Atropatene

Atropatene, also known as Atropatia or Atropatian Media, was an ancient Iranian kingdom established around 323 BC by the Persian satrap Atropates. Centered primarily in the present-day Azerbaijan region of northwestern Iran, it was ruled by Atropates' descendants until the early 1st century AD, when the Parthian Arsacid dynasty took control. The kingdom was conquered by the Sasanians in 226 AD, becoming a province. Atropatene was unique as the only Iranian region to remain under Zoroastrian authority from the Achaemenid period until the Arab conquest, with only a brief interruption under Alexander the Great. Its Old Persian name is the direct ancestor of the modern Azerbaijan region.