…he founds such cities as Nisa, where he will be buried.

These new cities are usually named after the king or the dynasty.

Arsaces seems not to have infringed upon the rights of the Greeks and Macedonians living in these cities, perhaps hoping to win their support.

From the beginning, while maintaining the autonomy of the cities, he makes use of propaganda to ensure their continuing obedience.

He installs his capital at Hecatompylos (southeast of the Caspian Sea), on the Silk Road in western Khurasan.

(Although it is thought to have been built at a location now between the Iranian cities, Damghan and Shahrud, its precise site has not been established.)

The Arsacids begin to recover many of the dominions of the Persian empire, organizing the Parthian realm into several small states.

A feudal nobility, which acknowledges the authority of the Arsacid dynasty but enjoys a considerable degree of independence, controls these polities.