Vol. VII, No. 11.] The Vikramaditya Samvatsara., 737 
[N.S.] 
conve Kophéné, we must, to understand the position, review 
w of the main facts of Parthian history. 1e very name of 
Parthian, in Greek called -zapé@vaia, as Justin reminds us, 
the Peloponnesus. More like the former than the latter ; while 
both reduced the native inhabitants to a state bordering on 
servitude, and deprived them of all the privileges of freemen, 
the Parthians did not further abuse their position, and freely 
admitted the unfree to all positions of trust, and even enrolled 
them in their army, which was in fact mainly composed of the 
subject races. As a territorial appellation Parthia never had 
any existence, and never was dissociated from Hyrkania. Even 
its capital (Greek Hekatompylos, seemingly in old Persian 
Cataraochana) appeared in its duplicate form as the Parthian 
Hundrakerta, the Greek Zadrakarta ; which must not, as errone- 
ously su pposed, be rendered as implying a second city, the names 
being simply the Parthian or Bet denominations respec. 
tively. 
. Under its great king Mithridates I Parthia aimed at 
the conquest of the East, and Mithridates made war on Baktria, 
then under the rule of a king called by the Greeks Heliokles, 
son of Eukratidas, but whose real name was seemingly Azilises 
or Spalirises (Capal-isca, i.e., Gabal-isca). The result of the war 
was the defeat of Baktria and the annexation of two previnces, 
Phere we shall ultimately meet his suce 
37. Judging from the facility with “ahah h Kadiphes iv vag 
his successor of apparently the same name, overran these 
vinces, the rule of Parthia, never in sympathy with conqu ed 
‘nations, must have been especially distasteful in these regions ; 
as distasteful, doubtless, as Demetrius II of Syria found it in 
his invasion of Mesopotamia in the previous century ; and it is 
well to remember that it was only when he had Sodahod the heart 
hedeteas saageet Hie Demetrius learned the real strength of her 
western portion of shat tate weld ° fa to have passed into 
the hands of Demetrius, son of Futhydémus. Attacked from 
