ey had the privilege of electing to the throne
upon a vacancy, and even that of deposing a duly elected monarch, the
king could not but stand in wholesome awe of them, and feel compelled to
treat them with considerable respect and deference. Moreover, they were
not without a material force calculated to give powerful support to
their constitutional privileges. Each stood at the head of a body
of retainers accustomed to bear arms and to serve in the wars of the
Empire. Together these bodies constituted the strength of the army; and
though the royal bodyguard might perhaps have been capable of dealing
successfully with each group of retainers separately, yet such an
_esprit de corps_ was sure to animate the nobles generally, that they
would make common cause in case one of their number were attacked,
and would support him against the crown with the zeal inspired by
self-interest. Thus the Parthian nobility were far more powerful and
independent than any similar class under the Achaemenian, Sassanian,
Modern Persian, or Turkish sovereigns. They exercised a real control
over the monarch, and had a voice in the direction of the Empire. Like
the great feudal vassals of the Middle Ages, they from time to time
quarrelled with their liege lord, and disturbed the tranquillity of the
kingdom by prolonged and dangerous civil wars; but these contentions
served to keep alive a vigor, a life, and a spirit of sturdy
independence very unusual in the East, and gave a stubborn strength to
the Parthian monarchy, in which Oriental governments have for the most
part been wanting.

There were probably several grades of rank among the nobles. The highest
dignity in the kingdom, next to the Crown, was that of Surena, or
"Field-Marshal;" and this position was hereditary in a particular
family, which can have stood but a little below the royal house in
wealth and consequence. The head of this noble house is stated to have
at one time brought into the field as many as 10,000 retainers and
slaves, of whom a thousand were heavy-armed. It was his right to place
the diadem on the king's brow at his coronation. The other nobles lived
for the most part on their domains, but took the field at the head
of their retainers in case of war, and in peace sometimes served the
offices of satrap, vizier, or royal councillor. The wealth of the class
was great; its members were inclined to be turbulent, and, like
the barons of the European kingdoms, acted as a cons