian archetypal myth of a very powerful figure with many positive attributes that is NOT the king but without him, the king could not have stayed in power. Surena made it possible for the Parthian king Orodes II
to rule, the same way the mythological Rostam made it possible for king Kaykavus to rule and much the same way Ali Ibn Abi Talib made the success of the prophet Muhammad possible. Hence, one of the many reasons why Imam Ali fits the Iranian psyche of how a real hero is supposed to be and is popular in Iran.
As you know, the Parthians were the second pre-Islamic Iranian empire, preceded by the Acheminids (with a Greek Seleucid interruption) and followed by the Sassanids. Other powerful Parthian clans besides clan Suren were clan Karen and clan Mehran which were influential during the Sassanian Empire too. They lost much of their power after the Arab invasion of Iran but clan Mehran seems to have lasted for a few centuries more in what is now the Semnan province of Iran.
General Rostam Farokhzad, as brave and significant as he was, simply got his first name due to the fame of Rostam Pahlav of the clan Suren that by then had already entered Iranian mythology.