Death of 13Licinius Crassus: Carrhae (6 May 53 BC)
In 96 BC a Parthian diplomat had met Sulla at the Euphrates and most likely reached an agreement that the river would be the line that divided their respective political interests.
In 57 BC the sons of Phraates III (r.70-57 BC), Orodes II (r.54-37 BC) and Mithridates III (r.c.57-54 BC) were warring against each other, and Orodes forced Mithridates to flee to Syria. In 56 BC its Roman governor, Aulus Gabinius (2) made preparations for an invasion of Parthia and his command was continued into the following year. But in spring 55 BC he was commissioned by Pompey to reinstate Ptolemy XII, who had been expelled from Alexandria in a popular uprising; the invasion of Parthia was thus deferred.
In spring 54 BC Crassus became governor of Syria. He decided that the Parthians’ internal disorder presented an opportunity to defeat them. Despite the Senate’s objections (they believed there was a non-aggression pact), Crassus assembled an army to destroy the Parthians and occupy their territory. In preparation he crossed the Euphrates, established several garrisons in Mesopotamia and returned to Syria for the winter.
In the spring Crassus amassed seven legions, with cavalry and auxiliaries, in total about thirty-six thousand men. His lieutenants were his son Publius 16Licinius Crassus and 06Cassius Longinus. Artavasdes II of Armenia (r.54-34 BC) arrived with six thousand infantry and advised the triumvir to march to Parthia by way of the foothills of southern Armenia where the enemy cavalry would have difficulty in operating. But Crassus decided to take the more direct route and in spring 53 BC he crossed the Euphrates into northern Mesopotamia.
Orodes split his army in two: he led one part into Armenia, where to punish Artavasdes for helping the Romans he burnt villages and harried the countryside; the second part was led by his general Surena, whose units were smaller than those of the Romans, but the legendarily accurate bowmen of the Parthian cavalry gave Surenas a distinct superiority.
The Romans marched into the open desert and as they neared Carrhae (=Harran) in northern Mesopotamia the Roman scouts reported that some of the cavalry screen had been killed by the Parthians. Cassius (6) (the future assassin) advised Crassus to adopt the usual formation of extending his line of battle and dividing the cavalry between the wings.
When the Romans reached the battlefield and began to take their positions, Crassus changed his mind and ordered the legions to form a hollow square with twelve cohorts on both sides, each with cavalry and light infantry support. Crassus with his guard, the Celtic cavalry commanded by Publius, and the baggage train all took position inside the huge square.
Surena ordered his ten thousand horse-archers to surround the Roman square and fire showers of arrows into it. Crassus sent skirmishers to drive the horse-archers off, but they were driven back by the latter’s arrows. When the legionaries advanced to engage at close quarters, the horse-archers simply retreated beyond the range of the Roman javelins, loosing ‘Parthian shots’ as they withdrew. The legionaries then locked shields to defend themselves against the enemy arrows, but this formation severely restricted their mobility in combat and enabled the Parthian cataphracts (heavy cavalry) to charge the Roman line and inflict heavy casualties. When the legionaries loosened their formation to repel the cataphracts, the latter retreated and the horse-archers returned to shooting at the exposed legionnaires. Roman hopes of an early end to the arrow storm were dashed by the arrival of numerous Parthian camel trains with fresh supplies of arrows.
Cassius ordered Publius at the head of thirteen hundred cavalry to attack the horse-archers, who retreated to draw the Roman cavalry away from the main force, then turned and rained arrows upon them. The Parthian heavy cavalry then came up and, in spite of great bravery by the Gaulish horsemen who tried in vain to stab the cataphracts’ horses or to grab their lances to pull them from their mounts, the Roman force was annihilated and Publius committed suicide.
Crassus, unaware of his son’s fate but realising Publius was in danger, ordered a general advance. The Parthian horse-archers began to surround the Roman infantry, shooting at them from all directions, and the cataphracts mounted a series of charges that disrupted the Romans’ defences. The Parthian onslaught did not cease until nightfall.
Crassus retreated to the nearby town of Carrhae, leaving behind thousands of wounded to be captured by the Parthians, who continued their pursuit and with Roman discipline collapsing Crassus was forced to agree to negotiations. He and his generals were killed during a meeting with Surena and the Roman force at Carrhae was destroyed. Roman casualties amounted to about twenty thousand killed and ten thousand captured making the battle one of the costliest defeats in Roman history. Parthian casualties were minimal.
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