The Verb empoliteuo and Greek Citizenship under Arsacid Rule

The primary translation for the ancient Greek verb (Greek text) in several dictionaries is "to be a citizen, have civil rights." That definition is untenable. The connotations of (Greek text) for citizen status are usually indeterminate, but where they are clear, the verb has the opposite meaning and refers to non-citizens rather than citizens. This sense is crucial to the study of Greek citizenship in the Arsacid empire, because (Greek text) appears twice in a key passage from Josephus on Greco-Babylonian relations in the poleis of Arsacid Mesopotamia. The verb's dictionary definition has led some historians to the conclusion that non-Greeks were citizens of these poleis. Along with local evidence in Akkadian, a review of (Greek text) appearances in literature and epigraphy suggests the opposite.