They belong to Parthia in northern Iran, invaded India and established a small kingdom in the north-west. They were called as Pahlavas in India.
Gondofernes (1st century A.D.) was the most famous ruler of this dynasty. St Thomas, one of the 12 apostles of Jesus and a missionary from Syria visited his court. St Thomas is supposed to be the first Christian to arrive in India. An Italian traveller, Marco Polo who visited India in the 13th century informed that he saw the tomb of St Thomas in Madras. It can be deduced that St Thomas came to India in 1stcentury A.D., and reached South India propagating Christianity and passed away in Madras. Marco Polo visited Motupalli (Prakasam district, Andhra Pradesh), the main seaport of Kakatiyas and gave an account of the then Kakatiya ruler Rudrama Devi.
