Ashkānīyān: Farmānravāyān-i farāmūsh'shudah (Tārīkh-i Īrān zamīn 3): Persian 1402

The Parthians (247 BC to 224 AD) are one of the amazing dynasties of Iranian history, because on the one hand, they are the longest-lasting dynasty in Iranian history with 471 years of reign, and on the other hand, we have few historical writings and archeological works from them. There are no historical books from the Parthian period left and only vague references to the Parthians have been made in Iranian sources, as Ferdowsi wrote beautifully: Because I have not heard of it except by name, nor have I seen it in Khosvan's letter, Greek and Roman historical sources also had a peripheral view of the Parthians and They have only written about them when there was a war between the Iranians and the Romans, so the periods of peace between the two governments have sunk into the darkness of history. In addition, it seems that the Parthians did not pay much attention to recording their history, because there are few stone inscriptions left from them, none of which provide important historical reports. In this situation, the only tools left for historians are the coins obtained from this period, so today we know several Parthian kings only from their coins. These limitations have caused that despite the passage of several centuries since the beginning of academic research and archaeological excavations, it is still an unattainable dream to write a continuous and accurate history of these "forgotten rulers". Despite all these shortcomings, today we know very well that the Parthians played a central role in guarding the culture and civilization of Iran. For nearly five centuries, they stood as an impenetrable barrier on the one hand against the Seleucid and Roman attacks on Iran, and on the other hand, they stopped the raids of the nomads in the northeast of Iran. In order to better understand this issue, it should be remembered that during the rule of the Parthians, the Seleucid kings attacked Iran three times and the Romans six times with large armies, but none of them could achieve anything and were forced to retreat defeated and humiliated (of course, in this There were also many small wars in which the Parthians won many of them. These victories were achieved at a time when the Romans had conquered all of Europe, North Africa, Anatolia, and Syria, and no power except the Parthians could stand against their expansionism. If the rule of the Greeks in Iran remained intact or the Romans occupied this land, perhaps the Iranian language, culture, and civilization would have disappeared forever and today there would be no trace of Iran and Iranians left, just as ancient and deep-rooted civilizations such as ancient Egypt under the pressure of Greek culture and Rumi passed away. Therefore, Iranians today owe their identity and culture to the brave Parthian archers. The third book of the "History of Iranland Collection" introduces the history, civilization, and culture of Iranland from the rise of the Achaemenids to the rise of the Sassanids. The main subject of this book is the Parthian dynasty and its historical ups and downs, and we have tried to show the dusty face of these "forgotten rulers" to the young Iranian generation, however, in the first chapters of this very short book, the Seleucids and the Iranian governments that emerged after the death of Alexander We have also introduced The global impact of Iranian civilization and culture is one of the topics that require more attention from Iranian researchers, and the author's greatest hope is that some of the readers of this book will do research in this field in the future. As we have written in the preface of the previous books, the most important goal of this collection is to acquaint the Iranian public with the history and ancient civilization of Iran, and it tries to be a bridge between non-academic enthusiasts and academic research books. In this book, we have pursued the same goal and tried to present to our dear readers a detailed and scientific report with fluent and non-specialist language about the Parthians, using the best and most up-to-date academic research, and for the more serious lovers of Iranian history, a door to more specialized works and Let's open the beautiful world of Iranology.