The Parthian shot was a military tactic made famous in the West by the Parthians, an ancient Iranian people.
The Parthians people established an empire that lasted almost 500 years, from the mid-3rd century BC until 224 AD.
The Parthian empire occupied Iraq, Armenia, all of modern Iran, parts of Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan, and for short time, also territories in Pakistan, Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Palestine.
They came to power under king Mithradates the Great ;
their territories stretched from the Euphrates River in the West to CentralAsia and the borders of Bactria in the east.
Mithridates VI Evpator was the King Pontus, who ruled in 120 – 63 BC.
He began to expand his possessions, subordinating to his power Colchis, Bosporus, Paphlagonia, Cappadocia, and Galatia.
After that, he turned his attention to the Bethlehem kingdom, which was Pontus’ last independent neighbor, who stood guard over the interests of Rome.
The Pontus kings had long had disputes with the Roman Republic, and Mithridates fought three times with Rome and faced on the battlefield with the greatest generals of that era: Sulla, Lucullus, and GnaeusPompey.
But in the end, Asia Minor got to the heirs of Rome , who defeated the last great king of the HellenisticEast (Greek).
Tombs of the Greek Kings of Pontus.
Mithridates VI continued the policy of his ancestors, who sought to regain power over lost lands in the past and set himself up as a defender of Hellenism, but it led to an inevitable conflict with the Roman Republic.
By the summer of 65 BC, Mithridates returned to the Bosporus kingdom.
He sent ambassadors to Pompey with peace proposals, but he demanded unconditional surrender.
Pompey
Mithridates begans large-scale preparations for a new campaign against the Romans.
The Parthian archers, mounted on light horse while retreating at a full gallop, would turn their bodies back to shoot at the pursuing enemy.
The maneuver required superb equestrian skills, since the rider’s hands were occupied by his bow.
As the stirrup had not been invented at the time of the Parthians, the rider relied solely on pressure from his legs to guide his horse.
The tactic also could be used during feigned retreat, with devastating effect.
This tactic was used by most Eurasiannomads, including the Scythians, Huns, Turks, Magyars, and Mongols, as well as the armies away from the Eurasian Steppe, such as the Sassanid, Clibanarii and Cataphracts.
A notable battle in which this tactic was employed (by the Parthians) was the Battle of Carrhae.
In this battle the Parthianshot was a principal factor in the Parthian victory over the Roman general Crassus.
Roman General Crassus.
However, the agriculture trade and that of the Bosporus were in decline due to the sea blockade by the Romans.
SHIELD OF PHARNACES I, KING OF PONTUS, C. 185–169 BC
Mithridates, imitating Hannibal hoped to invade Italy through the lands of his allied
Sarmatians, Dacians and the Gauls, on the way, compiling , a huge army for the invasion.
Conspiracy in favor Mithridates’ son, Pharnaces was in full swing .
The local army, together with the Roman defectors in Panticapaeum, rose in favor of his son.
Trying to avoid capture, Mithridates took poison, but it did not work because of immunity to it, developed from childhood.
Then Mithridates asked his bodyguard to kill him with a sword.
Parthian shot in Literature
By way of metaphor, “Parthian shot” also is used to describe a barbed insult, delivered as the speaker departs.
Common opinion holds that, in a case of folk etymology, the term parting shot, used similarly, developed as a like re-interpretation of “Parthian shot”, meaning the term was corrupted through common parlance, however, the two phrases have separate histories.The first record of the phrase “parting shot” was by John McCleod, surgeon on board His Majesty’s ship Alceste, in A narrative of a Voyage to the Yellow Sea (1818):
The consort, firing a parting shot, bore up round the north end of the island, and escaped.
Parthian monument was found by Austrian archaeologists in Ephesus from 1897 to 1901
The two phrases have rather similar phonetic soundings, but are derived separately and at different times.
Although the Parthian archers of old have been famous for their shooting, the term “Parthian shot” was recorded for the first time in 1832 by Captain Godfrey Mundy, who served as aide-de-camp to Lord Combermere, on a hunting trip in India, in his book Pen and Pencil Sketches, Being the Journal of a Tour in India:
…I made a successful Parthian shot with my favourite Joe Manton [a shotgun named after gunsmith Joseph Manton], and slew my determined little pursuer.
The figurative use of the phrase “Parthian shot” appeared later in The Times (April 20, 1842):
His Parthian shot reached them as they closed the doors. ‘Never mind darlings’, they heard him say, ‘we can all sleep soundly now Turner’s here.’
photo :Ali Ghoorchian is the Director of the world famous Shabdiz Horseback Archery and Trail Riding Center in Tehran, Iran. Ali is driven by a passion for horses and traditional archery. Shabdiz Clubprovides an atmosphere promoting the pursuit of excellence in true horsemanship and horseback archery. The theme of the Shabdiz Club is ‘dedication to the sport; the goal is becoming one with the horse’…
Note: Shabdiz (in شبديز) was the legendary black stallion of Khosrau Parvez, one of the most famed Sassanid Persian kings (reigned 590 to 628CE). Shabdiz, meaning “midnight”, was reputedly the “world’s fastest horse” according to ancient Persian literature.
Relief of coronation of Khosrau II Parviz ( Undefeatable), with king riding his favorite horse Shabdiz, Taq-E Bustan, Iran, Sasanian civilization
