An ancient country in Asia on the Caspian Sea; dominated southwestern Asia from about 100 BC to 200 AD.
Ancient country in W Asia in what is now NE Iran, capital Ctesiphon. Parthian ascendancy began with the Arsacid dynasty in 248 BC, and reached the peak of its power under Mithridates I in the 2nd century BC; the region was annexed to Persia under the Sassanians AD 226.
Parthian horse riders feigned retreat and shot their arrows unexpectedly backward, hence the use of “Parthian shot” to mean a remark delivered in parting. Parthian administration was influenced by the Seleucid empire in Syria and later they successfully resisted the Romans.