# Map of the Parthian Empire

Source page: https://geographichistory.app/empire/parthia/

On the Geographic History map, the Parthian Empire appears from 246 BC to AD 224. It reaches its largest mapped extent in AD 119: about 2.2 million km² across 51 provinces.

The Parthian Empire grew from a small kingdom founded by Arsaces I in northeastern Iran around 247 BC into the power that ruled Iran and Mesopotamia. Its horse archers destroyed Crassus's army at Carrhae in 53 BC, and for almost three centuries it was Rome's main rival in the east. In AD 224 the Persian Ardashir I overthrew the last Parthian king and founded the Sasanian Empire.

## Mapped area by year (km²)

- 246 BC: 216,000
- 221 BC: 572,000
- 196 BC: 216,000
- 171 BC: 216,000
- 146 BC: 924,000
- 121 BC: 1,698,000
- 96 BC: 1,698,000
- 71 BC: 1,698,000
- 46 BC: 1,716,000
- 21 BC: 1,716,000
- AD 4: 2,054,000
- AD 29: 2,054,000
- AD 54: 2,054,000
- AD 79: 2,129,000
- AD 104: 2,129,000
- AD 129: 2,196,000
- AD 154: 2,196,000
- AD 179: 2,196,000
- AD 204: 1,973,000

## About this map

Territory comes from the Chronas historical dataset used by the Geographic History app. Areas are approximate, computed from about 2,400 province shapes, and describe this map rather than official historical figures - border data for the ancient and medieval world is necessarily a reconstruction.