Parthian Battery: The Mystery of the 2,000-Year-Old Energy Source

The Parthian Battery, Οr Baghdad Battery, is one of the most fascinating inventions of the ancient world preceding by almost two millennia the batteries we use today.

The primitive battery-like device that was discovered by German archaeologist Wilhelm König in Khujut Rabu in modern-day Iraq in 1936 may not have been intended to work as a battery, but it has all the requisites to do so.

The mechanism is comprised of a five-inch tall ceramic pot with a 1.5 inch mouth, incorporating a copper cylinder in the center of which an iron rod floats without touching the bottom. Signs of corrosion were found, and after tests, it was decided that there was an acidic agent such as wine or vinegar inside the vessel that caused it.

baghdad battery pic.twitter.com/LAg34XOCzX

— Isthisreal (@1sthisr34l) December 3, 2022

 

 

There are about a dozen such artifacts that have been found that continue to puzzle archaeologists and scientists as to their function. König’s theory that they are indeed battery cells has valid points:

The two metals inside the ceramic container have different electro potentials. If combined with an electrolyte, they are the main components required to make a battery. The corrosion in the pot indicates that an electrolyte (wine or vinegar) might have been present.

There is also a possible explanation that the vessels functioned as storage units for sacred scrolls. The vessels are visually similar to other examples of such containers found at Tigris. According to this hypothesis, the iron rod would have had the scroll wrapped around it, which was then placed inside the copper tube. König himself has mentioned finding such scroll jars at excavations in the area.

Baghdad Battery
Over 2000 years old primitive assembly that can generate electricity.
A set of a clay pot, a copper tube, & an iron rod.
With acidic syrup becomes a galvanic cell possibly used 4 electroplating or e-therapy.
First found in a tomb south of Baghdad, 1936.#iraqesque pic.twitter.com/Nw1RzbfgGV

— #IRAQesque (@Iraqesque) June 16, 2018

Another theory, which is not as popular, is that the Parthian Battery was used as a galvanic cell for electroplating, putting a metal plate upon another metal, a technique used in jewelry.

Regardless of its function, however, the Baghdad Battery remains an impressive apparatus. As to its date of origin, opinions vary as well. The objects may date to the Parthian period (c. 250 BC – 225 AD) which makes them roughly two thousand years older than the first battery invented by Italian physicist and chemist Alessandro Volta.

However, König, the initial proponent of this theory, lacked any ancient writings upon which to build his hypothesis. To date, there is no discovery of such records.

Another critical drawback in König’s theory pertains to the limited potency of the Baghdad Battery. In its existing state, it could only generate approximately a volt of energy, rendering it incapable of powering substantial devices. Its low amperage, in particular, would have been insufficient for tasks like gilding.

Moreover, the absence of discovered wires and the lack of evidence regarding ancient wiring knowledge raise questions about the feasibility of enhancing its power. Additionally, the constant requirement to replenish the electrolyte would have posed significant challenges, especially considering the apparent asphalt stopper, rendering it inconvenient in practical use.

The prevailing belief suggests that the vessels of the Baghdad Battery served as storage units for sacred scrolls. Their visual resemblance to other containers found at neighboring sites like Tigris supports this notion, especially considering the abundance of similar jars in the vicinity.

According to this hypothesis, the iron rod would have functioned as a core for wrapping the scroll, subsequently placed inside the copper tube. König underscored the commonality of such scroll jars in his paper, emphasizing their frequent discovery during archaeological excavations.

According to the Iraqi Civil Society Solidarity Initiative (ICSSI), in 2003, the Parthian Battery was looted from the National Museum during the US operation in Iraq. Today, its whereabouts remain unknown.

 

Ancient Parthia

Parthia, where the Parthian Battery was invented, is a historical region in what is nowadays northern Greater Iran. It was first recorded as Parthava in an inscription of King Darius I of the Achaemenid Dynasty in 520 BC. Parthians were an Iranian people.

During the reign of Alexander the Great in the region, Parthia was joined to Hyrcania, and the two remained together as a province of the Seleucid kingdom.

Following the death of Alexander, a series of governor overturns took place among his successors. Parthia became a Seleucid governorate under Seleucus I Nicanor. Phrataphernes, the former governor appointed by Alexander, became governor of Hyrcania. In 320 BC, Parthia was reassigned to Philip, former governor of Sogdiana.

In 316 BC, Stasander, a vassal of Seleucus I Nicator became governor of Bactria. For the next sixty years, various Seleucids would be appointed governors of the province.

In 247 BC, Ptolemy III took advantage of the death of Antiochus II and usurped the Seleucid capital at Antioch. In turn, Andragoras, the Seleucid governor of Parthia, proclaimed his independence and began minting his own coins.

Tradition has it that the first non-Greek ruler of the Parthians and founder of the Parthian Empire was Arsaces I, a governor under Diodotus, the first Hellenistic satrap of Bactria.

Arsaces was the leader of a Pami tribe, and his successors were firmly established along the southern shore of the Caspian Sea. Arsaces revolted and fled westward to establish his own rule (c. 250–c. 211 BC). Historians also refer to the Parthian Empire as the Arsacid Empire.

Later, Mithridates I (r. 171–138 BC) and Artabanus II (r. 128–124 BC) were strong Parthian rulers who managed to gain control of the whole Iranian Plateau and the Tigris-Euphrates valley.

The Parthians, however, suffered by continuous nomad attacks on their northeastern borders as well as attacks by the Scythians. Mithridates II the Great, however, defeated the Scythians and restored the power of Parthia.

The most famous of the Mithridates dynasty was Mithridates VI Eupator (r. 120-88 BC). He was a powerful ruler who challenged the Roman army and called himself an enemy of Rome early in his reign. He fought the Mithridatic Wars against the Romans until he was defeated by Pompey the Great after he was betrayed by his son Pharnaces. Consequently, he committed suicide.