- Parthians
Parthians — the commonly accepted name for the population of the Parthian Kingdom. Self-name Pahlavan — Parthian, or Pahlavanig — of Parthian origin.
The origin of the ethnonym Parthian is inseparable from similar names of other Indo-Iranian tribes: Parshu in the Rigveda (Vedic parśu-), Persians, Pashtuns — from Indo-Iranian *parśṷ(a)- lit. "chesty" (cf. Old Slavic "persa" — chest), i.e. "of strong build", "hero": Pahlav > Paθrav > Parθava > *parśavā > *parśṷ(a)-. A derivative of this name is regularly reflected in modern Persian پهلوان [pæhlævɒːn] "hero" (< Old Persian *parθavāna- < Old Iranian *parśavāna-). At the same time, Old Persian pārsa- — the ethnonym of the Persians and the name of Persia — is a vriddhi-form of this ethnonym (*pārśṷa "pertaining to the heroic tribe").
In antiquity, the steppes of Central Asia were inhabited by nomadic tribes of the Massagetae (Saka in Old Iranian sources), of Scythian origin. Around the 3rd century BC, several of these tribes united into a tribal union under the common name — Dahae. Among these tribes, the Parni tribe rose to a dominant role, from which the future leaders and founders of Parthia, Arsaces and Tiridates, originated. Having united the tribes under his rule with Arsaces at the head, the Dahae invaded the region called Aparthik in Old Persian sources, whose population at that time consisted of Western Iranian peoples who had long since transitioned to sedentarism and oasis agriculture. The established opinion that the conquerors merged with the local population, called Parthians, does not correspond to reality. In sources of the pre-Parthian era, the term Parthians was absent. The name Parthians was probably given to them by the Greeks, after the name of the region Parthia, conquered by the Parni tribes. The "Parthians" themselves called themselves Pahlavan — most likely, the self-name of the dominant Parni tribe.
The language of the Parni tribe, who expelled the Greco-Macedonian conquerors who had seized power in Iran and founded the Parthian Kingdom, belonged to the Eastern group of Iranian languages, like the languages of the nomadic Iranian tribes of the Sakas and Massagetae. Having won, they switched to the language of their numerous subjects, who spoke Western Iranian languages, on the basis of which the Parthian language was formed, belonging to the Northwestern group of Iranian languages of Balochi.
The Parthians were a warlike people, skilled horsemen and excellent archers. In 256 BC, they formed an independent state under the leadership of the Arsacids, which over time turned into a major empire, encompassing territories between the Euphrates and the Indus, the Caspian and Arabian Seas. The Parthian Kingdom existed until 226 AD, when it was replaced by the new Persian Sasanian Empire.
After the fall of the Arsacids, the Parthians nevertheless retained their privileged status in the Sasanian state. This is evidenced by the frequent mention of the name of the Parthians in rock inscriptions of the Sasanian era.
They retained their dominant position in the army, as well as in many provinces of the Sasanian Empire. Thus, the three largest Parthian clans — Mihran, Karen, and Surena — were the mainstay of the Sasanian throne. Even three centuries after the fall of the Arsacids, Parthian self-awareness was still alive. Noteworthy is the story of Bahram Chobin, who in the 6th century deposed the Sasanian Shah Hormizd IV and proclaimed the restoration of Parthia. Subsequently, part of the Parthians who lived in the interior regions of Iran merged with the Persian population, while the Parthians inhabiting the territory of modern Turkmenistan and Central Asia were absorbed by the Turks, becoming one of the ethnic components of the Turkmens.
Sources:
Early History of the Iranian Tribes of Western Asia. Grantovsky E.A. 2007