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Sarangians
Drangiana or Zarangiana (, ''Drangianē''; also attested in Old Western Iranian as 𐏀𐎼𐎣, ''Zraka'' or ''Zranka'', was a historical region and administrative division of the Achaemenid Empire. This region comprises territory around Hamun Lake, wetlands in endorheic Sistan Basin on the Iran-Afghan border, and its primary watershed Helmand river in what is nowadays southwestern region of Afghanistan. History In ancient times Drangiana was inhabited by an Iranian tribe which the ancient Greeks called Sarangians or Drangians. Drangiana was possibly subdued by another Iranian people, the Medes, and later, certainly, by the expanding Persian Achaemenid Empire of Cyrus the Great (559-530 BC). According to Herodotus, during the reign of Darius I (522-486 BC), the Drangians were placed in the same district as the Utians, Thamanaeans, Mycians, and those deported to the Persian Gulf. The capital of Drangiana, called Zarin or Zranka (like the Province), is identified with great pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Utians
The Utians or Utii were ancient western Iranic nomadic camel-driving people, known to us primarily through the writings of the ancient Greek historian Herodotus. Herodotus describes them as "dressed in skin with the hair on". There exists little independent record of these people, and it is somewhat unclear whom Herodotus was referring to. He describes them as forming part of the 14th province of the Persian empire, sharing this province with other peoples named Sagartians, Sarangians, Thamanaeans, Mycians, and the unnamed inhabitants of the islands of the Erythraean Sea. Herodotus also describes them as serving in the army of Xerxes I, under the command of Arsamenes, son of Darius the Great, during the Second Persian invasion of Greece in 481 BCE. On the Behistun Inscription of Darius the Great, a land in Southern Persis called "Vautiya" or "Yautiya" is described. Some scholars have suggested that might be the same as the homeland of the people Herodotus called "Utians". ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Achaemenid Empire
The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian peoples, Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, it was the List of largest empires#Timeline of largest empires to date, largest empire by that point in history, spanning a total of . The empire spanned from the Balkans and ancient Egypt, Egypt in the west, most of West Asia, the majority of Central Asia to the northeast, and the Indus Basin, Indus Valley of South Asia to the southeast. Around the 7th century BC, the region of Persis in the southwestern portion of the Iranian plateau was settled by the Persians. From Persis, Cyrus rose and defeated the Medes, Median Empire as well as Lydia and the Neo-Babylonian Empire, marking the establishment of a new imperial polity under the Achaemenid dynasty. In the modern era, the Achaemenid Empire has been recognised for its imposition of a succ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Herodotus
Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histories'', a detailed account of the Greco-Persian Wars, among other subjects such as the rise of the Achaemenid dynasty of Cyrus. He has been described as " The Father of History", a title conferred on him by the ancient Roman orator Cicero, and the " Father of Lies" by others. The ''Histories'' primarily cover the lives of prominent kings and famous battles such as Marathon, Thermopylae, Artemisium, Salamis, Plataea, and Mycale. His work deviates from the main topics to provide a cultural, ethnographical, geographical, and historiographical background that forms an essential part of the narrative and provides readers with a wellspring of additional information. Herodotus was criticized in his times for his inclusion of "legends an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diadochi
The Diadochi were the rival generals, families, and friends of Alexander the Great who fought for control over his empire after his death in 323 BC. The Wars of the Diadochi mark the beginning of the Hellenistic period from the Mediterranean Sea to the Indus River Valley. The most notable Diadochi include Ptolemy I Soter, Ptolemy, Antigonus I Monophthalmus, Antigonus, Cassander, and Seleucus I Nicator, Seleucus as the last remaining at the end of the Wars of the Diadochi, Wars of the Successors, ruling in Egypt, Anatolia, Asia-Minor, Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon and Achaemenid Empire, Persia respectively, all forging dynasties lasting several centuries. Background Ancient role In ancient Greek, is a noun (substantive or adjective) formed from the verb, ''diadechesthai'', "succeed to," a compound of ''dia-'' and ''dechesthai'', "receive." The word-set descends straightforwardly from Proto-Indo-European language, Indo-European *dek-, "receive", the substantive ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexander The Great
Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II of Macedon, Philip II to the throne in 336 BC at the age of 20 and spent most of his ruling years conducting Wars of Alexander the Great, a lengthy military campaign throughout West Asia, Western Asia, Central Asia, parts of South Asia, and ancient Egypt, Egypt. By the age of 30, he had created one of the List of largest empires, largest empires in history, stretching from History of Greece, Greece to northwestern History of India, India. He was undefeated in battle and is widely considered to be one of history's greatest and most successful military commanders. Until the age of 16, Alexander was tutored by Aristotle. In 335 BC, shortly after his assumption of kingship over Macedon, he Alexander's Balkan campaign, campaigned in the Bal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arachosia
Arachosia (; ), or Harauvatis ( ), was a satrapy of the Achaemenid Empire. Mainly centred around the Arghandab River, a tributary of the Helmand River, it extended as far east as the Indus River. The satrapy's Persian-language name is the etymological equivalent of in Vedic Sanskrit. In Greek, the satrapy's name was derived from , the Greek-language name for the Arghandab River. Around 330 BCE, Alexander the Great commissioned the building of Alexandria Arachosia as Arachosia's new capital city under the Macedonian Empire. It was built on top of an earlier Persian military fortress after Alexander's conquest of Persia. Etymology "Arachosia" is the Latinized form of Greek (''Arachōsíā''). "The same region appears in the Avestan '' Vidēvdāt'' (1.12) under the indigenous dialect form 𐬵𐬀𐬭𐬀𐬓𐬀𐬌𐬙𐬍 - (whose ''-axva-'' is typical non-Avestan)." In Old Persian inscriptions, the region is referred to as 𐏃𐎼𐎢𐎺𐎫𐎡𐏁, written ''h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Satrap
A satrap () was a governor of the provinces of the ancient Median kingdom, Median and Achaemenid Empire, Persian (Achaemenid) Empires and in several of their successors, such as in the Sasanian Empire and the Hellenistic period, Hellenistic empires. A satrapy is the territory governed by a satrap. A satrap served as a viceroy to the king, though with considerable autonomy. The word came to suggest tyranny or ostentatious splendour, and its modern usage is a pejorative and refers to any subordinate or local ruler, usually with unfavourable connotations of corruption. Etymology The word is derived via Latin from Ancient Greek, Greek (), itself borrowed from an Old Iranian languages, Old Iranian . In Old Persian, which was the native language of the Achaemenids, it is recorded as (, literally "protector of the province"). The Median language, Median form is reconstructed as . Its Sanskrit cognate is (). The Biblical Hebrew form is , as found in Esther 3:12. In the Parthian l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Farah, Afghanistan
Farah (Farāh, ) is the capital and largest city of Farah Province in western Afghanistan. It is located on the Farah River, close to the border with Iran. It is one of the largest cities of western Afghanistan. Farah is home to the tomb of Muhammad Jaunpuri. Land use Farah is located in western Afghanistan between Kandahar and Herat, close to the border with Iran, although it lacks a direct road connection with the latter. Farah has a very clear grid of roads distributed through the higher-density residential areas. However barren land (35%) and vacant plots (25%) combine for 60% of the total land use. History Ancient history The Citadel at Farah is probably one of a series of fortresses constructed by Alexander the Great, the city being an intermediate stop between Alexandria Arachosia (modern Kandahar) and Herat, the location of another of Alexander's fortresses. The "Alexandria" prefix was added to the city's name when Alexander came in 330 BC. Under the Part ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexandria Prophthasia
Alexandria Prophthasia () also known as Alexandria in Drangiana was one of the seventy-plus cities founded or renamed by Alexander the Great. The town was founded during an intermediate stop between Herat, in what is now Afghanistan, the location of another of Alexander's fortresses, and Kandahar. It is mentioned by Strabo, Pliny the Elder, Ammianus Marcellinus, Isidore of Charax, Stephanus of Byzantium and Pseudo-Plutarch. Alexander the Great, arrived in Drangiana in November 330 BC on his way to Kandahar, and found a well-organized province of the Achaemenid empire. He appointed a new satrap, Arsames, and renamed the capital city as Prophthasia, ("Anticipation"), because Alexander had here discovered a conspiracy against his life, organized by his companion Philotas. Location The location of Prophthasia is currently unknown. Orthodox opinion is that Prophthasia was at Farah (also known as Phra) and that the citadel of Farah holds the remains of his fortress. However, taking ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zabol
Zabol () is a city in the Central District of Zabol County, Sistan and Baluchestan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Zabol is near the border with Afghanistan. Demographics Language and ethnicity The people of Zabol are a mix of Persians who speak a variant of the Persian language known as '' Sistani'' or Seistani, and a small minority of Baloch who speak Balochi, a Northwestern Iranian language. Population At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 130,642 in 27,867 households. The 2011 census counted 137,722 people in 33,957 households. The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 134,950 people in 35,401 households. Geography Location Zabol is located near Lake Hamun, in the endorheic Sīstān Basin, and the region is irrigated by the Helmand River. Lake Hamun is a seasonal lake that is often dry. Zabol is connected by road to Milak and Zaranj (across the border in Afghanistan). The Delaram ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dahan-e Gholaman
Dahan-e Gholaman (''Dahan-i Ġulāmān'') or ''Dahaneh-e Gholaman'' is the modern name of a major Achaemenid center and archeological site in eastern Iran. It has been identified as Zranka/Zarin, the capital of the satrapy of Zranka/ Drangiana. Geography The archeological site known as Dahan-e Gholaman or Dahaneh-e Gholaman ("Gateway of the Slaves") is located some 30 km southeast of the modern city of Zabol on a neck of land separating two of the modern Chah Nimeh reservoirs, about 8.5 km from the nearest point on the Iran-Afghanistan border. Archeology Dahan-e Gholaman is the largest Achaemenid site in all of eastern Iran. Some 27 structures aligned roughly in a straight line running SW to NE along the northern edge of the site were excavated by the Italian archeologist U. Scerrato in 1962–1965 and by the Iranian archeologist S. M. S. Sajjadi in 2000–2005. Further geophysical and surface exploration in 2007–2011 revealed the outline of another monumental buildin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical NameWorking Paper No. 61, 23rd Session, Vienna, 28 March – 4 April 2006. accessed 9 October 2010 It is connected to the Gulf of Oman in the east by the Strait of Hormuz. The river delta of the Shatt al-Arab forms the northwest shoreline. The Persian Gulf has many fishing grounds, extensive reefs (mostly rocky, but also Coral reef, coral), and abundant pearl oysters, however its ecology has been damaged by industrialization and oil spills. The Persian Gulf is in the Persian Gulf Basin, which is of Cenozoic origin and related to the subduction of the Arabian plate under the Zagros Mountains. The current flooding of the basin started 15,000 years ago due to sea level rise, rising sea levels of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
