settlement of the Parthians in Parthia by the returning conqueror is, in
fact, a mere duplicate of the tale commonly told of his having settled
the Colchians in Colchis, and is equally worthless. The earlier authors,
moreover, know nothing of the story, which first appears in the second
century after our era, and as time goes on becomes more circumstantial.

Even the special connection of the Parthians with the Dahse, and their
migration from the shores of the Palus Mteotis, may be doubted. Strabo
admits it to be uncertain whether there were any Dahse at all about the
Mseotis; and, if there were, it would be open to question whether they
were of the same race with the Dahse of the Caspian. As the settlement
of the Parthians in the country called after their name dated from a
time anterior to Darius Hystaspis, and the Greeks certainly did not
set on foot any inquiries into their origin till at least two centuries
later, it would be unlikely that the Parthians could give them a true
account. The real groundwork of the stories told seems to have been
twofold. First, there was a strong conviction on the part of those who
came in contact with the Parthians that they were Scyths; and secondly,
it was believed that their name meant "exile." Hence it was necessary to
suppose that they had migrated into their country from some portion of
the tract known as Scythia to the Greeks, and it was natural to invent
stories as to the particular circumstances of the migration.

The residuum of the truth, or at any rate the important conviction of
the ancient writers, which remains after their stories are sifted, is
the Scythic character of the Parthian people. On this point, Strabo,
Justin, and Arrian are agreed. The manners of the Parthians had, they
tell us, much that was Scythic in them. Their language was half Scythic,
half Median. They armed themselves in the Scythic fashion. They were, in
fact, Scyths in descent, in habits, in character.