Kingdom of Persis

Origins

After Alexander's conquest Persis became part of the Seleucid Empire, but in the 3rd century BCE local dynasts called frataraka ('governor' or 'leader') began issuing their own coins from Istakhr and Persepolis. Bagadates is often seen as the first independent frataraka, and his successors broke away from Seleucid control.

Rule and society

The frataraka coins show the ruler before a fire altar or Achaemenid-style monuments, with Aramaic legends, signalling continuity with the Persian past and Zoroastrian worship. From the mid-2nd century BCE Persis became a vassal of the Parthian Empire, and its rulers took the title king (shah). Kings such as Darayan and Manchihr bore names drawn from Iranian epic. The land lived from agriculture in the valleys of the Kur and Pulvar rivers.

Decline and legacy

Around 205 CE Pabag, a local lord at Istakhr, seized power, and his son Ardashir made himself king of Persis. In 224 CE Ardashir defeated the Parthian king Artabanus IV and founded the Sasanian Empire.