After the fall of the Scythians, the Turan Flats came, for the most part, under the control of the Parthian Empire. You can find an excellent map of the Parthian Empire at its height at Viacheslav Pankratov's site.

The date usually given for the establishment of the Parthian Empire is 247 B.C.E., when the Parthians were ruled by Arsaces 1. The empire began on the eastern shore of the Caspian sea, and at its height encompassed almost all of what now Turkmenistan, much of Afghanistan and Pakistan, nearly all of Persia and Iraq. Merv (today Mary) and Nisa (sometimes spelled Nissa) were its major centers. The ousted Scythians now lived to the north between the Caspian and Aral Seas, and in the Transoxania region east of the Oxus river, and were a constant worry to the Parthians.

Taking over the Scythian lands also meant taking over the Scythian horse, and it was probably the acquisition of this horse that made the Parthians a force that even Rome could not overcome, try as it might to claim all of Alexander's empire.

What made the Parthians the excellent fighting force that they were? It was the fact that they had been the first to perfect the art of archery from horseback. Today in the United States one speaks of the "Parting Shot," which actually used to be the "Parthian Shot:" taking one last shot with an arrow while galloping away. Archery from horseback is difficult enough; but in order to be able to shoot behind oneself, one needs two very important innovations: the treed saddle, and the stirrup, both of which are believed to have been developed originally by the Scythians. One also needs a special horse, who is intelligent enough to be guided by the legs, once the treed saddle has freed them up for the rider's use.

 

Heritage of Central Asia, from Antiquity to the Turkish Conquest, R. Frye

Mounted Archers: The Beginnings of Central Asian History by Laszlo Torday.

The Cultural Heritage of Central Asia

A wonderful set of reports of the battle between the Romans and the Parthians at Parabara as a set of email messages sent by Marcus Aurelius to Rome can be found at http://tetrad.stanford.edu/campaign/220Parabara.html

The Perspectives on Central Asia Website also contains much valuable information. 

© 1998 Fara Shimbo for the Friends of the Turanian Horse