Battle of Carrhae

• 1. Triumvirate Politics

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  Marcus Licinius Crassus, Pompeius Magnus, and Julius Caesar met in Ravenna during March 56 BC to reaffirm their political alliance. The three men agreed to marshal resources for the upcoming elections of 55 BC. Their goal was a second joint consulship for Crassus and Pompey. Legislation passed by tribune Trebonius granted extended proconsulships matching that of Caesar in Gaul. Crassus arranged to receive Syria with the transparent intention of going to war with Parthia. This political overview derives from Erich S. Gruen's work on the Conference of Luca. The faction secured the consulship and most other offices sought through money and influence. Pressure took many forms including patronage and friendship. A force of 1000 troopers brought from Gaul by Crassus's son Publius added weight to their campaign.

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• 2. Parthian Succession Crisis

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  A war of succession broke out in Parthia in 57 BC after King Phraates III had been killed by his sons Orodes II and Mithridates IV. In the first stage, Orodes emerged victorious and appointed his brother as king of Media. Another armed clash made Orodes force Mithridates to flee to Aulus Gabinius, the Roman proconsul of Syria. Gabinius sought to interfere in the succession dispute on behalf of Mithridates so Rome could make him its puppet king. However, Gabinius abandoned his plans and opted to intervene in Ptolemaic Egyptian affairs instead. Mithridates proceeded to invade Babylonia on his own with some initial success but was soon confronted by the army of the Parthian commander Surena. Crassus also sought to ally himself with Mithridates and invaded Parthia's client-state Osroene in 54 BC. He wasted most of his time waiting for reinforcements on the Balikh River's left bank while Surena besieged, defeated and executed Mithridates in Seleucia on the Tigris. Orodes, now unopposed in his own realm, marched north to invade Rome's ally Armenia.

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• 3. Crassus Invasion Strategy

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  Marcus Crassus arrived in Syria in late 55 BC and immediately set about using his immense wealth to raise an army. Plutarch states he assembled a force of seven legions for a total of about 28,000 to 35,000 heavy infantry. He also had about 4,000 light infantry and 4,000 cavalry including the 1,000-strong Gallic cavalry that Publius had brought with him. Artavasdes advised him to take a route through Armenia to avoid the desert and offered him reinforcements of a further 10,000 cavalry and 30,000 infantry. Crassus refused the offer and decided to take the direct route through Mesopotamia in order to capture the great cities in the region. At Ichnae he easily defeated forces led by the local satrap Silaces who fled to advise Mithridates then still battling his brother Orodes. Late in the winter Artavasdes visited Crassus's camp at the head of a force of 6,000 cavalrymen and reiterated his offer to provide troops if Crassus would march through Armenia. Again Crassus refused possibly because he felt Roman forces were enough and may not have trusted Artavasdes completely.

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• 4. Tactical Formations And Combat

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  Crassus encountered Surena's army near the town of Carrhae on the morning of the 9th of June when reconnaissance found scouts slain and a large force of cavalry approaching. The Parthians went to great lengths to intimidate the Romans by beating hollow drums which unsettled the Roman troops. Surena ordered his cataphracts to cover their armour in cloths and advance until they were within sight of the Romans before dropping them to reveal shining armor. Though Surena had originally planned to shatter the Roman lines with a charge by his cataphracts he judged that it would not yet be enough to break them. He sent his horse archers to surround the Roman square remaining beyond the range of the Roman pila javelins. The legionaries formed the testudo formation by locking their shields together to present a nearly-impenetrable front to missiles. However that formation severely restricted their ability in melee combat. The Parthian cataphracts exploited that weakness and repeatedly charged the Roman line causing panic and inflicting heavy casualties.

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• 5. Death Of The Triumvir

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  Crassus, unaware of his son's fate but realising that Publius was in danger, ordered a general advance. He was confronted with the sight of his son's head on a spear. The Parthian horse archers began to surround the Roman infantry and shot at them from all directions. Meanwhile the cataphracts mounted a series of charges that disorganised the Romans. The Parthian onslaught did not cease until nightfall. Crassus having learned of his son's death combined with the increasing inevitability of defeat became nearly catatonic. He ordered a disorganized ragged retreat to the nearby town of Carrhae leaving behind 4,000 wounded who were killed by the Parthians the next morning. Four Roman cohorts got lost in the dark and were surrounded on a hill by the Parthians; only 20 Romans survived. Surena sent a message to the Romans and offered to negotiate with Crassus proposing a truce to allow the Roman army to return to Syria safely. At the meeting a Parthian pulled at Crassus's reins and sparked violence in which Crassus and his generals were killed. After his death the Parthians allegedly poured molten gold down his throat in a symbolic gesture mocking Crassus's notorious greed.

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• 6. Prisoner Migration Theory

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  The 10,000 Roman prisoners of war appear to have been deported to Alexandria Margiana near the Parthian Empire's northeastern border in 53 BC where they reportedly married local people. In the 1940s Homer H. Dubs an American professor of Chinese history at the University of Oxford hypothesized that the people of Liqian were descended from these prisoners. The prisoners Dubs proposed were resettled by the Parthians on their eastern border and may have fought as mercenaries at the Battle of Zhizhi between the Chinese and the Xiongnu in 36 BC. Chinese chroniclers mention the use of a fish-scale formation of soldiers as well as a double wooden palisade structure which Dubs believed referred to the testudo formation and a defensive tactic unique to the Romans. To date no artifacts that might confirm a Roman presence such as coins or weaponry have been discovered in Zhelaizhai and Dubs' theories have not been accepted by the vast majority of historians. Rob Gifford described it as one of many rural myths while Alfred Duggan used the possible fate of the Roman prisoners as the kernel of his novel Winter Quarters.

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• 7. Legacy And Historical Impact

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  Rome was humiliated by this defeat which was made even worse by the fact that the Parthians had captured several Legionary Eagles. When he was assassinated Caesar was planning a retaliatory war. It was said there would have been harsh retribution if Caesar had won because the surviving son of Crassus would have been among the Roman forces. However the fall of the Roman Republic intervened and the beginning of imperial monarchy at Rome followed. Sulla's first march on Rome in 88 BC had begun the collapse of the republican form of government but the death of Crassus and the loss of his legions utterly reconfigured the balance of power at Rome. An old theory ran that the death of Crassus along with the death of Julia in 54 BC Pompey's wife and Caesar's daughter may have severed the ties between Caesar and Pompey. As a result civil war broke out. Caesar won and the Republic quickly became a dictatorship. Several historians note the lapse of time between Crassus's death and the outbreak of civil war. Gaius Stern has claimed that the death nearly cut the links the First Triumvirate enjoyed with the aristocracy leaving the entire state vulnerable to friction.

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