224 - 642 CE - Sassanid Empire

The Sassanids used Ctesiphon as their capital, and fought hard to revive Iranian heritage that had been suppressed by Greek culture. The Sassainds prided themselves on urban development, centralization, agricultural development, and technological improvements. The title of shahanshah or king of kings was used once again and society was divided into four classes: the priests, warriors, secretaries, and commoners.
Zoroastrianism was declared the state religion. With Roman Empire considered the biggest enemy, Shahpur I waged war and in 260 CE took Valerian the emperor prisoner. Between 260 and 263 CE he had lost his territories, which Shapur II regained in three successive wars.
The most celebrated Sassanid ruler by far was Khosro I, also known as Anushirvan. During his rule, Khosro reformed the tax system, and reorganized the state and the army. Village lords called dehghans were installed to collect taxes and later became the backbone of Sassanid provincial administration. Khosro developed his capital, founded new towns, and implemented new infrastructure and contributed to the arts. He was also tolerant of all religions, and was not bothered when one of his sons became Christian. Khosro II’s rule ran from 591-628 CE and was characterized by wasteful splendor and lavishness of the ruling class. There were more battles with the Byzantines, where Khosros II’s army had some early successes by capturing Damascus, and Jerusalem. But the Byzantine emperor Heraclius fought back and retaliated deep into the Sassanid territory. In 633 CE Khosro’s grandsom Yezdegerd succeeded the throne, as the Arab army began their first raids into Persian territory.
Over the years, warfare exhausted both the Byzantines and the Iranians. There were many Sassanid rulers and their lasted a long time. The later rulers of this empire were weakened by economic decline, heavy taxation, religious unrest, and the increasing power of the dehghans. With a weak internal system, the Sassanids had very little to defend themselves with when the Arab invasion of the seventh century occurred.

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Timeline for the Sassanid Kings

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247 BCE - 224 CE - Parthian Empire

The Parthian Empire, also known as Arsacid Empire is the second significant era in the extensive history of Iran. In 247 BCE, Arsaces, a Parni leader, rised up against the Greek rule, advanced eastward and established the Parthian Empire. After Asaces, his brother Tiridates succeeded the throne. Tiridates consolidated Parthian power and appointed regional rulers to fortify his rule. In 211 BCE, Artabanus I became ruler and increased Parthian domains over his rule, including the annexation of the Iranian Plateau and Tigris/Euphrates River Valley.

Following Artabanus was Mithridates who regained further Iranian land from under Greek rule. It was at this time that the first Parthian coins were issues. Next was Mithridates II who regained lost land from the fall of the Achaemind Empire and expanded in every direction. In 92 BCE, Mithridates II struck the first treaty between Parthia and Rome wehre Euphrates was established as a mutual boundary.
Orodes II succeeded the throne after Mithridates II. War broke out with Rome due to the history and tension that existed between the two empires. In 53 BCE, the Parthians won against the Romans and beheaded Crassus, the Roman Emperor. Phraates IV followed as the next ruler and defeated the Romans in Armenia.

In 65 CE, Tiridates king of Persia was crowned by the Roman Emperor to show balance of power. Eventually the Romans invaded and weakened the Parthian Empire. In the east, the Kushan Dynasty was formed and in the west, the province of Persia gained more and more power. The Parthian Empire was further weakened by the invasions of border people and the Romans. Finally in 222 CE, Ardeshir, the ruler of Persia, successfully won a battle against Artabanus V and ended the Parthian rule.

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Timeline for the Parthian Kings

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