Parthians, rulers

Abstract Parthia broke away from the Seleucid Empire in the mid‐third century BCE and by the 230s was ruled by Arsaces, who founded a dynasty, the “Arsacids”. By 141 BCE , Arsacid Mithradates I controlled most of Iran and Mesopotamia, and over the following century the Parthian Empire grew into the most significant power between the Roman Empire and the borders of India and China. It was ultimately overthrown in the 220s CE by the Persian Ardashir, who thus founded the Sasanian Empire.