Parthia

Ancient region corresponding roughly to the modern region of Khorasan in Îran, covering a wider territory during the Parthian Empire, 247 BCE-224 CE. It was part of the Achaemenian Empire in the 6th century BCE. Under Alexander the Great, it was joined to Hyrcania (present-day Gorgan, Iran), and it was part of a province of the Seleucid kingdom. In the 3rd century BCE, the Parni (Aparni) nomads moved from Central Asia into Parthia. The earliest Parthian capital was probably at Dara (present-day Abivard). A later capital was Hecatompylos, probably near modern Damghan. A small Parthian aristocracy governed the empire. During their reign, they controlled most of the trade routes between Asia and the Greco-Roman world, bringing wealth and extensive building activities.