The Parthian Aristocracy: its Social Position and Political Activity, "Parthica" 15, 2013 [2014], 53-62
- ️https://jagiellonian.academia.edu/EdwardDabrowa
Related papers
ON THE ISSUE OF THE PARTHIAN PAHLAVS' SOCIO-POLITICAL NATURE
BULLETIN OF THE INSTITUTE OF ORIENTAL STUDIES, (VOLUME I (34), ISSUE 1), 2021
The role of the high aristocracy, the so-called pahlavs, is undeniable in the history of the Parthian state. In the second half of III century BC the assistance of the pahlavs to the Arsacid dynasty considerably contributed to the establishment of the Dahae and organization of their own state in Parthia and Hyrcania. During the following centuries the rises and crises of the political life of the Parthian statehood and even its final decline in the first quarter of the III century was due to the attitude of the Parthian pahlavs towards the Arsacid dynasty. In spite of the key role of the pahlavs, the issues of their ethnic origin, social nature, their number and the relations with the royal power are still poorly studying in historical science. We hope that this article will bring its contribution in studying the history of the Parthian pahlavs.
Notes on Scythian Political Culture
Central Eurasia in the Middle Ages, 2016
Political culture may be defined as a complex of concepts, beliefs, institutions, practices, customs, and rituals connected to the legitimation, organization, institutionalization, and symbolization of power and socio-political order. Peter Golden, in several seminal publications, 1 has convincingly demonstrated the principal unity of the political culture of the Turkic-speaking nomads in pre-Chingisid times. This culture consisted of such important ideological concepts as the supernatural and/or divine origin of the ruling clan; the heavenly-mandated right to rule bestowed upon this clan; its corresponding charisma, good fortune, and the aura connected with this fortune; and the notion of common descent of all members of a dominant tribal polity. Amongst the particularly significant political institutions of this culture one may single out a specific state organization that consisted of a dominant, ruling tribe or tribal unit and subject tribes; collective or joint sovereignty, according to which a state and its populace belong not to an individual ruler, but to all members of the ruling clan and various appanage systems; diets or convocations composed of members of the ruling clan and other nobles; a partial overlapping of the administrative system with the military organization; a quite developed system of royal and administrative titles with corresponding rights and responsibilities of their holders; patrimonial mode of government; and royal retinue and bodyguard.
The Beginning of the Parthian Empire (English)
When Arsaces was chosen as the head of the Parni tribe in 247 BC, no one could even imagine that this event would have a lasting effect on the history of Iran and the world. This article is about the sequence of events which led to the revolt and establishment of the independent state of Parthia. Note: With regards to Andragoras please refer to my recent article "On Andragoras and Sophytes, A Historical and Numismatic Analysis (English)"
The paper deals with two traditions on the early history of Parthia that existed in antique literature. An attempt recently made to put this idea into question is being examined. The article stresses that when addressing this issue, we should take into account that the works of Zosimus, Syncellus, and Photius have different nature and integrity, and the works of Arrian and Strabo reflect several versions of the Parthian state’s origin. Based on these considerations, the paper comes to two conclusions. Firstly, there is no serious reason to deny that the information of Zosimus, Syncellus, and Photius is based on Parthica of Flavius Arrian. Secondly, since the majority of information of Pompeius Trogus and Strabo about the origin of the Parthian state was borrowed from Parthica of Apollodorus of Artemita, we need to restore the historical truth and distinguish the tradition of Apollodorus along with the Arrian’s one. Key words: Parthia, Zosimus, Syncellus, Photius, Flavius Arrian, Strabo, Pompeius Trogus, Apollodorus of Artemita.