Characene

Characene (Template:Lang-ar), (Ancient Greek: Χαρακηνή), also known as Mesene (Μεσσήνη)^[1] or Meshan,^[2]^[3] was an Arab principality ^[4]^[5] within the Parthian Empire located at the head of the Persian Gulf.^[6] Its capital, Charax Spasinou (Χάραξ Σπασινού), was an important port for trade between Mesopotamia and India, and also provided port facilities for the city of Susa further up the Karun River.

Location

Characene was part of the Sassanid Empire and was located primarily within the southern part of present-day Iraq.^[7] At one point Characene included Tylos, the present-day country of Bahrain.

History

Characene was founded around 127 BC under Aspasine, known in classical writings as Hyspaosines, a former satrap installed by Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Characene remained intact throughout the Seleucid Empire and continued as an essentially independent kingdom under the Parthians until it was conquered by the Sassanians at the beginning of the third century AD.

After the Parthian conquest, Characene remained a semi-autonomous country with its own kings. Its tenure as a separate kingdom ended with the fall of the Parthian Empire.

The kings of Characene are known mainly by their coins, consisting mainly of silver tetradrachms with Greek and later Aramaic inscriptions. These coins are dated after the Seleucid era, providing a secure framework for chronological succession.

Charax, the capital of Characene, was founded by Alexander the Great. The city was constructed on an artificial mound to protect the site from the floodwaters of the nearby rivers. The new town served as a major commercial port for the eastern capital of Babylon. Charax flourished under the Seleucid Empire, controlling the trade in the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean. It was also a center for pearl diving.

The Roman emperor Trajan visited Charax in 116 AD during his invasion of Parthia, where he saw ships bound for India.

After it was destroyed by a flood, Charax was rebuilt by Seleucid king Antiochus III the Great (222–187 BC) and was briefly called Antiochia. After the Parthian invasion of Mesopotamia in 141 AD, Charax became independent.

The state kept its independence (perhaps as a vassal of the Parthian Empire) and sometimes joined the Romans in their struggle against the common enemy, the Parthian king. In his Natural History, Pliny the Elder praises the port of Charax:

The embankments extend in length a distance of nearly 4½ kilometers, in breadth a little less. It stood at first at a distance of 1¾ km from the shore, and even had a harbor of its own. But according to Juba, it is 75 kilometer from the sea; and at the present day, the ambassadors from Arabia, and our own merchants who have visited the place, say that it stands at a distance of one 180 kilometers from the sea-shore. Indeed, in no part of the world have alluvial deposits been formed more rapidly by the rivers, and to a greater extent than here; and it is only a matter of surprise that the tides, which run to a considerable distance beyond this city, do not carry them back again.^[8]

Trade continued to be important. A famous Characenian, a man named Isidore, was the author of a treatise on Parthian trade routes, the Mansiones Parthicae. The inhabitants of Palmyra had a permanent trading station in Characene. Many inscriptions mention caravan trade.

In 221-22 AD, an ethnic Persian, Ardašēr, who was satrap of Fars, led a revolt against the Parthians, establishing the Sassanid Empire. According to later Arab histories, he defeated Characene forces, killed its last ruler, rebuilt the town, and renamed it Astarābād-Ardašīr.^[9] The area around Charax that had been the Characene state was thereon known by the Aramaic/Syriac name Maysān, which was later adapted by the Arab conquerors.^[10]

Charax continued, under the name Maysān, with Persian texts making various mention of governors throughout the fifth century. A Nestorian Church was mentioned there in the sixth century. The Charax mint appears to have continued throughout the Sassanid empire and into the Umayyad empire, minting coins as late as AD 715.^[11]

The earliest references from the first century A.D. indicates that the people of Characene were referred to as Μεσηνός and lived along the Arabian side of the coast at the head of the Persian Gulf.

Kings

Hyspaosines (209–124 BC), founder and king of Characene.

Hyspaosines c. 127–124 BC
Apodakos c. 110/09–104/03 BC
Tiraios I 95/94–90/89 BC
Tiraios II 79/78–49/48 BC
Artabazos I 49/48–48/47 BC
Attambelos I 47/46–25/24 BC
Theonesios I c. 19/18
Attambelos II c. 17/16 BC – AD 8/9
Abinergaos I 10/11; 22/23
Orabazes I c. 19
Attambelos III c. 37/38–44/45
Theonesios II c. 46/47
Theonesios III c. 52/53
Attambelos IV 54/55–64/65
Attambelos V 64/65–73/74
Orabazes II c. 73–80
Pakoros (II) 80–101/02
Attambelos VI c. 101/02–105/06
Theonesios IV c. 110/11–112/113
Attambelos VII 113/14–117
Meredates c. 131–150/51
Orabazes II c. 150/51–165
Abinergaios II (?) c. 165–180
Attambelos VIII c. 180–195
Maga (?) c. 195–210
Abinergaos III c. 210–222

References

^ Morony, Michael G. (2005). Iraq After The Muslim Conquest. Gorgias Press LLC. p. 155. ISBN 9781593333157.
^ Avner Falk (1996). A Psychoanalytic History of the Jews. p. 330. In 224 he defeated the Parthian army of Ardavan Shah (Artabanus V), taking Isfahan, Kerman, Elam (Elymais) and Meshan (Mesene, Spasinu Charax, or Characene).
^ Abraham Cohen (1980). Ancient Jewish Proverbs. The large and small measures roll down and reach Sheol; from Sheol they proceed to Tadmor (Palmyra, Παλμύρα), from Tadmor to Meshan (Mesene), and from Meshan to Harpanya (Hipparenum, Ιππάρενον).
^ Yarshater, E. (1983). The Cambridge History of Iran. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521200929.
^ "ʿARAB i. Arabs and Iran (pre-Islamic) – Encyclopaedia Iranica". www.iranicaonline.org.
^ Kaveh Farrokh (2007). Shadows in the Desert: Ancient Persia at War. p. 124. With Babylon and Seleucia secured, Mehrdad turned to Charax in southern Mesopotamia (modern southern Iraq and Kuwait).
^ Bennett D. Hill; Roger B. Beck; Clare Haru Crowston (2008). A History of World Societies, Combined Volume (PDF). p. 165. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-12-03. Centered in the fertile Tigris-Euphrates Valley, but with access to the Persian Gulf and extending south to Meshan (modern Kuwait), the Sassanid Empire's economic prosperity rested on agriculture; its location also proved well suited for commerce. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
^ Pliny the Elder (AD 77). Natural History. Book VI. xxxi. 138-140. Translation by W. H. S. Jones, Loeb Classical Library, London/Cambridge, Massachusetts (1961).
^ Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari, Ṭabarī I
^ Yāqūt, Kitab mu'jam al-buldan IV and III
^ Characene and Charax, Characene and Charax Encyclopaedia Iranica

Authority control databases
National	Germany
Geographic	Pleiades

Location

History

Kings

References

Further reading