Parthian Empire · 247 BC - 224 AD

The Parthians: horse archers between Rome and China

A nomad people from the edge of the steppe took over Persia and Mesopotamia and held off Rome for almost three centuries. Students map the rise of Parthia, meet its horse archers and find out why it was so useful to stand between Rome and China.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
45 minutes
Ages
12–15
On the map
3 steps, 200 BC to AD 100
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

A nomad people from the edge of the steppe took over Persia and Mesopotamia and held off Rome for almost three centuries. Students map the rise of Parthia, meet its horse archers and find out why it was so useful to stand between Rome and China.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Trace how Parthia grew from a small province into an empire on the map.
  • Explain how Parthian horse archers and armored cavalry fought.
  • Describe Parthia's place between Rome and China, using sources from both sides.
2

Explore the map

12 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

200 BC

A small beginning

Open the map in 200 BC. Find Parthia, a small land southeast of the Caspian Sea, and the huge Seleucid Kingdom around it. Which of the two looks stronger?

Open this view on the map
b

1 BC

The empire at its height

Jump to 1 BC and find the Parthian Empire. Which empire is its neighbor in the west? Which river forms much of the border between them?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 100

In the middle

Set the year to AD 100 and zoom out to see Rome, Parthia, the Kushans and the Han. Turn on Trade Routes. Why would Parthian merchants want to keep Rome and China apart?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

14 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. The Parthians began as a nomad people. How could steppe riders come to rule cities full of Greeks and Babylonians?
  2. Parthian kings let local nobles and vassal kings run much of their empire. Is that a strength or a weakness?
  3. Most of what we know about Parthia was written by Romans and Chinese. How might that bias the story?
  4. Parthia sat between Rome and China on the Silk Road. Why does being a middleman bring both wealth and danger?
  5. The phrase "parting shot" may come from the Parthian trick of shooting backward while riding away. Why do tactics become legends?
4

Game round

9 min

Play Augustus in Rule History. In 20 BC he got back the eagle standards Rome had lost to Parthia, without a battle, through a deal with the Parthian king. After the round, discuss: when is a deal better than a war with a strong neighbor?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

€19 per month unlocks every worksheet, every live lesson and the class workspace. The free lesson prints without a subscription.