Arsaces I of Parthia

Arsaces (Persian اشکان Ashkan [ ærʃæk ʲ ]; * before 250 BC; † ca 217 BC ) was the founder of the Parthian Empire and the Arsacid dynasty.

Arsaces was the leader of the Parni, a Scythian nomadic tribe from an area south-east of the Caspian Sea. To 250 BC he began with the attack on the decaying Seleucid Empire. Until 238 BC, the tribe conquered the Persian province of Parthia and killed Andragoras, the reigning there satrap of the Seleucids. He then took the name of the province and began to settle down.

Arsaces was able to successfully fend off the attempts of Seleucus II to regain the lost territory, as well as attacks by the likewise newly-formed Greek - Bactrian kingdom I. Diodotos, and the kingdom of the Parthians stabilize. The following Bactrian king Diodotus II Arsaces entered into several contracts. He is said to have founded a city called Dara. The Parthian era begins 247 BC It is likely that this date has to do with a specific event under Arsaces, possibly as this explained the time to the king.