PARSHANDATHA (par -shan'da - tha), (Heb. 1417.5.77, Par-shan-daw-thaw% perhaps, given to Persia), the eldest son of Haman, put to death with his father (Esth. ix:7), B. C. 437.
PARTHIA (Gr. Ilapela, fiar-thee'ah), the country of the Parthians (11dpOot), mentioned in Acts ii:9, as being with their neighbors, the Medes and Elamites, present at Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost.
The persons referred to were Jews from Parthia, and the passage is a strong evidence showing how widely spread were members of the Hebrew family in the first century of our era. The term originally referred to a small moun tainous district lying to the northeast of Media. Afterwards it came to be applied to the great Parthian kingdom, into which this province ex panded. Parthia proper. or ancient Parthia, ly ing between Aria and Hyrcania, the residence of a rude and poor tribe, and traversed by bare mountains, woods, and sandy steppes, formed a part of the great Persian monarchy, being a de pendency on the satrapy of Hyrcania. Its in habitants were of Scythian origin. They formed a part of the army of Xerxes, and were found in that of the fast Darius. In the breaking up of the kingdom of Alexander the Parthians took sides with Eumenes, and became subject to An tigonus and the Seleucidx.
But Arsaces arose against the Syro-Macedonian power, and commenced a new dynasty in his own person, designated by the title of Arsacidm. This was the beginning of the great Parthian empire, which extended itself in the early days of Chris tianity over the provinces of what had been the Persian kingdom, having the Euphrates for its western boundary, by which it was separated from the dominions of Rome. It was divided
into eighteen provinces. Now at peace, now in bitter hostilities with Rome, now the victor and now the vanquished, the Parthians were never subjugated by the Romans. At length Arta xerxes defeated the Parthians in a great battle, succeeded to all the dominions of the Parthian kings, and founded the new Persian empire, to the rulers of which is commonly given the name of the Sassanidm. The government of Parthia was monarchical ; but as there was no settled and recognized fine of succession, rival aspirants were constantly presenting themselves, which weak ened the country with internal broils, especially as the Romans saw it to be to their interest to foster dissensions and encourage rivalries, and this fed eventually to the overthrow of the dy nasty by the successful aspirant, Artaxerxes. During the Syro-Macedonian period the Parthian and Jewish history kept apart in separate spheres, but under the Romans the Parthians defended the party of Antigonus against Hyrcanus, and even took and plundered Jerusalem (Joseph. Antiq. xiv. 13. 3; De Bell. facl. i. 13). The geog raphy of Parthia may be studied, besides in the ancient authorities, in Cellar. Notit. 7oo ; Man nert, v. 102. J. R. B.