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Parni

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For the towns in Shirak and Lori Provinces of Armenia (respectively), seeAnushavanandMets Parni.
Parthian Warrior

TheParni(/ˈpɑːrnaɪ/;Ancient Greek:Πάρνοι,Parnoi),Aparni(/əˈpɑːrnaɪ/;Ἄπαρνοι,Aparnoi) orParnianswere aDahaetribe that, in the middle of the 3rd century BCE, invadedParthia,where they founded theArsacid dynasty.In the words ofLukas de BloisandBert van der Spek,the Parni "drove away the Greeksatraps,who had then only just acquired independence, and founded a new dynasty ".[1]At that point in time, the Parni spoke anEastern Iranian language,[2][3]

Prior to their invasion of Parthia, the Parni lived around theOchus(Panj) andHari(Tejen) rivers, southeast of theCaspian Sea.[4][3][5]However, it is believed that their original homeland may have been in thePontic Steppe(now southern Russia), from where they emigrated alongside, or as part of,Scythiantribes.[3]

Historical identity and location

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There is no unambiguous evidence of the Parni in nativeIranian languagesources,cf.[3]and all references to these people come from Greek and Latin accounts. In these accounts, which are not necessarily contemporaneous, it is difficult to unambiguously identify references to the Parni due to inconsistency of Greek/Latin naming and transliteration, and/or the similarity to names of other tribes such as the Sparni or Apartani and the Eparnoi or Asparioi. It may also be that the Parni are related to one or more of these other tribes, and that "their original homeland may have been southern Russia from where they emigrated with otherScythiantribes. "[3]

The location of the Parni Dahae immediately south-east of theCaspian Seawas derived from byStrabo'sGeographica(Book 11, 1st century BCE). The ethnonym of the Dahae was the root of the later placename Dahestan or Dihistan – a region straddling the present regions ofTurkmenistanandIran.So little is known of the Dahae, including the Parni, that – in the words ofA. D. H. Bivar– even the location and name of their capital city "if indeed they possessed one" is unknown.[6]A later archaeological site in the region, known asDehistan/Mishrian,is located in theBalkan Regionof Turkmenistan.

Language

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The language[c]of the Parni is not directly attested but is assumed to be one of the eastern substrates of the subsequently recordedParthian language,which the Parni eventually adopted. To the "incoming Parni may be ascribed a form of speech showing a strong east Iranian element, resulting from their proximity on the steppe to east IranianSakas."[6]Through the influence of the Parthians inArmenia,traces of the Parni language survive as "loan-words inArmenian."[3]

The language of the Parni "was described byJustinas 'midway between Scythian andMedian[and] contained features of both' "[7](41.1.10). Justin's late (3rd century) opinion is "no doubt slightly exaggerated,"[6]and is in any case of questionable veracity given the ambiguity of names.[3]

Rise to prominence

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Main article:Parni conquest of Parthia

In 247 BCE,Andragoras,theSeleucidgovernor (satrap) ofParthia( "roughly westernKhurasan"[8]) proclaimed independence from the Seleucids, when—following the death ofAntiochus II—Ptolemy IIIseized control of the Seleucid capital atAntioch,and "so left the future of the Seleucid dynasty for a moment in question."[9]

Meanwhile, "a man calledArsaces,of Scythian or Bactrian[a]origin, [was] elected leader of the Parni tribes. "[5]Following the secession of Parthia from the Seleucid Empire and the resultant loss of Seleucid military support, Andragoras had difficulty in maintaining his borders, and about 238 BCE—under the command of "Arsaces and his brotherTiridates"[5][10]—theParni invaded[11]Parthia and seized control of Astabene (Astawa), the northern region of that territory, the administrative capital of which was Kabuchan (Kuchanin the vulgate).

A short while later, the Parni seized the rest of Parthia from Andragoras, killing him in the process. Although an initialpunitive expeditionby the Seleucids underSeleucus IIwas not successful, the Seleucids underAntiochus IIIrecaptured Arsacid-controlled territory following theBattle of Mount Labusin 209 BCE from Arsaces' (or Tiridates'[b]) successor,Arsaces II.Arsaces II sued for peace and accepted vassal status,[10]and it was not until Arsaces II's grandson (or grand-nephew)Phraates I,that the Arsacids/Parni would again begin to assert their independence.[12]

For the historiographers upon whose documentation the reconstruction of early Arsacid history depends, the Parni had by then become indistinguishable from the Parthians.

Legacy

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The seizure of Astabene in 238 BCE nominally marks the beginning of theArsacidera, which is named after Arsaces, and the name adopted by all Parthian kings.[7]The Arsacid dynasts laid claim to descent fromArtaxerxes II.Beginning from Astabene and Parthia (which would subsequently be extended southwards to include much of present-daySistan), the Arsacids gradually subjugated many of the neighboring kingdoms, most of which were thereafter controlled as vassalries. Beginning with the successful revolt - in 224 CE - of an erstwhile vassal ofStakhrnamedArdashir(in Greek again "Arsaces" / "Artaxerxes"[13]), the Arsacid/Parthian hegemony began to yield to aSassanid/Persianone.

The name "Parni" reappears in Sassanid-era documents to identify one of the seven Parthian feudal families allied with the Sassanid court. However, this family is not attested from Arsacid times, and the claim to the "Parni" name is (like four of the six other families) "in all probability not in accordance with reality." "It may be that [...] members of them made up their own genealogies in order to emphasize the antiquity of their families."[14]

It has been suggested[15]that the Parnau Hills (Paran Koh) bear the name of the Parni.

Notes

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  • a^Arsaces was "perhaps originally a local ruler in Bactria."[12]
  • b^The origins of the Arsacids lineage are based on the historiography of later Greeks and Romans; the fact remains that the Arsacids used Greek titles and Greek inscriptions on their coins, which were also styled after the Seleucid coins. While Wolski (1937/1938) supported that the story of the two brothers may even be fiction, their coins are real, and they are considered to be historical personae and that Tiridates (I) succeeded his brother Arsaces (I), although he took on the Arsaces name at his coronation, a not-unusual practice in that era. Some have also questioned the relationship between Tiridates I (a.k.a. Arsaces II) and his son and successor Arsaces II (a.k.a. Artabanus I). For example, Bivar has rejected[12]the genealogies proposed by Frye and Chaumont & Bickermann.
  • c^In linguistics and philology, the expression 'Parnian' is sometimes used as a term of convenience to collectively denote eastern Iranian influences evident in the (western Iranian) Parthian language. Because the language of the Parni is not actually attested, it is not possible to determine whether there is actually a specific correlation between the language of the Parni and that of the east Iranian element in Parthian.

References

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  1. ^de Blois & van der Spek 1997,p. 145.
  2. ^Encyclopedia Iranica:"APARNA (Gk. Aparnoi/Parnoi, Lat. Aparni or Parni), an east Iranian tribe established on the Ochos (modern Taǰen, Teǰend) and one of the three tribes in the confederation of the Dahae
  3. ^abcdefgLecoq 1987,p. 151.
  4. ^Curtis, Vesta Sarkhosh; Stewart, Sarah (2010-03-24).The Age of the Parthians.ISBN9780857733085.
  5. ^abcCurtis & Stewart 2007,p. 7.
  6. ^abcBivar 1983,p. 27.
  7. ^abCurtis & Stewart 2007,p. 8.
  8. ^Bickerman 1983,p. 6.
  9. ^Bivar 2003,para. 6.
  10. ^abBivar 1983,p. 29.
  11. ^Bickerman 1983,p. 19.
  12. ^abcBivar 1983,p. 31.
  13. ^Bivar 1983,p. 96.
  14. ^Lukonin 1983,p. 704.
  15. ^Rawlinson 1879,p. 169.

Sources

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  • Bickerman, Elias J. (1983), "The Seleucid Period", in Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.),Cambridge History of Iran,vol. 3, London: Cambridge UP, pp. 3–20
  • Bivar, A.D.H. (1983), "The Political History of Iran under the Arsacids", in Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.),Cambridge History of Iran,vol. 3, London: Cambridge UP, pp. 21–99
  • Bivar, A.D.H. (2003),"Gorgan v.: Pre-Islamic History",Encyclopaedia Iranica,vol. 11, New York: Encyclopaedia Iranica]
  • Curtis, Vesta Sarkhosh; Stewart, Sarah, eds. (2007),The Age of the Parthians,Ideas of Iran, vol. 2, London: I. B. Tauris
  • de Blois, Lukas; van der Spek, Robartus J. (1997),An Introduction to the Ancient World,New York: Routledge,ISBN0-415-12774-2.
  • Lecoq, Pierre (1987),"Aparna",Encyclopaedia Iranica,vol. 2, New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul
  • Lendering, Jona (2006),The Parni,Amsterdam: livius.org
  • Lukonin, Vladimir G. (1983), "Political, Social and Administrative Institutions", in Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.),Cambridge History of Iran,vol. 3, London: Cambridge UP, pp. 681–747
  • Rawlinson, Henry C. (1879),"The Road to Merv",Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society and Monthly Record of Geography,New Monthly Series,1(3): 161–191,doi:10.2307/1800653,JSTOR1800653
  • Yarshater, Ehsan (2006),"Iran ii. Iranian History: An Overview",Encyclopaedia Iranica,vol. 13, New York: Encyclopaedia Iranica
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