Atropatene
Atropatene Ātṛpātakāna | |||||||||
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| c. 323 BC–3rd century AD | |||||||||
 Map of Media Atropatene and neighboring countries in 1st century BC | |||||||||
| Capital | Ganzak | ||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||
| King | |||||||||
| Historical era | Antiquity | ||||||||
• Established | c. 323 BC | ||||||||
• Disestablished | 3rd century AD | ||||||||
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Atropatene was an ancient kingdom that existed in part of what is now Iran. It existed with Darius III of Persia and Alexander the Great. It started in the 4th century BCE, in what is now northern Iran. Its capital was Ganzak. It ended as a vassal kingdom of the Parthian empire. In 226, the Sasanian empire conquered it. At that time it was probably more of a province of the Parthian empire than a kingdom, even though its rulers were kings.
Today, many people see it as a predecessor of the modern state of Azerbaijan.
