| Battle Of Carrhae |
Article Index for Battle Of |
Website Links For Battle |
Information AboutBattle Of Carrhae |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT BATTLE OF CARRHAE | |
| 53 bc | |
| battles involving the roman republic | |
| carrhae | |
| battles involving the parthian empire | |
| battles of the roman-persian wars | |
The Battle of Carrhae was a decisive battle fought in the year 53 BC near the town of Carrhae (now the present-day ruins of Harran , Turkey ) between the Roman Republic under the Roman general Crassus and the Parthian Empire under the Parthian Iran Spahbod Surena . The result of the battle was an overwhelming victory for the Parthian Empire. BACKGROUND In 55 BC, Marcus Licinius Crassus had just finished serving his joint- Consul year with Pompey . At the time, Crassus, Pompey, and Julius Caesar had a powerful triumvirate that all but controlled Rome. Being part of this group, Crassus had a great desire to bring glory to his name. He had seen no action since his defeat of Spartacus nearly 20 years earlier. Crassus drew out the maps of the Roman Empire looking for a target to attack, and he felt that the most glorious target would be Parthia ( Persia ). Many members of the Roman Senate tried to dissuade him from this course of action, but Caesar and Pompey stood firmly behind him and the senate relented. Crassus arrived in Syria in late 55 BC, with aid of Hellenic settlements in Syria and support of Artavasdes the Armenian king he marched directly to the Parthian mainland instead of attacking from the mountains of Armenia. In response, the Parthian king Orodes II , divided his army and sent half which were infantry troops to punish the Armenians, and sent the other half which were cavalry units to combat Crassus. The two armies subsequently encountered each other near the town of Carrhae. THE BATTLE The Parthians, although outnumbered, used 1000 heavily armed and armored horsemen, called " Cataphract s," in conjunction with 9000 horse archers to defeat the Roman heavy infantry. The horse archers shot repeated volleys of arrows into the densely packed formation of the Roman Legionnaire s. To sustain their barrage, the Parthians employed camels to carry additional loads of arrows. Some ancient authors who say that they witnessed the battle claim that many Roman soldiers literally had their feet pinned to the ground and their shields pinned to their arms from all of the arrows that were fired at them. When the Romans attempted to charge the horse archers, the Parthians followed their custom of feigning retreat, turning suddenly and shooting arrows at the enemy while fleeing (known as the " Parthian Shot "), suddenly wheeling back towards their adversaries, and then trampling the enemy with their cataphract horses. If the Romans tried to form into a protective Testudo , the cataphracts would charge them and the legionnaires would be unable to fight effectively due to their tight formation. Although the Romans' large Scuta gave them some measure of protection against the volleys of arrows, many soldiers eventually collapsed from Thirst and Heat Exhaustion even if otherwise unwounded due to the exertion required in attempting to defend themselves from the seemingly endless fusillades of Parthian arrows. The Parthian arrows were devastating, "When Publius urged them to charge the enemy's mail-clad horsemen, they showed him that their hands were riveted to their shields and their feet nailed through and through to the ground, so that they were helpless either for flight or for self-defence." (Plutarch, Life of Crassus, XXV) AFTERMATH The result was one of the worst defeats suffered by the Roman Republic in its entire history. During the battle, Crassus' son Publius was slain and his head was put on a pike for the legionaries to see. Crassus himself was slain after the battle. His head was sent to the Parthian king, Orodes II . The other half of Parthian army who were sent to Armenia defeated the Armenians and captured Armenia. However, these victories made the Parthian king, Orodes II , suspicious and jealous of Surena, and he ordered his execution. Following Surena's death, Orodes II himself took command of Parthian army and later led an unsuccessful military campaign in Syria. Gaius Cassius Longinus , a legatus under Crassus, led approximately 10,000 suriving soldiers from the battlefield back to Syria, where he governed as a proquaestor for two years defending Syria from Orodes II's continued attacks. He would eventually defeat the Parthians and receive praise from Cicero for his victory. Cassius would later play a key role in the conspiracy to assassinate C. Julius Caesar in 44 B.C. LEGACY An important implication of this battle was that it opened up the European continent to a new and beautiful material: Silk . The Romans that managed to survive the battle reported seeing brilliant, shimmering banners (apparently made of silk) used by the Parthians as they slaughtered the fleeing legions. Subsequently, interest in Europe grew for this material and trade routes were extended from China to Western Europe. This effectively marked the Beginnings of the Silk Road , one of the greatest and richest trade routes in history. The battle is also believed to have eventually led to the first Sino-Roman Relations . According to Pliny, in 54 BC, after losing at the battle of Carrhae, 10,000 Roman prisoners were sent by the Parthians to Margiana to help guard the eastern frontier of the Parthian Empire. The Han Chinese later captured this area and the Roman prisoners were likely among the first westerners to meet the Chinese directly {Link without Title} Another result of the disaster for the Romans was the endurance of a myth that legionary armies could not successfully fight Parthian cavalry - a myth that even the sacking of the Parthian capital three times in the 2nd century could not end. SEE ALSO
THE EXTERNAL LINK " The Ancient Iranian Army CAIS The only two ancient records of the battle:
An in-depth description: A useful summary: |
|
|