News update 31/03/2022 16
rybalc...@gmail.com
They were worthy opponents. The Parthians had to exert all their strength, to pay with the lives of their two kings - Phraates P and Artaban II, in order to defeat the enemies. This was succeeded by Mithridates II (124-87 BC), who at the same time annexed a number of new territories to his possessions and concluded an agreement with Rome on the division of spheres of influence. The Euphrates river became the border between the two world powers facing each other.
Fuendetodos – the birthplace of Francisco de Goya
Yesa reservoir and its touristic activities
Piedra monastery and its park with waterfalls
Sos del Rey Católico – a Historic-Artistic Site
Tarazona was declared a Historic-Artistic Site in 1965
Uncastillo – a Historic-Artistic complex
Parthia of the times of Mithridates II is a really powerful state. Far and near countries establish friendly relations with her or seek to enlist her support. Mithridates II begins to call himself the king of kings. So he was also called the ambassadors who arrived from China. The Han Emperor Wudi wanted to establish friendly relations with the Parthians, through whose possessions an important section of the Great Silk Road passed. The Parthians themselves were well aware of the benefits of controlling the roads along which trade caravans traveled from East to West and from West to East. They did not allow Roman traders here, stopping any attempt on their part to explore these routes and collect more information about the countries of the East.
Trade duties were one of the most important items of income for the state treasury. Some of the goods brought by caravans from different countries were sold at the bazaars in the major cities of Parthia. There one could buy Chinese silks, Indian cotton, embroideries from Babylon, precious stones, iron products of the masters of Syria and India, ebony, sandalwood, ivory, incense, healing ointments and powders, spices and other foreign goods. The most rare and precious items settled in the royal treasuries.
Albarracín and its architecture
Alcañiz – the capital of the Lower Aragon historical region
Cantavieja has been declared a historical-artistic site since 1981
Cretas and its parish Mannerist church
Linares de Mora and its castle
Mirambel and its historic center
Mora de Rubielos and its castle
Rubielos de Mora and its attractions
Teruel and its Mudejar heritage
Villarroya de los Pinares and its attractions
One of such treasuries of the Parthian kings was discovered by archaeologists in southern Turkmenistan near the small village of Bagir. It was located inside the Mihrdatkert fortress, later known as Old Nisa. The walls of the fortress were built of clay to a height of more than 10 m, reaching a thickness of 9 m at the base. They were reinforced with 43 rectangular towers, and the corner towers, which were of particular importance in the defense, were real bastions. Numerous loopholes in the shape of a swallow's tail cut through the thickness of the walls, giving the greatest view from the walls to the surroundings and protecting the defending warriors. In one of the corner towers there was an entrance to the fortress, to which a gradually rising ramp, parallel to the line of the wall, led. Thus, all those who entered the fortress were under the gunpoint of the garrison guarding it.
Agüero and Mallos rock formations
Aínsa – a Historic-Artistic Site
Alquézar and its collegiate castle-church of Santa María la Mayor
Canfranc International railway station – Titanic of the Mountains
Castle of Loarre – a National Monument
Ésera river and Linsoles reservoir
Graus was declared a historical-artistic site in 1975
Huesca – the door of the Pyrenees
Jaca – former capital of Aragon
Roda de Isábena and its Cathedral of San Vicente
Royal Monastery of San Juan de la Peña
San Pedro de Siresa – a Romanesque monastery
Cerler with 77 km of slopes, including the longest in Spain (9 km)
Candanchú is one the highest ski resort in the Spanish Pyrenees
Inside the fortress there were palaces, temples, service and utility rooms, including a treasury. The square building of the treasury had blank walls and a flat roof. Probably, in the last years of the existence of the Parthian state, the treasury was damaged by an earthquake, perhaps it was robbed. But even what archaeologists have found suggests what great values were stored in it. Details of Parthian weapons and precious horse harness, various vessels, both locally made and Egyptian and Syrian, fragments of jewelry made of glass, mastic, bone, shells, gems and precious metals, coins of Alexander the Great, Seleucids, Arsacids and kings were found. Greco-Bactrian kingdom. Some of the coins were counterfeit. Therefore, vigilant Parthian treasurers tested them by cutting them on the side or cutting them in half.
Numerous and well-preserved works of art were found: sculptures made of bone, metal, stone, part of the ceremonial throne of the Ar-Shakid kings and a large number of rhytons - horn-shaped ivory vessels decorated with carvings, paintings, and sculptural details. Perhaps these precious vessels were used during solemn ceremonies or palace feasts.
Avilés – a Historic-Artistic Site
As Figueiras and its attractions
Gijón – the capital of the Green Coast
Indiano Archive Foundation and its museum
La Quinta de Selgas – Asturian Versailles
Llanes and the Gulpiyuri – shortest beach in the world
Oviedo – the capital of the Principality of Asturias
Ribadesella and the International Descent of the Sella
Sanctuary of Covadonga – cradle of Spain
Tapia and its Peñarronda beach
Tazones – the Historic-Artistic Complex
Torazu and its rural architecture
Aguinaga Museum of Mercedes-Benz
Bakio – ideal for surfers of all levels
Bilbao – the most visited city of the Basque Country
Biscay bridge – a World Heritage Site by UNESCO
Butron castle inspired by Bavarian castle models
Cabo Machichaco lighthouse – the northernmost point of Basque country
Castle of Muñatones dates back to 1339
It is known that among the Parthians there was a widespread custom to drink an intoxicating drink, "giving comprehensive knowledge." During this ceremony, they discussed especially important matters.
One of the Nysian rhytons is decorated with a relief image, the plot of which can be associated with the legend of the Theban king Pentheus. The curious king secretly entered the festival dedicated to the god of wine, Dionysus. Among the participants in the sacred rites in honor of Dionysus - the Bacchantes - was the mother of Pen-they, Queen Agave. Intoxicated with wine, the Bacchantes mistook the king for a sacrificial animal and tore it to pieces, sacrificing it to their god. This Greek legend was the basis of Euripides' drama "The Bacchae", known at the Arsacid court. It was once played by actors in the presence of Tsar Orod, the winner of the Romans at Carrhae.