Seleucid, Sassanid, and Parthian Empires all have several common features. All of the three empires were quite large and occupied the territories of several modern countries; they were spread from Europe to Asia. The ruling dynasties of all of the three empires had a goal to conquer more lands and to make their states even bigger, as back then this was considered the sign of power and influence. To stay safe and stable in the world of conquerors and preserve own authority during the interaction with cunning and unreliable neighbors that could attack any moment a ruler of a state needed to have very well developed diplomatic skills.
This was not always the case, and as a result, many clashed between the neighboring empires and lands occurred. Besides, during their conquests, the rulers of Seleucid, Sassanid and Parthian Empires took over very diverse lands and cultures. This is why each of these states was non-homogenous and contained many nations, ethnicities, religions, and cultures. To avoid confrontations within the state, the leaders of the empires had to find balance and learn how to set order and keep the diverse citizens satisfied and happy. All of the three empires made a large contribution to modern science. Seleucid, Sassanid, and Parthian scholars studies and developed such studies as mathematics, medicine, astronomy, and, of course, philosophy.
Choosing between the three of these powerful states I would prefer to live in the Parthian Empire. Parthia was spread through the territories that today belong to Armenia, Iraq, Iran, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Israel, Palestine, Syria, and Lebanon (“Parthian Empire,” par. 1). The Empire grew out of a small kingdom by conquering and taking over the lands nearby. The first reason why I choose the Parthian Empire is its rulers’ grasp on the economy. Parthian Empire became very rich due to the taxation of the caravans coming through the Silk Road. Such financial success was achieved because of the diplomacy of Parthians, which the second reason why I would prefer to live on the territory of this state. The rulers of the Parthian Empire tried to make wise and peaceful deals and make use out of every interaction with their neighbors, such as Rome of Chinese nomads. Finally, I think that loosening the centralized power of the state was a clever idea, that came ahead of its time, this is why it eventually turned out to be a disadvantage that weakened the Empire.
Seleucid Empire occupied the territories of the same modern countries as the Parthian Empire. Some of the main issues of this state were its constant inner problems and confrontations between the factions of the Seleucid dynasty (“Seleucid Empire (Syria),” par. 5). The Empire has torn apart from the inside; the situation there was very unstable, which is the reason why I did think that the Seleucid Empire would be a good place to live in.
Sassanid Empire occupied a large territory, and because of that, it was under constant attacks from the sides of various neighbors. The borderlands were taken away and re-conquered by the state rulers many times. Besides, the constant expansion made the Empire a stable aggressor. In total, the Sassanid Empire spent eighty percent of the time of its existence in a state of war or conflict with the neighboring states and nations from different sides. This is the reason why this Empire did not become my first choice.
Works Cited
Lendering, Jona. Parthian Empire. 2014. Web.
– – -. Seleucid Empire (Syria). n. d. Web.