Characene
Sign in to saveCharacene (Ancient Greek: Χαρακηνή), also known as Mesene (Μεσσήνη) or Meshan, was a kingdom founded by the Iranian Hyspaosines located at the head of the Persian Gulf mostly within modern day Iraq. Its capital, Charax Spasinou (Χάραξ Σπασινού), was an important port for trade between Mesopotamia and India, and also provided port facilities for the city of Susa further up the Karun River. The kingdom was frequently a vassal of the Parthian Empire. Characene was mainly populated by Arabs, who spoke Aramaic as their cultural language. All rulers of the principality had Iranian names. Members of
Key facts
- Country.conventional_long_name
- Characene
- Country.common_name
- Characene
- Country.era
- Classical antiquity
- Country.status
- Autonomous state, frequently a vassal of the Parthian Empire
- Country.government_type
- Monarchy
- Country.year_start
- 141 BC
- Country.year_end
- 222 AD
- Country.event_end
- Sasanian conquest
- Country.p1
- Seleucid Empire
- Country.s1
- Sasanian Empire
- Country.image_map
- Karte Charakene.png
- Country.image_map_caption
- A map of Characene.
- Country.capital
- Charax Spasinu
- Country.common_languages
- Aramaic (cultural language)
- Country.leader1
- Hyspaosines (first)
- Country.year_leader1
- 141–124 BC
- Country.leader2
- Abinergaios III (last)
- Country.year_leader2
- 210–222 AD
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
Show 3 more facts
- Commons category
- Characene
- inception
- 0141-00-00
- dissolved, abolished or demolished date
- 0222-00-00
Sources (1)
via Wikidata · CC0
~8 min read
Article
6 sectionsContents
- Name
- History
- Kings
- References
- Sources
- Further reading
Characene (Ancient Greek: Χαρακηνή), also known as Mesene (Μεσσήνη) or Meshan, was a kingdom founded by the Iranian Hyspaosines located at the head of the Persian Gulf mostly within modern day Iraq. Its capital, Charax Spasinou (Χάραξ Σπασινού), was an important port for trade between Mesopotamia and India, and also provided port facilities for the city of Susa further up the Karun River. The kingdom was frequently a vassal of the Parthian Empire. Characene was mainly populated by Arabs, who spoke Aramaic as their cultural language. All rulers of the principality had Iranian names. Members of the Arsacid dynasty also ruled the state.
== Name == The name "Characene" originated from the name of the capital of the kingdom, Charax Spasinu. The kingdom was also known by the older name of the region, "Mesene", which is seemingly of Persian origin, meaning "land of buffalos" or the "land of sheep."