Representation of arsacid Wars with Seleucians and Romans in Islamic Texts

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 History, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Faculty of Literature, Iran, Ahwaz

2 Iran, ahvaz, uneversiti shahid chmran

10.22103/jis.2019.11868.1826

Abstract

 
1.Introduction
Islamic texts have a more or less pessimistic view of the history and culture of Parthians. Based on these texts, one can obtain scattered insights about the Parthian history. One of the notable points in this text is the Parthian military confrontation with the Seleucids and the Romans. These insights include three main reports. The first report is about the military confrontation of Parthians with Romans during the Achaemenid Empire. The second battle involves the campaign of Gooderz Bin Ash for Palestine. The Blashe war with Romans is the last battle mentioned in the reports. This study attempts to reconstruct the exact details of these wars in the real history of the Parthian Empire.
 
 
2.Methodology
In this study, we will reconstruct these battles through a comparative study of the Parthian battles with the Seleucids and then Romans in historical accounts of the Islamic period with real reports such as coins, archaeological sources and Greek and Roman sources. By refining and categorizing these reports and excluding duplicate reports, usually adapted from earlier sources, one can benefit from the capacity of Islamic sources to reconstruct Iran's political and military history in the Parthian era. This research is written in such an approach.
 
3.Discussion
In some Islamic texts, the first Parthian confrontation with Romans occurred during the reign of Ash kingdom. Some of these texts describe Ashk as the eldest child who provided an army and went to the battle of Antiches and seized his kingdom (Tabari, 1974, 2/496; Balami, 2001, 499; Gardizi, 1985, 59-60; Balkhi , 1985, 59; Mostofi, 2008, 99). Isfahani Hamza mentions this war during the reign of Shapur ibn Ash Ash ibn Azar (Isfahani, 1968, 41-42). Various reports of Islamic sources have attributed the Parthian king's war against Antiches to the time of the Ash Kingdom, Shapur bin Ash , and Euphorshah. It seems that this war can be traced back to the actual Parthian history at the time of the first Ash (247 BC - 217 BC).At the time of Antiochus II's reign (246BC- 261BC ), Arsaces defeated Andragoras and gained dominion over Parth (Strootman, 2015b; Schippmann, 2012: 525-526). After Antiochus II, Seleucus II succeeded to the throne In 246 BC. With the onset of the Seleucus II campaign in the eastern regions, Arsaces retreated to the Apacak region (Strabo, 1928: 269; trootman, 2015b; Shipman, 2005: 28; Wolski, 2004: 81). In later battles with the second Seleucus, Arsaces achieved victory (Justin, 1994: 256). The Seleucid king was forced to return because of the unrest in Asia Minor. But before his retreat, he recognized the rule of Ash over Parthia and Hircania as the Sultans of the Seleucids (Strootman, 2015b; Fry, 2006: 293; Shipman, 2005: 28). It may be argued that the Ash-and-Antiochus war in Islamic history is a reflection of the battles between Ash I the founder of the Parthian kingdom and of Antiochus II and Seleucus and illustrates his efforts to drive the Seleucids out of the Iranian borders and establish the Parthian dynasty. In the history of the Islamic era, there have been reports of the attack on Palestine by Goderz bin Ash. In these reports, Guderz bin Ashq is the one who, when the Jews of the Israelites killed YahyaBenzaria (AS), destined that he would attack Yahya (AS) in revenge and kill the Jews (Tabari, 1352: 2/496; Isfahani, 1346: 42; Thalabi, 1372: 226; Gardizi, 1363: 60-61; Balkhi, 1363: 18; Mostofi, 1383: 101). In a solid account of the kingdom of Godezerz, his attack on Palestine heralds the beginning of Goderzez's reign and speaks in detail of the king's glory and highness. (Thaleb, 1372: 226). In national and epic narratives we find the name of Goderz. In these narratives, Goodarz, the son of Kashvad, is considered one of the greatest Iranian heroes. (Yarshater, 1392: 569; Safa, 1333: 574). Gooderz's name in national stories can be a reflection of Gooderz I the Parthian king. In spite of the similarity between the name of Goderz in the Islamic narrative with the Parthian king Goderz I, the insights in the Islamic texts lead us to the view that this Goderz should be regarded as the son of Ered II (37-37 BC). Labinius, the Roman commander, also accompanied him during the Pakistani invasion of Syria and Palestine. With the victory of Parthians in Syria, the way to Pakur came to the southern states of the Levant. Due to the turbulent conditions in Palestine, Pakor succeeded in conquering Jerusalem (Josphous, 1934: 126-127; Voleski, 2004: 156; Du Boaz, 1342: 92). It can be concluded that the Godarz raid on Palestine in the narratives of Islamic historians is a reflection of the Pakor army, the Parthian prince in the West Euphrates in 51 BC. Blash is the third Parthian king to be found in his scattered references to his war with the Romans in Islamic texts. Some Islamic historians make no mention of this war in the name of Blash. For example, in his report, Balami named the Ashq (Balami, 2001: 449-500), and Hamdollah Mostofi attributes it to the time of Nursi ibn Godarz ibn Balash (Mostofi, 1387: 102). According to historical reports of the Islamic period, Blush son of Khosro reported that the Romans had come to seek revenge on Antiochus and to avenge his blood on the Iranian war (Tabari, 1352: 2/497; Isfahani, 1346: 42-43). Blash asked for help from neighboring Malkovtiev. Each king provided the military and financial power to the extent of his ability. (Tabari, 1352: 2/497: Isfahani, 1346: 43-42; see also Nak; Balami, 1380: 500-449; Mostofi, 1387: 102). Concerning the Blash war and its reconciliation with the Parthian history, we may be able to cautiously date this war at the time of the fifth Blashe (191-208 AD). in the evidence provided by the Islamic texts about this war are references to the beginning of the war by the Romans. After the death of Blush IV (192/1923 - 191/1990), his son replaced him. Coinciding with the beginning of the reign of the fifth Blach, the Parthians were attacked by Septemus Soros in northern Mesopotamia. The fifth blast calls on the rulers of the provinces of Oserouen and Adiabon, whose lands were near the Roman borders, to oppose Roman siege and besiege Rome (Dio cassius, 1957: 217-218; Chaumont, 1988: 57 579; Voleski, 2004: 210; Shipman, 2005: 75). Eventually, however, the Roman troops, during their retreat, faced resistance from the city's defenders and withdrew. As the siege ended, the campaign ended. (Dio cassius, 1957: 221-222; Chaumont, 1988: 579; Voleski, 1383: 212; Shipman, 1383: 76; Duobey, 1342: 233.(
 
 
 
4.Conclusion
In Islamic sources, we find only three cases of the Parthian-Roman wars. First is the Ashq war with Antiches. The victory of Ashq in this battle led to the establishment of the Parthian dynasty. Greek and Roman sources and recent research can partly trace the date of this war to the actual Parthian history at the time of the first Ashq (247 BC - 217 BC). Among these evidences are the first Ashq battles with the Seleucid kings and stories related to the beginning of the Parthian dynasty. Given the coincidence of the reign of Antiochus II (261 BC - 246 BC) and Seleucus II (246 BC - 225 BC), the Ashq's wars are more likely to date in this period. The reference to Antiochus in historical accounts of the Islamic period may be the same as Antiochus II of Seleucid king. The second battle is the Godarz onslaught on Palestine. Evidence from Islamic reports and its concordance with new research suggests that the attack of Godarz Bin Ash to Palestine by Prince Pakour's son Ard II (57 BC - 37 BC) could be countered by Jerusalem and the conquest of the land. The Blashe war with the Romans is the last battle mentioned in reports of the Islamic era. According to the reports of the Islamic writers about the war of Balash and its reconciliation with the history of the Parthians, this war can be dated with prudence at the time of the fifth Balash (208-201 AD). Comparing the evidence of Islamic texts with Greek and Roman sources and new research indicates that this war is a reflection of the onslaught of Emperor Septimius Soros on the lands of northern Mesopotamia during the fifth Blashe, when Islamic historians combined reports of this war with the events of the Sassanid era.

Keywords


  • References [In Persian]:

    • Azeri, A. (1976). Parthian in Islamic resources, Proceedings of parthian conference, Tehran.
    • Balami, A. (2001). The history of al-Tabari (Vol. 1). (M. Roshan, Rev.) Tehran: Soroush.
    • Christensen, A (2009). Iran in the Sassanid era (R. yasemi, Trans.). Tehran: Rasti.
    • Du Boaz, Nilsson (1964). Political history of part (A. hekmat, Trans.). Tehran: Ibn Sina Library.
    • Esfahani, H. B. H (1968).The history of the prophets and kings (Sunni al-muluk al-arz and al-anbia) ( J. slogan, Trans). Tehran: Foundation of Iranian Culture.
    • Ferdowsi, A (2007). Shahnameh, Book 6 (J. khaleghi Motlagh, & M. Salar Rev.). Tehran: The Grand Center of Islamic Encyclopedia.
    • Firouzbakhsh,  P. (2011). Khodaynameh. Encyclopedia of the Islamic World, 15, 236-241.
    • Ibn Balkhi (1985). Ibn balkhi farsnameh (G. listerjan, & R. A. Nicholson, Rev.). Tehran: The World of Books.
    • Khaleghi Motlagh, J (2007). From shahnameh to Khodaynameh. Letter of Ancient Iran, 7 (1-2), 3-119.

     

    • Khatibi, A. (2002). There was a letter from the ancient time (a research on the recognition of the source of Ferdowsi's Shahnameh). Letter from the Academy. May. 19. 19. 73-50.
    • Khatibi, A. (2015). Parthians in national epic. The comprehensive history of Iran (Vol. 2). (K. Mousavi Bojnourdi, H. Rezaei Baghbidi, & M. Jafari Dehghi, Rev.). (pp. 371-420). Tehran: The Great Islamic Encyclopedia Center.
    • Meshkour, M J; Rajabnia, M (1989). The political and social history of the Arsacids, parthians or old pahlavis. Tehran: The World of Books.
    • Meshkour, M. R (n.d.) Khodaynameh. Historical review, 8 (6), 28-12
    • Mostofi, H (2008). Excerpt history (A. nawaei, Rev.). Tehran: Amir Kabir.
    • Omid Salar, M (2011). Khodaynameh. Ferdowsi and shahnameh writing. Tehran: Academy of Persian Language and Literature. 37-51.
    • Pirnia, H. (1964). The history of ancient Iran (Parthian). Tehran: Pocket Books Organization.
    • Rahmati, M. (2015). Distortion of Parthian history in the national-epic narrative and its causes. two epic literature quarterly, Lorestan university, 2 (1), pp. 23-45.
    • Safa, Z (1955). Epic writing in Iran. Tehran: Amir Kabir.
    • Shipman, C (2005). Foundations of parthian history (H. Sadeghi, Trans.). Tehran: Farzan Rooz.
    • Tabari, M. B. J (1974). The history of al-Tabari or the history of al-Rusul wa  al-muluk (Vol. 2.). (A. payandeh,Trans.). Tehran: Foundation of Iranian culture.
    • Taffazoli, A. (1997). Pre-Islamic literature history (J. Amouzegar, Rev.). Tehran: Sokhan.
    • Thalebi Morghani, H. M (1993). Ancient Shahnameh: Persian history of ghurar al-siyar (M. Rouhani, Trans.). Mashhad: Ferdowsi University of Mashhad.
    • Wolski, J (2004). Parthian empire (M. Saghabfar, Trans.). Tehran: Ghoghnous.
    • Yar Shater, E. (2013). National history of Iran, the history of Iran from the seleucids to the collapse of the Sasanian government (Vol. III, Part I). (E. yarshater, Collect.). (H. Anoush, Trans.). Tehran: Amir Kabir, 471-586.
    • References [In Arabic}:
    • Anonymous (1995). The experiences of nations in news about Arab and non-Arab kings (R. Anzabinejad, & Y. Kalantari, Rev.). Mashhad: Ferdowsi University of Mashhad.
    • Birouni, A. (2013). The remaining signs (P. Sepitman (Azkaei), Trans.). Tehran: Soroush.
    • Dinouri, A. (2002). The book of general history (M. Mahdavi Damghani, Trans.). Tehran: Ney Publishing.
    • Gardezi, A. Z. B. M (1985). Zayn al-akhbar (A.  Habibi, Rev.). Tehran: Foundation for Iranian Culture.
    • Masoudi, A. (1987). Al-tanbiya and al-ashraf (A. payandeh, Trans.). Tehran: Scientific and Cultural Publishing Company.

    References [In English]:

    • Agathias. (1975). The Histories (J. D. Frendo, Trans.). Berlin, Newyork: Walter de Grater.
    • Cameron, A. (1969-1970). Agathias on the Sassanids. Dumbarton Oaks Paper, 23, 74-75.
    • Cassius, D. (1957). Dio,s roman history (E. Cary, Trans.). London: William heinemann;  Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
    • Chaumont. M. L., & Schippmann, K. (1988). Balas. In E. yarshater (Ed.), Encyclopaedia Iranica. (Vol. III, pp.523 – 536).  Routledge & Kegan Paul.
    • François, D. &ِِVogelsang, W. (1993). Dahe. In E. Yarshter, Encyclopaedia Iranica (Vol. VI. pp.581 – 582), Costamesa, California: Mazda publisher.
    • Josephus. (1934). The Jewish War (H. ST. J Thackeray, & Ral PH Marcus, Trans.).Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
    • Justinus, M. J. (1994) Epitome of the Philippic history of pompeius trogus (J.C. Yardley, Trans.). Atlanta, Ga: Scholars Press
    • Lecoq. P. (1986). Aparna. In E.  yarshater, (Ed.),  Encyclopaedia Iranica (Vol. II, 151). Routledge & Kegan Paul.
    • Shahbazi, A. S. (2012). Arsacid chronology in tradition history. In E. Yarshater (Ed.). Encyclopaedia Iranica (Vol.III. 542-543). Routledge & Kegan paul.
    • Shahbazi, A. S., (1990a). On The Xwaday Namag. In E. yarshater (Ed.), Acta Iranica (Vol. XII. PP.325-3330). Routledge & Kegan paul.
    • Shahbazi, A. S., (1990b). Carrhae. In E. Yarshater (Ed.), Encyclopaedia Iranica (Vol. V. pp.9-13). Cotama, California: Mazda Publisher.
    • Shippmann, K. (2012). Arsacid ii. The Arsacid Dynasty. In E. Yarshater (Ed.), Encyclopaedia Iranica (Vol. III. pp.525-536). Routledge & Kegan paul.
    • Strabo (1928). The geography of Strabo (H. L. Jones, Trans.). London: William Heinemann; Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University press.
    • Strootman, R. (2015a). Seleucid mpire. In Encyclopaedia Iranica. Available at http:// www . iranica online. org/articles/ selecid- king
    • Strootman, R. (2015b). Seleucus. In Encyclopaedia Iranica. Available at http:// www. iranica online. org/articles/ selecid- empire