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PARTHIANS

An Iranian tribe from the region SE of the Caspian Sea. They threw off Seleucid domination in the mid-3rd century b.c.e. and developed an empire that would endure for nearly 500 years. During most of that time, Parthia would successfully vie with Rome for power in the Near East.

Thought by the Persians to be of Scythian origin, the Parthians used the same mounted archery tactics as their barbarian kin to build an empire extending from the Euphrates River in Syria to the Indus in modern Pakistan. One of a few nations to be seen by the Romans as a persistent threat to their military dominance, the Parthians inflicted upon the Romans one of their most crushing and humiliating defeats at Carrhae (OT Haran) in 53 b.c.e. One reason for this defeat was the effective use of the Parthian or “parting shot,” which combined an archery volley while charging with another over their horses’ tails as they retreated. It is perhaps the Parthian threat in general, and this tactic in particular, that is alluded to in Rev. 9:13-19; 16:12.

The only specific biblical mention of the Parthians is in Acts 2:9 where Parthian Jews, or proselytes, are among the nationalities that hear their own language on Pentecost. Some take this, along with other evidence, as indicating that while maintaining a reputation for barbarism, the Parthians exercised religious toleration toward a diverse population. Their empire finally collapsed ca. 226 at the hands of the Sassanian Persians, still unconquered by Rome.

Jesse Curtis Pope

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

PARTHIANS

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)