Military History of Ray, Iran - Seleucids and Sassanids

Seleucids and Sassanids

Alexander the Great passed through Ray (then called Rhagae) in pursuit of Darayavahush (Darius) III, last of the Achaemenid dynasty of Persia, resting his exhausted troops there for five days when he heard that his quarry had already reached the Caspian Gates pass (the much later historical epic, Shah-nameh, suggests that the garrison at Ray elected to join Alexander, and aided his conquest of Persia). After the great conqueror's untimely death, Seleucus, a successful officer in his army, initially settled in Babylon as his share of the empire, embarked on a nine-year campaign of conquest in 311 BCE, ultimately acquiring most of Persia. He followed Alexander's policy of establishing Greek cities at key strategic points, and among these was Europos, a replacement for the old Rhagae (much needed because there was an earthquake around 300 BCE).

Around 250 BCE, during the reign of the third Seleucid emperor, Arsak (Arsaces) killed the viceroy of Parthia and temporarily set up headquarters at Ray (Rhages), founding the Arsacid dynasty. He was unable to hold the city, but his family remained in control of the territory further east. A later Arsacid ruler of Parthia, Phraates I subdued the Mardi people of the Elburz Mountains, nominally subjects of the Seleucids, shortly after his accession in 181 BCE. According to Strabo's Geography, he settled them at Charax, a fort between Ray (Rhagae) and the Caspian Gates pass, the main communication route with the east. Phraates' successor Mithridates I then expanded Parthia, his conquests including Ray. The town seems to have suffered, and he had it "refounded" around 148 BCE with the name Arsacia.

Little is known about events around Ray over the next several hundred years (except that in 459 CE Peroz, son of Sassanid emperor Yazdegerd II, with allies from the Khorasan area, fought at Ray against his brother- who had succeeded their father as emperor Hormizd III- and thus became emperor Peroz I. Over a century later, the usurper Bahram Chobin was based in the city, though the military action in his brief period as ruler (590-591 CE) seems to have taken place elsewhere- the same may be said for his effective successor Bistam, who minted coins in the city. Thus it would be wrong to assume that the following catalogue of events represents an abrupt change in the military history of Ray; the Islamic sources are simply very rich (which is also why Hijri dates are given alongside the CE dates from here on).