
Contents
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Introduction Introduction
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Mithradates I and an Arsacid Parthian Empire Mithradates I and an Arsacid Parthian Empire
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The Reign of Mithradates II The Reign of Mithradates II
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First Meeting with the Romans First Meeting with the Romans
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Sinatruces and Instability in Arsacid Parthian Rulership Sinatruces and Instability in Arsacid Parthian Rulership
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Tigranes of Armenia and Mithradates VI of Pontus Tigranes of Armenia and Mithradates VI of Pontus
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Dealings with Lucullus and Pompey Dealings with Lucullus and Pompey
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The Impact of Carrhae The Impact of Carrhae
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The Role and Importance of Armenia The Role and Importance of Armenia
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Phraates IV and Rome Phraates IV and Rome
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Parthia and the Julio-Claudian Dynasty of Imperial Rome Parthia and the Julio-Claudian Dynasty of Imperial Rome
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Parthia, Nero, and Armenia Parthia, Nero, and Armenia
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The Structure of the Parthian Empire The Structure of the Parthian Empire
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Conclusion Conclusion
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Bibliography Bibliography
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22 The Parthians: An Empire on the Rise
Get accessPeter Edwell is associate professor in ancient history in the Department of History and Archaeology at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. He researches and teaches on the relationship between the Roman and Iranian worlds and in the area of late antiquity/early Byzantium more broadly. He is currently a member of the project Crises of Leadership in the Eastern Roman Empire funded by the Australian Research Council and has written a number of books and articles focusing on the relationship between Rome and its powerful eastern neighbor. His most recent monograph, Rome and Persia at War: Imperial Competition and Contact, 193–363 CE was published in 2021 by Routledge.
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Published:22 April 2025
Cite
Abstract
The rise of the Parthian Empire had significant ramifications and implications for the history of the Hellenistic and Roman Near East. This chapter focuses primarily on the development of the Parthian Empire from the reign of Mithradates I through to the reign of Vologaeses I (ad 51–78) when the impact of the Parthian imperial expansion was felt most dramatically by the Seleucids and Romans in the Near East. The reign of Vologaeses saw Rome and Parthia come to a long-term arrangement over Armenia, and the agreement became a baseline of negotiations between the two powers for centuries. The chapter also makes some broad observations on the structure of the Parthian Empire and the extent to which previously negative historical perspectives about the Parthians have changed in recent scholarship.
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