|
Ardashir I
Ardashir I [another form of Artaxerxes], d. 240, king of Persia (226?-240). He overthrew the last Parthian king, Artabanus IV, entered Ctesiphon, and reunited Persia out of the confusion of Seleucid decline. He established the strong Sassanid , or Sassanian, dynasty and reconquered the old eastern...
Read more
|
|
Alexander Severus
Alexander Severus (Marcus Aurelius Alexander Severus) , d. 235, Roman emperor (222-35), b. Syria. His name was changed (221) from Alexius Bassianus when he was adopted as the successor to Heliogabalus . Although he won a triumph in a campaign (232) against Ardashir I of Persia, he could not maint...
Read more
|
|
Artaxerxes I
Artaxerxes I , d. 425 BC, king of ancient Persia (464-425 BC), of the dynasty of the Achaemenis. Artaxerxes is the Greek form of "Ardashir the Persian." He succeeded his father, Xerxes I , in whose assassination he had no part. The later weakness of the Persian Empire is commonly traced to the ...
Read more
|
|
Shapur I
Shapur I or Sapor I , d.272, king of Persia (241-72), son and successor of Ardashir I, of the Sassanid, or Sassanian, dynasty. He was an able warrior king. Although he was defeated by the Roman emperor, Gordian III, in 242, he halted Gordian's advance at Misiche in 244. Gordian's successor, Phi...
Read more
|
|
Sassanid
Sassanid Sasanid , or Sassanian , last dynasty of native rulers to reign in Persia before the Arab conquest. The period of their dominion extended from c.AD 224, when the Parthians were overthrown and the capital, Ctesiphon , was taken, until c.640, when the country fell under the power...
Read more
|
|
Parthia
Parthia , ancient country of Asia, SE of the Caspian Sea. In its narrowest limits it consisted of a mountainous region intersected with fertile valleys, lying S of Hyrcania and corresponding roughly to the modern Iranian province of Khorasan. It was included in the Assyrian and Persian empires, the ...
Read more
|
|
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , Iran. Azarbayejan, region, c.34,280 sq mi (88,785 sq km), NW Iran, divided into the provinces of East Azerbaijan (1996 pop. 3,325,540), West Azerbaijan (1996 pop. 2,496,320), and Ardabil (1996 pop. 1,168,011). The chief cities include Tabriz (the capital of East Azerbaijan), ...
Read more
|
|
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism , religion founded by Zoroaster, but with many later accretions.
Scriptures
Zoroastrianism's scriptures are the Avesta or the Zend Avesta [Pahlavi avesta =law, zend =commentary]. The Avesta consists of fragmentary and much-corrupted texts; it is written in old Irania...
Read more
|
|
Persia
Persia , old alternate name for the Asian country Iran. The article Iran contains a description of the geography and economy of the modern country and a short account of its history since the Arab invasion of the 7th cent. This article is concerned with the history of the ancient Persian Empire, i...
Read more
|
|
Armenia
Armenia , Armenian Hayastan, officially Republic of Armenia, republic (2005 est. pop. 2,983,000), 11,500 sq mi (29,785 sq km), in the S Caucasus. Armenia is bounded by Turkey on the west, Azerbaijan on the east (the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan is on its southwestern border), Ir...
Read more
|