Parthians - were they forgotten from here?

[MagyarTanhu]

What is about the PARTHIANS? Do they not belong to these topics? I knew few about them but at least know they were famous horse nation before the Sassanids did not defeat them. Were not they descendants of Scythians?

I miss any information about them on these sites...

[H. İhsan Erkoç]

Uhm appearently, they were a horseback-riding people but they were from Khorasan, which is not considered a part of the Eurasian Steppe Zone. However, we can discuss about them here as well

[sarmat]

I believe this thread should be moved to Central Asia "2nd Century BC - 5th Century AD." Parthians were not a part of the Western Steppe.

[H. İhsan Erkoç]

Yes, you're right.

[Temüjin]

but Parthians originate from the region what is now Turkmenistan, plus they were a Saka tribe.

[sarmat]

But that still doesn't make them a part of the Western Steppe :-) They are in Central Asian section now where they belong...

[H. İhsan Erkoç]

Mar 9, 2010 22:03:58 GMT 3 Temüjin said:

but Parthians originate from the region what is now Turkmenistan, plus they were a Saka tribe.

Today's Turkmenistan is actually a big chunk of the historical Khorasan

[Temüjin]

yeah Khorasan is a vaguely defined area, i think part of Afghanistan was also considdered part of Khorasan?

[MagyarTanhu]

I have read they(Parthians) were originated from the Daha's - a Scythian tribe.

[MagyarTanhu]

Mar 10, 2010 15:55:13 GMT 3 Temüjin said:

yeah Khorasan is a vaguely defined area, i think part of Afghanistan was also considdered part of Khorasan?

This is not belonging here but even a Pakistani professor has written that Pakistani's partially are originated from Scythian and Hephtalite/White Hun ancestors.

"...Then came from Central Asia the Huns and the Turks who gave to Pakistan the present ethnic, their Culture, Food and Adab. The Jats, Gakkhars, Janjuas (Jouanjouan of the Chinese) and Gujars all trekked into Pakistan and made their home here. The Rajput rose and founded the feudal system in Punjab and Sindh in the same way the Pashtuns, who borrowed the surname of Gul and later the title of Khan from the Mongols, their Sardari system in Balochistan, and slowly developed the Wadera practice in the Indus delta region of Sindh. This feudal arrangements, which was the result of confederated tribes of the Huns, led to new administrative system in the country and created a new form of land management that has lasted until today. The tribes have fused into the agricultural society but their brotherhoods have survived and they have given a permanent character to Pakistan. ... "
….
by Professor Dr. Ahmad Hasan Dani

www.heritage.gov.pk/html_Pages/history1.html

[sarmat]

Mar 11, 2010 14:48:39 GMT 3 MagyarTanhu said:

I have read they(Parthians) were originated from the Daha's - a Scythian tribe.

Parthians and Dahae were different people. Dahae were a nomadic tribe very similar to Sakas. But a tribe of Dahae called Parni had invaded Parthia in the 3d century BC where they became the dominant class of the society. The Parthian Arsacid dynasty had Dahae origins. Those Dahae, however, were assimilated into Parthians and in time lost their identity.

[H. İhsan Erkoç]

Mar 10, 2010 15:55:13 GMT 3 Temüjin said:

yeah Khorasan is a vaguely defined area, i think part of Afghanistan was also considdered part of Khorasan?

Yes, the area of Khorasan includes a big part of eastern Iran (they got a province with that name today), most of Turkmenistan and northwestern Afghanistan During the Arabic occupation period, the Arabic governorship of Khorasan also included Khwarazm and Transoxiana as well.

[Azadan Januspar]

Parthava or Parthia was a region which gave its name to their probable kins who later took the control of the region, the Parni (Parnian) who were formerly member of the nomadic Daha confederation. Greek scholars partially equaled them with the Scythians due to their similar lifestyles with other nomadic Iranic people of Central Asia. They started their advance to what is now Turkmenistan from Oxus ( one of the major Iranian southward-migration start points). As likely one of the most prominent steppan people, their name remained equal with "agile horsemanship", "horse-archery", etc and remembered with terms like "Parthian shot". Their were unique warriors and tolerant leaders during their reign the affairs of the court and ruling society was supervised and somehow controlled by a parliamentary gathering of the noble families called "Mahestan" ("Mah" lit. the bigger meaning the wise nobles + "stan" place) which could even dethrone the unfit kings. The Sassanids attacked them when they were weakened contributing their share by impeding the continuous Roman advance in Mesopotamia and western Iran. However the noble Parthian families still remained the ruling military geniuses in Sassanid era.