LiTgraTuRR.—The art. ‘Second Advent’ in Kitto’s Bibl. Cyel. i. p. 75, which gives references to the older Eng. literature ; Warren, The Parousia ; Russell, The Parousia ; Ase The Christian Doctrine of Immortatity ; Beet, The Last Things; Terry, Biblical Apocalyptics ; Dieckmann, Die Parousie Christi (1898); Schmoller, Die Lehre vom Reiche Gottes in d. Schr. des NT (1891); and the appropriate sections in the Biblical Theologies of Weiss, Beyschlag, Holtzmann, and Stevens.—For
the doctrine of Jesus, consult Weiffenbach, Der Wiederkunfts- gedanke Jesu, where the older critical literature is fully given ;
Die Lehre Jesu, ii. Ὁ. 643 ff. (Eng. tr. fi. PP 265-307] ; Bruce,
he Messiah
Jilicher, Die Gleichnisreden J p. 240 ff.—For the teaching of St. Paul οὐ inismus?, p, 274 ff.; Kabisch, Die Eschatolog p. 228f%.; Briggs, Messiah of the Apostles; Stevens, The Pauline logy, p. 889 ff.—For the teaching of St. John, cf. Stevens, The (neato Theology, Ἐ 829 1ἴ.; Holtzmann, Neutestamentliche Theologie, ii. p. 611 ff. Much information may be obtained also from the special notes on eschatology in Holtzmann, Hdcomm. (e.g. ii. p. ff., iv. p. 177). See also the literature given under MILLENNIUM. W. ADAMS Brown.
PARSHANDATHA (xn73¢75 ; Φαρσάν, Φαρσανεστάν) —The eldest of the sons of Haman, vat to death by the Jews in Shushan (Est 9"). For the ety. mology Benfey suggests Pers. fragna-data=‘ given by prayer.’
PARTHIANS (Πάρθοι; Vulg. Parthi). — This nationality is mentioned only in Ac 2%, in which assage the descendants of Jews that had settled in Parthia and afterwards returned to Jerusalem are clearly intended (see v.°). The Parthians in- habited a mountainous district, situated south of the Caspian Sea, having on its north H Teania, on its south Carmania, on its west Media, and on its east Ariana, Justin (bk. xli.) describes them as Scythian exiles, the word Parthian meaning ‘refugee’ in their language. The tract where they located themselves is a very fertile one, and is watered by a number of small streams that flow down from the mountains, liable to sudden and violent floods on the melting of the snow thereon, but of exceedingly small volume in summer-time. The principal mountains were the Labus or Labutas (identified with the Sobod Koh), the Parachoathras (Elburz), and the Masdor- anus. It was divided into several districts, of which Camisene on the north, Parthyene on the south-west of Camisene, Choarene on the west, Apavarticene on the south, and Tabiene along the borders of Carmania Deserta, were the principal. From the second of these divisions, Parthyene, the country is regarded as having received its name. In ancient times it was, to all appearance, much more densely populated than now, as, according to Fraser (Khorassan, p. 245), the tract contains the ruins of many large and Spey, handsome cities ; and Ptolemy relates that it had 25 large towns. The capital of the district was Heca- tompylos, and Darius Hystaspis (Behistun In- scription) refers to two other cities—Vispauzatis, where a battle took place, and Patigrabana.
It is doubtful iiehier any credence can be given to the various stories of the origin of the Parthians. Moses of Chorene calls them descend- ants of Abraham by Keturah, and John of Malala agrees with Strabo (xi. 9, sec. 2), Arrian (Fr. 1), and Justin (xli. 1-4), in regarding them as Scythians brought by Sesostris from Scythia when he re- turned from that country and settled in a district of Persia. The first authentic information about them, however, is given by Darius Hystaspis, who speaks of them as inhabiting the tract with which they are generally associated. However faithful they may have been to their suzerain in the cen- turies preceding the rule of the great Persian, on the accession of Darius they evidently joined with the Hyrcanians in support of the pretender Fravartis. Darius’ father, ystaspes, went against them with those who were faithful to his son’s cause, and defeated the allied army of the rebels at Vispauzatis, on the 22nd of the month Viyakhna. To all appearance, however, the Parthians and
Hyrcanians were far from being beaten, and Hystaspes was in want of reinforcements.
Darius
PARTHIANS
PARTICULAR, PARTICULARLY 681
therefore at once sent to him an army of Persians | members of his family in opposition to him.
from Raga. took the field against the allies, and a second battle was fought at Patigrabana, on the lst of Garma- pee the result being a second victory for the
ersians. ‘Thereafter,’ says Darius, ‘ was the land mine. This did I in Parthia.’
According to Herodotus (iii. 93), the Parthians were in the 16th satrapy of the Persian empire as divided by Darius, aa they had along with them the Chorasmians, the Sogdians, and the Areians. This united prema had to pay to the royal trea- sury a sum of 300 talents of silver. In the war of Xerxes against the Greeks, according to Herodotus (vii. 66), the Parthians were in the same division as the Bactrians, and had the same commander as the Chorasmians. To all appearance they remained faithful to the Persians to the end, serving with them at Arbela against Alexander, to whom, how- ever, they made but a feeble resistance when he passed through their country on his way to Bactria (Arr. Exp. Aleg. iii. 8).
After the death of Alexander they formed part of the domain of the Seleucid, but revolted about B.C. 256, under Arsaces, who founded the native dynasty known as the Arsacide. This dynasty contained no fewer than thirty-one kings, and lasted from about B.C. 248 until about A.D. 226, when Sassan founded upon its ruins the dynasty of the Sassanid. The family of the Arsacide, however, continued to exist in Armenia as an inde- pendent dynasty.