| Roman–Parthian war of 161–166 | |||||||||
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| Part of theRoman–Parthian Wars | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Parthian Empire | |||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Lucius Verus Avidius Cassius Marcus Claudius Fronto Marcus Statius Priscus Publius Martius Verus | Vologases IV of Parthia Chosrhoes | ||||||||
TheRoman–Parthian War of 161–166 (also called theParthian War of Lucius Verus[1]) was fought between theRoman andParthian Empires overArmenia andUpper Mesopotamia. It concluded in 166 after the Romans made successful campaigns intoLower Mesopotamia andMedia and sackedCtesiphon, the Parthian capital.
On his deathbed in the spring of 161,EmperorAntoninus Pius had spoken of nothing but the state and the foreign kings who had wronged him.[2] One of those kings,Vologases IV of Parthia, made his move in late summer or early autumn 161.[3] Vologases entered theKingdom of Armenia (then a Roman client state), expelled its king and installed his own—Pacorus, anArsacid like himself.[4] At the time of the invasion, the governor ofSyria wasLucius Attidius Cornelianus. Attidius had been retained as governor even though his term had ended in 161, presumably to avoid giving the Parthians the chance to wrong-foot his replacement. The governor ofCappadocia, the front-line in all Armenian conflicts, wasMarcus Sedatius Severianus, aGaul with much experience in military matters. But living in the east had a deleterious effect on his character.[5]
Alexander of Abonutichus, a prophet who carried a snake namedGlycon around with him, had enraptured Severianus, as he had many others.[6] Father-in-law to the respected senatorPublius Mummius Sisenna Rutilianus, then-proconsul ofAsia, Abonutichus was friends with many members of the east Roman elite.[7] Alexander convinced Severianus that he could defeat the Parthians easily, and win glory for himself.[8] Severianus led alegion (perhaps theIXHispana[9]) into Armenia, but was trapped by the great Parthian general Chosrhoes atElegeia, a town just beyond the Cappadocian frontiers, past the headwaters of theEuphrates. Severianus made some attempt to fight Chosrhoes, but soon realized the futility of his campaign, and committed suicide. His legion was massacred, around 5,000–6,000 Roman were killed.[10] The campaign had only lasted three days.[11]
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There was threat of war on other frontiers as well—inBritain, and inRaetia andUpper Germany, where theChatti of theTaunus mountains had recently crossed over thelimes.[12]Marcus Aurelius, who had become emperor on Pius' death on 7 March 161, was unprepared. Pius seems to have given him no military experience; the biographer writes that Marcus spent the whole of Pius' twenty-three-year reign at the emperor's side—and not in theprovinces, where most previous emperors had spent their early careers.[13][notes 1] Marcus made the necessary appointments:Marcus Statius Priscus, the governor of Britain, was sent to replace Severianus as governor of Cappadocia,[15] and was in turn replaced bySextus Calpurnius Agricola.[16]
More bad news arrived: Attidius Cornelianus' army had been defeated in battle against the Parthians, and retreated in disarray.[17] Reinforcements were dispatched for the Parthian frontier.Publius Julius Geminius Marcianus, anAfrican senator commandingXGemina at Vindobona (Vienna), left for Cappadocia withvexillations from the Danubian legions.[18] Three full legions were also sent east:IMinervia fromBonn in Upper Germany,[19]IIAdiutrix fromAquincum,[20] andVMacedonica fromTroesmis.[21] The northern frontiers were strategically weakened; frontier governors were told to avoid conflict wherever possible.[22] Attidius Cornelianus himself was replaced by M. Annius Libo, Marcus' first cousin. He was young—his first consulship was in 161, so he was probably in his early thirties[23]—and, as a mere patrician, lacked military experience. Marcus had chosen a reliable man rather than a talented one.[24]
Marcus took a four-day public holiday atAlsium, a resort town on theEtrurian coast. He was too anxious to relax. Writing to his former tutorMarcus Cornelius Fronto, he declared that he would not speak about his holiday.[25] Fronto replied ironically: "What? Do I not know that you went to Alsium with the intention of devoting yourself to games, joking and complete leisure for four whole days?"[26] He encouraged Marcus to rest, calling on the example of his predecessors (Pius had enjoyed exercise in thepalaestra, fishing, and comedy),[27] going so far as to write up a fable about the gods' division of the day between morning and evening—Marcus had apparently been spending most of his evenings on judicial matters instead of leisure.[28] Marcus could not take Fronto's advice. "I have duties hanging over me that can hardly be begged off," he wrote back.[29] Marcus put on Fronto's voice to chastise himself: "'Much good has my advice done you', you will say!" He had rested, and would rest often, but "—this devotion to duty! Who knows better than you how demanding it is!"[30]
Fronto sent Marcus a selection of reading material, including Cicero'sprolege Manilia, in which the orator had argued in favor ofPompey taking supreme command in theMithridatic War. It was an apt reference (Pompey's war had taken him to Armenia), and may have had some impact on the decision to send Lucius to the eastern front.[31] "You will find in it many chapters aptly suited to your present counsels, concerning the choice of army commanders, the interests of allies, the protection of provinces, the discipline of the soldiers, the qualifications required for commanders in the field and elsewhere [...][notes 2]"[33] To settle his unease over the course of the Parthian war, Fronto wrote Marcus a long and considered letter, full of historical references. In modern editions of Fronto's works, it is labeledDe bello Parthico (On the Parthian War). There had been reverses in Rome's past, Fronto writes, atAllia, atCaudium, atCannae, atNumantia,Cirta, andCarrhae;[34] and underTrajan (against the Dacians and the Parthians),Hadrian (against the Jews and the Britons), and again under Pius;[35] but, in the end, Romans had always prevailed over their enemies: "always and everywhere [Mars] has changed our troubles into successes and our terrors into triumphs".[36]
Over the winter of 161–62, as more bad news arrived—a rebellion was brewing inSyria—it was decided that Lucius should direct the Parthian war in person. He was stronger and healthier than Marcus, the argument went, more suited to military activity.[37] Lucius' biographer suggests ulterior motives: to restrain Lucius' debaucheries, to make him thrifty, to reform his morals by the terror of war, to realize that he was an emperor.[38][notes 3] Whatever the case, thesenate gave its assent, and Lucius left. Marcus would remain in Rome; the city "demanded the presence of an emperor".[40]
Titus Furius Victorinus, one of the twopraetorian prefects, was sent with Lucius, as were a pair of senators,Marcus Pontius Laelianus Larcius Sabinus andMarcus Iallius Bassus, and a detachment of thePraetorian Guard.[39] Victorinus had previously served asprocurator ofGalatia, giving him some experience with eastern affairs.[41][notes 4] Moreover, he was far more qualified than his praetorian partner,Sextus Cornelius Repentinus, who was said to owe his office to the influence of Pius' mistressGaleria Lysistrate.[42] Repentius had the rank of a senator, but no real access to senatorial circles—his was merely a decorative title.[43] Since a prefect had to accompany the Guard, Victorinus was the clear choice.[42]
Laelianus had been governor of bothPannonias and governor of Syria in 153; hence he had first-hand knowledge of the eastern army and military strategy on the frontiers. He was madecomes Augustorum ("companion of the emperors") for his service.[44] Laelianus was, in the words of Fronto, "a serious man and an old-fashioned disciplinarian".[45] Bassus had been governor ofLower Moesia, and was also madecomes.[46] Lucius selected his favorite freedmen, including Geminus, Agaclytus, Coedes, Eclectus,[47] and Nicomedes, who gave up his duties aspraefectus vehiculorum to run the commissariat of the expeditionary force.[48] Thefleet of Misenum was charged with transporting the emperor and general communications and transport.[49]
Lucius left in the summer of 162 to take a ship fromBrundisium; Marcus followed him as far asCapua. Lucius feasted himself in the country houses along his route, and hunted atApulia. He fell ill atCanosa, probably afflicted with a mild stroke, and took to bed.[50] Marcus made prayers to the gods for his safety in front of the senate, and hurried south to see him.[51] Fronto was upset at the news, but was reassured when Lucius sent him a letter describing his treatment and recovery. In his reply, Fronto urged his pupil to moderate his desires, and recommended a few days of quiet bedrest. Lucius was better after three days' fasting and a bloodletting. It was probably only a mild stroke.[52]
Verus continued eastward viaCorinth andAthens, accompanied by musicians and singers as if in aroyal progress.[53] At Athens he stayed withHerodes Atticus, and joined theEleusinian Mysteries.[54] During sacrifice, a falling star was observed in the sky, shooting west to east.[55] He stopped inEphesus, where he is attested at the estate of the local aristocratPublius Vedius Antoninus,[56] and made an unexpected stopover atErythrae, where anelegiac poem in the voice of thelocal sibyl alludes to his visit.[57] The journey continued by ship through the Aegean and the southern coasts of Asia Minor, lingering in the famed pleasure resorts ofPamphylia andCilicia, before arriving inAntioch.[58] It is not known how long Verus' journey east took; he might not have arrived in Antioch until after 162.[59] Statius Priscus, meanwhile, must have already arrived in Cappadocia; he would earn fame in 163 for successful generalship.[60]
Lucius spent most of the campaign in Antioch, though he wintered atLaodicea[61] and summered atDaphne, a resort just outside Antioch.[62] He took up a mistress named Panthea,[notes 5] fromSmyrna.[64] The biographer calls her a "low-born girl-friend",[65] but she is probably closer toLucian's "woman of perfect beauty", more beautiful than any ofPhidias andPraxiteles' statues.[66] Polite, caring, humble, she sang to the lyre perfectly and spoke clearIonic Greek, spiced with Attic wit.[67] Panthea read Lucian's first draft, and criticized him for flattery. He had compared her to a goddess, which frightened her—she did not want to become the nextCassiopeia.[68] She had power, too. She made Lucius shave his beard for her. The Syrians mocked him for this, as they did for much else.[69]
Critics declaimed Lucius' luxurious lifestyle.[70] He had taken to gambling, they said; he would "dice the whole night through".[71] He enjoyed the company of actors.[72] He made a special request for dispatches from Rome, to keep him updated on how his chariot teams were doing.[73] He brought a golden statue of the Greens' horse Volucer around with him, as a token of his team spirit.[74] Fronto defended his pupil against some of these claims: the Roman people needed Lucius'bread and circuses to keep them in check.[75][notes 6]
This, at least, is how the biographer has it. The whole section of thevita dealing with Lucius' debaucheries (HA Verus 4.4–6.6) is an insertion into a narrative otherwise entirely cribbed from an earlier source. Some few passages seem genuine;[notes 7] others take and elaborate something from the original.[notes 8] The rest is by the biographer himself, relying on nothing better than his own imagination.[80]
Lucius faced quite a task. Fronto described the scene in terms recallingCorbulo's arrivalone hundred years before.[81] The Syrian army had turned soft during the east's long peace. They spent more time at the city's open-air bars than in their quarters. Under Lucius, training was stepped up. Pontius Laelianus ordered that their saddles be stripped of their padding. Gambling and drinking were sternly policed.[82] Fronto wrote that Lucius was on foot at the head of his army as often as on horseback. He personally inspected soldiers in the field and at camp, including the sick bay.[83]
Lucius sent Fronto few messages at the beginning of the war. He sent Fronto a letter apologizing for his silence. He would not detail plans that could change within a day, he wrote. Moreover, there was little thus far to show for his work: "not even yet has anything been accomplished such as to make me wish to invite you to share in the joy".[84] Lucius did not want Fronto to suffer the anxieties that had kept him up day and night.[85] One reason for Lucius' reticence may have been the collapse of Parthian negotiations after the Roman conquest of Armenia. Lucius' presentation of terms was seen as cowardice.[86] The Parthians were not in the mood for peace.[87]
Lucius needed to make extensive imports into Antioch, so he opened a sailing route up theOrontes. Because the river breaks across a cliff before reaching the city, Lucius ordered that a new canal be dug. After the project was completed, the Orontes' old riverbed dried up, exposing massive bones—the bones of agiant.Pausanias says they were from a beast "more than elevencubits" tall;Philostratus says that it was "thirty cubits" tall. The oracle atClaros declared that they were the bones of the river's spirit.[88]
In the middle of the war, perhaps in autumn 163 or early 164, Lucius made a trip to Ephesus to be married to Marcus' daughterLucilla.[89] Lucilla's thirteenth birthday was in March 163; whatever the date of her marriage, she was not yet fifteen.[90] Marcus had moved up the date: perhaps stories of Panthea had disturbed him.[91] Lucilla was accompanied by her motherFaustina andMarcus Vettulenus Civica Barbarus, the half-brother of Lucius' father.[92] Marcus may have planned to accompany them all the way to Smyrna (the biographer says he told the senate he would); this did not happen.[93] Marcus only accompanied the group as far as Brundisium, where they boarded a ship for the east.[94] Marcus returned to Rome immediately thereafter, and sent out special instructions to his proconsuls not to give the group any official reception.[95] Lucilla would bear three of Lucius' children in the coming years. Lucilla became Lucilla Augusta.[96]
The Legions IMinervia, commanded byM. Claudius Fronto and VMacedonica, commanded byP. Martius Verus, served underMarcus Statius Priscus in Armenia, achieving success during the campaign season of 163,[97] culminating with the capture of the Armenian capitalArtaxata.[98] At the end of the year, Verus took the titleArmeniacus, despite having never seen combat; Marcus declined to accept the title until the following year.[99] When Lucius was hailed asimperator again, however, Marcus did not hesitate to take the titleImperator II with him.[100] The army of Syria was reinforced by IIAdiutrix and Danubian legions under XGemina's legate Geminius Marcianus.[101]
Occupied Armenia was reconstructed on Roman terms. In 164, a new capital,Kaine Polis ("New City" in Greek), replaced Artaxata.[102] On Birley's reckoning, it was thirty miles closer to the Roman border.[91] Detachments from Cappadocian legions are attested atEchmiadzin, beneath the southern face ofMount Ararat, 400 km east ofSatala. It would have meant a march of twenty days or more, through mountainous terrain, from the Roman border; a "remarkable example of imperialism", in the words ofFergus Millar.[103] A new king was installed: a Roman senator of consular rank and Arsacid descent,C. Iulius Sohaemus. He may not even have been crowned in Armenia; the ceremony may have taken place in Antioch, or even Ephesus.[104] Sohaemus was hailed on the imperial coinage of 164 under the legendRex armeniis Datus: Verus sat on a throne with his staff while Sohamenus stood before him, saluting the emperor.[105]
In 163, while Statius Priscus was occupied in Armenia, the Parthians intervened inOsroene, a Roman client in upper Mesopotamia, just east of Syria, with its capital atEdessa. They deposed the country's leader, Mannus, and replaced him with their own nominee, who would remain in office until 165.[106] (The Edessene coinage record actually begins at this point, with issues showing Vologases IV on the obverse and "Wael the king" (Syriac: W'L MLK') on the reverse.[107]) In response, Roman forces were moved downstream, to cross the Euphrates at a more southerly point.[87] On the evidence of Lucian, the Parthians still held the southern, Roman bank of the Euphrates (in Syria) as late as 163 (he refers to a battle at Sura, which is on the southern side of the river).[108] Before the end of the year, however, Roman forces had moved north to occupy Dausara and Nicephorium on the northern, Parthian bank.[109][notes 9] Soon after the conquest of the north bank of the Euphrates, other Roman forces moved on Osroene from Armenia, taking Anthemusia, a town south-west of Edessa.[112] There was little movement in 164; most of the year was spent on preparations for a renewed assault on Parthian territory.[91]
In 165, Roman forces, perhaps led by Martius Verus and the VMacedonica, moved on Mesopotamia. Edessa was re-occupied, Mannus re-installed.[113] His coinage resumed, too: 'Ma'nu the king' (Syriac: M'NW MLK') or Antonine dynasts on the obverse, and 'King Mannos, friend of the Romans' (Greek:Basileus Mannos Philorōmaios) on the reverse.[107] The Parthians retreated toNisibis, but this too was besieged and captured. The Parthian army dispersed in the Tigris; their general Chosrhoes swam down the river and made his hideout in a cave.[114] A second force, under Avidius Cassius and theIIIGallica, moved down the Euphrates, and fought a major battle atDura-Europos.[115] In this battle, a certainPriscus, as retold byLucian, reports that the Romans "slaughtered 70,236 of the Enemy"[116] while only suffering 2 killed and 7 wounded, howeverLucian himself denies this claim.[116]
By the end of 165, Cassius' army had reached the twin metropolises of Mesopotamia:Seleucia on the right bank of the Tigris andCtesiphon on the left. Ctesiphon was taken and its royal palace set to flame. The citizens of Seleucia, still largely Greek (the city had been commissioned and settled as a capital of theSeleucid Empire, one ofAlexander the Great'ssuccessor kingdoms), opened its gates to the invaders. The city got sacked nonetheless, leaving a black mark on Lucius' reputation. Excuses were sought, or invented: the official version (promulgated, according to theHistoria Augusta, byAsinius Quadratus) had it that the Seleuceni broke faith first.[117] Whatever the case, the sacking marks a particularly destructive chapter in Seleucia's long decline.[118][notes 10] During the sacking, Roman troops stole the statue of Apollo Comaeus from its temple and brought it back to Rome, where it was installed at thetemple of the Palatine Apollo.[120] This blasphemy may have been on Marcus' mind when he called alectisternium, a great meal offered to the gods, at the beginning of theMarcomannic Wars (ca. 167) to ward off the evils then being visited on the state.[121]
Cassius' army, although suffering from a shortage of supplies and theeffects of a plague, contracted in Seleucia, made it back to Roman territory safely.[122][123] Iunius Maximus, a youngtribunus laticlavius serving in IIIGallica under Cassius, took the news of the victory to Rome. Maximus received a generous cash bounty (dona) for bringing the good news, and immediate promotion to thequaestorship.[124] Lucius took the titleParthicus Maximus, and he and Marcus were hailed asimperatores again, earning the titleImp. III.[125] Cassius' army returned to the field in 166, crossing over the Tigris intoMedia. Lucius took the titleMedicus,[126] and the emperors were again hailed asimperatores, becomingImp. IV in imperial titulature. Marcus too took theParthicus Maximus now, after another tactful delay.[127]
Most of the credit for the war's success must be ascribed to subordinate generals. The forces that advanced on Osroene were led by M. Claudius Fronto, an Asian provincial of Greek descent who had led I Minervia in Armenia under Priscus. He was probably the first senator in his family.[128] Fronto was consul for 165, probably in honor of the capture of Edessa. Claudius Fronto returned to Italy for his consulship; thegovernor of Syria,Gnaeus Julius Verus, also returned.[129]Publius Martius Verus had led V Macedonica to the front, and also served under Priscus. Martius Verus was a westerner, whosepatria was perhapsTolosa inGallia Narbonensis.[130] The most prominent general, however, wasC. Avidius Cassius, commander of III Gallica, one of the Syrian legions. Cassius was a young senator, the son ofGaius Avidius Heliodorus, a noted orator who was augustal prefect of Egypt from 137 to 142 AD under Hadrian, and wife Julia Cassia Alexandra. Cassius also, with no small sense of self-worth, claimed descent from theSeleucid kings and theJulio-Claudians through his motherJulia Cassia Alexandra, who descended (viaJunia Lepida) fromJulia, daughter and only child ofAugustus.[131] Cassius and Martius Verus, still probably in their mid-thirties, took the consulships for 166. After their consulships, they were made governors: Cassius, of Syria; Martius Verus, of Cappadocia.[132]
On the return from the campaign, Lucius was awarded with atriumph; the parade was unusual because it included the two emperors, their sons and unmarried daughters as a big family celebration. Marcus Aurelius' two sons,Commodus five years old andMarcus Annius Verus of three, were elevated to the status of Caesar for the occasion.
A statue base survives inSardis to commemorate Lucius' victory (the emperor had presumably visited the city on his return to Rome).[133] The wealthy sophist T. Flavius Damianus also hosted the emperor and his army during their return trip.[134]
Nisibis on the upper Euphrates remained in Roman hands for several decades after the end of the war. By the mid-3rd century, when it was frequently contested by and exchanged between Persia and Rome, it had taken on the appearances of a typical Roman garrison town.[135]
All citations to theHistoria Augusta are to individual biographies, and are marked with a "HA". Citations to the works of Fronto are cross-referenced to C.R. Haines' Loeb edition.
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