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Mithridates I of Parthia

 
Mithridates I of Parthia

 
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Mithridates I of Parthia
 
 
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Mithridates I (B. 195 BC?, D. 138 BC) was the "Great King" of Parthia
Parthia

Parthia is a region of north-eastern Iran, best known for having been the political and cultural base of the Arsacid dynasty, after which the Arsacid Empire is then also known as the 'Parthian Empire'....
 from ca. 171 BC - 138 BC, succeeding his brother Phraates I
Phraates I of Parthia

Phraates I of Parthia, son of Phriapatius of Parthia , ruled the Parthia from 176 BC to 171 BC. He subdued the Mardi, tribe, a mountainous tribe in the Elburz....
. His father was King Phriapatius of Parthia
Phriapatius of Parthia

Phriapatius ruled the Parthia from 191 BC to 176 BC. He was the grandson of Tiridates I of Parthia , the brother of Arsaces I of Parthia , the founder of the Parthian Empire....
, who died ca. 176 BC). Mithridates I made Parthia into a major political power by expanding the empire to the east, south, and west.






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Mithradatesi
Mithridates I (B. 195 BC?, D. 138 BC) was the "Great King" of Parthia
Parthia

Parthia is a region of north-eastern Iran, best known for having been the political and cultural base of the Arsacid dynasty, after which the Arsacid Empire is then also known as the 'Parthian Empire'....
 from ca. 171 BC - 138 BC, succeeding his brother Phraates I
Phraates I of Parthia

Phraates I of Parthia, son of Phriapatius of Parthia , ruled the Parthia from 176 BC to 171 BC. He subdued the Mardi, tribe, a mountainous tribe in the Elburz....
. His father was King Phriapatius of Parthia
Phriapatius of Parthia

Phriapatius ruled the Parthia from 191 BC to 176 BC. He was the grandson of Tiridates I of Parthia , the brother of Arsaces I of Parthia , the founder of the Parthian Empire....
, who died ca. 176 BC). Mithridates I made Parthia into a major political power by expanding the empire to the east, south, and west. During his reign the Parthians took Herat
Herat

Herat , classically called the Aria, is a city in western Afghanistan, in the province also known as Herat province. It is situated in the valley of the Hari River, Afghanistan, which flows from the mountains of central Afghanistan to the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan....
 (in 167 BC), Babylonia
Babylonia

Babylonia was a state in Lower Mesopotamia , Babylon as its franklin. Babylonia emerged when Hammurabi created an empire out of the territories of the former kingdoms of Sumer and Akkad....
 in (144 BC), Media
Medes

The Medes were an Ancient Iranian peoples who lived in the northwestern portions of present-day Iran. This area was known in Greek as Media or Medea ....
 in (141 BC) and Persia
Persian Empire

The 'Persian Empire' was a series of successive Iranian or Persianization empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland, and beyond in Southwest Asia, South Asia, Central Asia and the Caucasus....
 in (139 BC).

Mithridates first expanded Parthia's control eastward by defeating King Eucratides of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom
Greco-Bactrian Kingdom

The Greco-Bactrian Kingdom was the easternmost part of the Hellenistic world, covering Bactria and Sogdiana in Central Asia from 250 to 125 BCE....
. This gave Parthia control over Bactria's territory west of the Arius
Hari Rud

The Hari River is a river flowing 1100 kilometers from the mountains of central Afghanistan to Turkmenistan, where it disappears in the Kara-Kum desert....
 river, the regions of Margiana and Aria (including the city of Herat
Herat

Herat , classically called the Aria, is a city in western Afghanistan, in the province also known as Herat province. It is situated in the valley of the Hari River, Afghanistan, which flows from the mountains of central Afghanistan to the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan....
 in 167 BC).
"The satrapy Turiva and that of Aspionus were taken away from Eucratides by the Parthians." (Strabo XI.11.2)


These victories gave Parthia control of the overland trade routes between east and west (the Silk Road
Silk Road

The Silk Road is an extensive interconnected network of trade routes across the Asian continent connecting East, South, and Western Asia with the Mediterranean world, including North Africa and Europe....
 and the Persian Royal Road
Royal Road

The Persian Royal Road was an ancient highway reorganized and rebuilt by the Persian Empire king Darius I of the Achaemenid Empire in the 5th century BC....
). This control of trade became the foundation of Parthia's wealth and power and was jealously guarded by the Arsacids, who attempted to maintain direct control over the lands through which the major trade routes passed.

In Persia in 139 BC, Mithridates I captured the Seleucid King Demetrius II, and held him captive for 10 years while consolidating his conquests. Demetrius II later married Mithridates I's daughter Rhodogune
Rhodogune

Rhodogune was the daughter of Mithridates I , and sister of Phraates II ....
 and had several children with her.

Parthian victories broke the tenuous link with Greeks in the West that had sustained the Hellenistic kingdom of Greco-Bactria, yet Mithridates I actively promoted Hellenism
Hellenistic civilization

File:Diadochen1.pngHellenistic civilization represents the zenith of Ancient Greece influence in the Classical Antiquity from 323 BC to about 146 BC ....
 in the areas he controlled and titled himself Philhellene ("friend of the Greeks") on his coins. The coins minted during his reign show the first appearance on Parthian coinage of a Greek-style portrait showing the royal diadem
Diadem (personal wear)

A diadem is a type of Crown , specifically an ornamental headband worn by Eastern monarchs and others as a badge of royalty. The word derives from the Greek language d??d??a diadema, from d??d?? diadeo to bind round, or fasten....
, the standard Greek symbol for kingship. Mithradates I resumed the striking of coins, which had been suspended ever since Arsaces II of Parthia
Arsaces II of Parthia

Arsaces II, also Artabanus I, of the Arsacid dynasty was King of Parthia between 211 BC and 191 BC. Greek 'Arsaces' appears as 'Artabanus' in Latin sources, and both forms appear in history books....
 (211–191 BC) had been forced to submit to the Seleucid Antiochus III
Antiochus III the Great

Antiochus III the Great, , younger son of Seleucus II Callinicus, became the 6th ruler of the Seleucid Empire as a youth of about eighteen in 223 BC....
 (223–187 BC) in 206 BC.

His name assigned him to the protection of Mithra
Mithra

Mithra is an important deity or divine concept in Zoroastrianism and later Iranian history and culture.Mithra is descended, together with the Historical Vedic religion deity Mitra , from a common proto-Indo-Iranian entity *mitra "treaty, bond"....
 and carried the god's authority in some measure.

Mithridates I's son, Phraates
Phraates II of Parthia

Phraates II of Parthia, son of Mithridates I of Parthia , the conqueror of Babylon, ruled the Parthia from 138 BC to 128 BC. He was attacked in 130 BC by Antiochus VII Sidetes , ruler of the Seleucid Empire....
 (138–128 BC), succeeded him on his death as Great King.