The Indo-Parthian Kingdom was a Parthian kingdom founded by Gondophares, and active from 19 CE to c. 226 CE. At their zenith, they ruled an area covering parts of eastern Iran, various parts of Afghanistan and the northwest regions of the Indian subcontinent (most of modern Pakistan and parts of northwestern India). The rulers may have been members of the House of Suren, and the kingdom has even been called the "Suren Kingdom" by some authors. The kingdom was founded in 19 when the governor of Drangiana (Sakastan) Gondophares declared independence from the Parthian Empire. He would later make expeditions to the east, conquering territory from the Indo-Scythians and Indo-Greeks, thus transforming his kingdom into an empire. The domains of the Indo-Parthians were greatly reduced following the invasions of the Kushans in the second half of the 1st. century. They managed to retain control of Sakastan, until its conquest by the Sasanian Empire in c. 224/5. In Baluchistan, the Paratarajas, a local Indo-Parthian dynasty, fell into the orbit of the Sasanian Empire circa 262 CE; The Indo-Parthians are noted for the construction of the Buddhist monastery Takht-i-Bahi (UNESCO World Heritage Site) in Mardan, Pakistan. We do not know the religion of the House of Suren although we know they were in religious conflict with the Zoroastrian Arsacid Dynasty. However, they are thought to have retained Zoroastrianism, being of Iranian extraction themselves. This Iranian mythological system was inherited from them by the later Kushans who ruled from the Peshawar-Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa region of Pakistan; Coins of the Hindu deity Shiva have also been found issued in the reign of Gondophares I. (Credit: Indo-Parthian_Kingdom, Wiki) [Image 1. Devotees at Zoroastrian fire-altar, Indo-Parthian 2. Indo-Parthian King 3. Indo-Parthian Kingdom 50 CE. King 4. Ancient Buddhist monastery Takht-i-Bahi constructed by the Indo-Parthians 5. The Hellenistic Fire-temple Jandial, Taxila]
Parthian World
