Res Gestae

Hence they venerate and worship Arsaces as a god, and their regard for him has been carried so far, that even down to the memory of our time only a man who is of the stock of Arsaces (if there is one anywhere) is preferred to all in mounting the throne. Even in any civil strife, which constantly arises among them, everyone avoids as sacrilege the lifting of his hand against an Arsacid, whether he is bearing arms or is a private citizen.

It is well known that this nation, after vanquishing many peoples by its power, extended its domain as far as the Propontis and Thrace,[*](Cf. xxv. 4, 23.) but through the arrogance of its haughty leaders, who lawlessly extended their raids to a great distance, it was weakened by severe losses: first through Cyrus, who crossed the Bosporus with an army of incredible size, but was completely annihilated by the Scythian queen Tomyris, the fierce avenger of her sons.[*](Cf. Hdt. i. 214; Just. i. 8, 9 ff.)

Later, when Darius, and after him Xerxes, changed the use of the elements[*](Of water, when he bridged the Hellespont; of land, when he cut a canal through the Athos promontory.) and attacked Greece, almost all their forces were destroyed by land and sea, and they themselves barely found a safe return; not to mention the wars of Alexander and the passing by his will and testament of the whole nation to the jurisdiction of a single successor.[*](There is no mention of this will in Curtius, Arrian, or Diodorus Siculus.)

After this was done and a long time had passed, during which the Roman commonwealth was governed by consuls and later brought under the sway of the Caesars, these nations carried on wars with us from time to time, and sometimes the contest was equal, at other times they were conquered, and occasionally they came off victorious.

I shall now describe the lie of the land—so far as my purpose allows—briefly and succinctly. These regions extend to a wide area in length and breadth,[*](For its extent under Cyrus, see Xen., Cyrop. viii. 7, 7; cf. i. 1, 4: under Darius Hystaspes, Hdt. iii. 88.) and run all along the Persian Gulf, which has many islands and peoples all round. The entrance to this sea (they say) is so narrow that from Harmoz, the promontory of Carmania, the other headland opposite it, which the natives call Maces, may be seen without difficulty.