| Roman–Parthian Wars | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theRoman–Persian Wars | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Roman Republic, succeeded byRoman Empire and client states | Parthian Empire and clients | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Crassus † Mark Antony Publius Ventidius Bassus Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo Trajan Lucius Verus Statius Priscus Avidius Cassius Septimius Severus Julia Domna Caracalla X Macrinus | Surena Orodes II Pacorus I † Phraates IV Artabanus III Vologases I Tiridates I of Armenia Osroes I Sinatruces II † Vologases IV | ||||||||
TheRoman–Parthian Wars (54 BC – 217 AD) were a series of conflicts between theParthian Empire and theRoman Republic andRoman Empire. It was the first series of conflicts in what would be 682 years ofRoman–Persian Wars.
Battles between theParthian Empire and theRoman Republic began in 54 BC.[1] Thisfirst incursion against Parthia was repulsed, notably at theBattle of Carrhae (53 BC). During the RomanLiberators' civil war of the 1st century BC, the Parthians actively supportedBrutus andCassius, invading Syria, and gaining territories in theLevant. However, the conclusion of the secondRoman civil war brought a revival of Roman strength inWestern Asia.[2]
In 113 AD, the Roman EmperorTrajan made eastern conquests and the defeat of Parthia a strategic priority,[3] and successfully overran the Parthian capital,Ctesiphon, installingParthamaspates of Parthia as a client ruler. However, he was later repulsed from the region by rebellions.Hadrian, Trajan's successor, reversed his predecessor's policy, intending to re-establish theEuphrates as the limit of Roman control. However, in the 2nd century, war over Armenia broke out again in 161, whenVologases IV defeated the Romans there. A Roman counter-attack underStatius Priscus defeated the Parthians in Armenia and installed a favored candidate on the Armenian throne, and an invasion of Mesopotamia culminated in the sack of Ctesiphon in 165.
In 195, another Roman invasion of Mesopotamia began under the EmperorSeptimius Severus, who occupied Seleucia andBabylon, however he was unable to takeHatra. Parthia ultimately was taken by a Persian rebellion led byArdashir I, who enteredCtesiphon in 226. Under Ardashir and his successors, Persian-Roman conflict continued between theSassanid Empire and Rome.
After triumphing in theSeleucid–Parthian Wars and annexing large amounts of the Seleucid Empire, the Parthians began to look west for more territory to expand into. Parthian enterprise in theWest began in the time ofMithridates I; during his reign, the Arsacids succeeded in extending their rule intoArmenia andMesopotamia. This was the beginning of an "international role" for the Parthian empire, a phase that also entailed contacts with Rome.[4]Mithridates II conducted unsuccessful negotiations withSulla for a Roman–Parthian alliance (c. 105 BC).[5][verification needed]
By the same time the Parthians started their rise, they established eponymous branches in theCaucasus, namely theArsacid dynasty of Armenia, theArsacid dynasty of Iberia, and theArsacid dynasty of Caucasian Albania.
After 90 BC, the Parthian power was diminished by dynastic feuds, while at the same time, Roman power inAnatolia collapsed. Roman–Parthian contact was restored whenLucullus invadedSouthern Armenia and defeatedTigranes in 69 BC, however, again no definite agreement was made.[6]
WhenPompey took charge of the war in the East, he re-opened negotiations withPhraates III; they came to an agreement and Roman–Parthian troops invadedArmenia in 66/65 BC, but soon a dispute arose overEuphrates boundary between Rome and Parthia. Pompey refused to recognize the title of "King of Kings" for Phraates, and offered arbitration between Tigranes and the Parthian king overCorduene. Finally, Phraates asserted his control overMesopotamia, except for the western district ofOsroene, which became a Roman dependency.[7]
In 53 BC,Crassus led an invasion of Mesopotamia, with catastrophic results; at theBattle of Carrhae, Crassus and his sonPublius were defeated and killed by a Parthian army underGeneral Surena. The bulk of his force was either killed or captured; of 42,000 men, about half died, a quarter made it back toSyria, and the remainder became prisoners of war.[8] Rome was humiliated by this defeat, and this was made even worse by the fact that the Parthians had captured several Legionary Eagles. It is also mentioned by Plutarch that the Parthians found the Roman prisoner of war that resembled Crassus the most, dressed him as a woman and paraded him through Parthia for all to see. This, however, could easily be Roman propaganda. Orodes II, with the rest of the Parthian Army, defeated the Armenians and captured their country. However, Surena's victory invoked the jealousy of the Parthian king, and he ordered Surena's execution. Following Surena's death, Orodes II himself took command of the Parthian army and led an unsuccessful military campaign into Syria. The Battle of Carrhae was one of the first major battles between the Romans and Parthians.
The following year, the Parthians launched raids into Syria, and in 51 BC mounted a major invasion led by the crown princePacorus and the generalOsaces; they besiegedCassius inAntioch, and caused considerable alarm in the Roman provinces in Asia.Cicero, who had been chosen governor of adjacentCilicia for that year, marched with two legions to lift the siege.[9] Pacorus fell back, but was ambushed in his retreat by Cassius nearAntigonea and Osaces was killed.[10]
DuringCaesar's civil war the Parthians made no move, but maintained relations with Pompey. After his defeat and death, a force under Pacorus came to the aid of the Pompeian generalCaecilius Bassus, who was besieged atApamea Valley by the Caesarian forces. With the civil war over,Julius Caesarelaborated plans for a campaign against Parthia, but his assassination averted the war. During the ensuingLiberators' civil war, the Parthians actively supportedBrutus and Cassius, sending a contingent which fought with them at theBattle of Philippi in 42 BC.[11]
After that defeat, the Parthians under Pacorus invaded Roman territory in 40 BC in conjunction withQuintus Labienus, a Roman erstwhile supporter of Brutus and Cassius. They swiftly overran Syria, and defeated Roman forces in the province; all the cities of the coast, with the exception ofTyre admitted the Parthians. Pacorus then advanced intoHasmoneanJudea, overthrowing the Roman clientHyrcanus II and installing his nephewAntigonus (40–37 BC) in his place. For a moment, the whole of the Roman East was captured by the Parthians. The conclusion of the secondRoman civil war was soon to bring about a revival of Roman strength inWestern Asia.[2]
Meanwhile,Mark Antony had already sentVentidius to oppose Labienus who had invaded Anatolia. Soon Labienius was driven back to Syria by Roman forces, and, though his Parthian allies came to his support, he was defeated, taken prisoner and then put to death. After suffering a further defeat near theSyrian Gates, the Parthians withdrew from Syria. They returned in 38 BC, but were decisively defeated by Ventidius and Pacorus was killed. In Judea, Antigonus was ousted with Roman help by theIdumeanHerod in 37 BC.[12]
With Roman control ofSyria andJudaea restored, Mark Antony led a huge army intoCaucasian Albania (just east of Armenia), but his siege train and its escort were isolated and wiped out, while his Armenian allies deserted. Failing to make progress against Parthian positions, the Romans withdrew with heavy casualties. In 33 BC Antony was again in Armenia, contracting an alliance with theMedian king against bothOctavian, and the Parthians, but other preoccupations obliged him to withdraw, and the whole region passed under Parthian control.[13]
Under the threat of an impending war between the two powers,Gaius Caesar andPhraataces worked out a rough compromise between the two powers in 1 AD. According to the agreement, Parthia undertook to withdraw its forces from Armenia, and to recognize ade facto Roman protectorate over the country. Nonetheless, Roman-Parthian rivalry over control and influence in Armenia continued unabated for the next several decades.[14]
The decision of the Parthian king Artabanus II to place his son, Arsaces, on the vacant Armenian throne nearly led to a war with Rome in 36 AD. Artabanus III reached an understanding with the Roman general,Lucius Vitellius, renouncing Parthian claims to a sphere of influence in Armenia.[15]
A new crisis was triggered in 58, when the Romans invaded Armenia after the Parthian kingVologases I forcibly installed his brotherTiridates on the throne there.[16] Roman forces underCorbulo overthrew Tiridates and replaced him with aCappadocian prince. This prompted Parthian retaliation and an inconclusive series of campaigns in Armenia ensued. Thewar came to an end in 63, when the Romans agreed to allow Tiridates and his descendants to rule Armenia on condition that they received the kingship from the Roman emperor.[17]
Armenia would henceforth be ruled by a Parthian dynasty, and despite its nominal allegiance to Rome, it would come under increasing Parthian influence. In the judgment of later generations, "Romans had lost Armenia", and although the Peace of Rhandeia ushered in a period of relatively peaceful relations that would last for 50 years, Armenia would continue to be a constant bone of contention between the Romans, the Parthians, and their Sassanid successors.
As for Corbulo, he was honored by Nero as the man who had brought this "triumph" to be, but his popularity and influence with the army made him a potential rival. Together with the involvement of his son-in-lawLucius Annius Vinicianus in a foiled plot against Nero in 66, Corbulo became suspect in the eyes of the emperor. In 67, while journeying in Greece, Nero ordered him to be executed; upon hearing of this, Corbulo committed suicide.
A new series of wars began in the 2nd century, during which the Romans consistently held the upper hand over Parthia. In 113, the Roman EmperorTrajan decided that the moment was ripe to resolve the "eastern question" once and for all time by the decisive defeat of Parthia and the annexation of Armenia; his conquests marked a deliberate change of Roman policy towards Parthia, and a shift of emphasis in the "grand strategy" of the empire.[3]
In 114, Trajan invaded Armenia, annexed it as a Roman province, and killedParthamasiris who was placed on the Armenian throne by his relative, the king of Parthia,Osroes I.[18] In 115, the Roman emperor overran northern Mesopotamia and annexed it to Rome as well; its conquest was deemed necessary, since otherwise the Armenian salient could be cut off by the Parthians from the south.[18] The Romans then captured the Parthian capital, Ctesiphon, before sailing downriver to thePersian Gulf. However, in that year revolts erupted inEastern Mediterranean, North Africa and northern Mesopotamia, while a majorJewish revolt broke out in Roman territory, severely stretching Roman military resources. Trajan failed to takeHatra, the capital of theKingdom of Hatra, which avoided total Parthian defeat. Parthian forces attacked key Roman positions and Roman garrisons atSeleucia, Nisibis andEdessa were evicted by the local populaces. Trajan subdued the rebels in Mesopotamia, installed the Parthian princeParthamaspates as a client ruler, and withdrew to Syria. Trajan died in 117, before he could renew the war.[19] Trajan's Parthian campaign is considered, in different ways, the climax of "two centuries of political posturing and bitter rivalry."[20] Trajan was the first emperor to carry out a successful invasion of Mesopotamia. His grand scheme for Armenia and Mesopotamia were ultimately "cut short by circumstances created by an incorrect understanding of the strategic realities of eastern conquest and an underestimation of what insurgency can do."[20]
Trajan's successor,Hadrian, promptly reversed his predecessor's policy. He decided that it was in Rome's interest to re-establish the Euphrates as the limit of its direct control, and willingly returned to thestatus quo ante, surrendering the territories of Armenia, Mesopotamia, andAdiabene back to their previous rulers and client-kings. Once again, at least for another half century, Rome was to avoid active intervention east of the Euphrates.[19]
War over Armenia broke out again in 161, whenVologases IV defeated the Romans there, captured Edessa and ravaged Syria. In 163, a Roman counter-attack underStatius Priscus defeated the Parthians in Armenia and installed a favored candidate on the Armenian throne. The following yearAvidius Cassius began an invasion of Mesopotamia, winning battles atDura-Europos and Seleucia and sacking Ctesiphon in 165. An epidemic, possibly of smallpox, which was sweeping Parthia at the time now spread to the Roman army, leading to their withdrawal.[21]
In 195, another Roman invasion of Mesopotamia began under the EmperorSeptimius Severus, who occupied Seleucia andBabylon, and then sacked Ctesiphon yet again in 197. These wars led to the Roman acquisition of northern Mesopotamia, as far as the areas around Nisibis and Singara.[22] Afinal war against the Parthians was launched by the emperorCaracalla, who sackedArbela in 216, but after his assassination, his successorMacrinus lost a battle against the Parthians atNisibis and was forced to pay tribute to Parthia, that was the last engagement of the Parthian Wars.[23]
Parthia was finally destroyed byArdashir I when he enteredCtesiphon in 226. The Sassanids were more centralized than the Parthian dynasties.Until theSassanids came to power, the Romans were mostly the aggressors. However, the Sassanids, being Persians, were determined to reconquer lands that theAchaemenid dynasty had once held and now lost. Their restorationist zeal made them much more aggressive foes of the Romans than the Parthians ever were. For more information, seeByzantine-Sassanid Wars.
Plutarch,Sulla. Translated byJohn Dryden.
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