Roman-Parthian Wars

About 50 BC, the Roman Republic tried to attack and invade Parthia, but were easily pushed back by the Parthian army, the most significant battle being the Battle of Carrhae. The Roman force was led by general Marcus Crassus, and the Parthian force was led by general Spahbod Surena (Spahbod means "general").

Marcus Crassus wanted the glory and riches that a victory in war would bring him, so he decided to invade the city without the consent of the Roman Senate. He did not gain permission from the Armenian king to invade through their country, so he invaded directly from the deserts of Mesopotamia. Then he was easily defeated by Surena near the city of Currhae.

This was the first of many spats between the two empires that continued for hundreds of years.

Before the first century BC, Parthia defeated the Seleucid empire, gaining much of their land, and then their minds turned towards westward expansion. They imposed their power into Armenia and Mesopotamia, resulting in contacts with Rome.

In 105 BC, Mithradates II (emperor of Parthia) tried to create a Roman-Parthian alliance, but was unsuccessful.

There was a time when the two empires worked together; one example being in the 1st century BC when Parthia supported Brutus and Crassus' invasion of Syria.

But after the roman Civil war, there was more of a focus on the revival of roman strength in Western Asia, and the Roman eyes turned to the empires of the Middle East.

About 70 BC, Pompey, wanting to expand to the east, opened negotiations with the Parthian emperor Phraates. Then, in 66-65 BC, the combined forces invaded Armenia. But, there was a dispute about the boundary of the Euphrates.

Soon after was the Battle of Carrhae, the most catastrophic loss for the Roman Republic. Marcus Crassus and his son, Publius, were killed, along with 42,000 tropps captured or killed.

The following year, 52 BC, the Parthians began to plan and invade Syria, led by the prince Pacorus and general Osaces; but that force was stopped in an ambush led by the Romans, and Osaces was killed.

Then came Caesar's civil war, and there was no ground gained for either side during that time. Meanwhile, the Parthians stayed loyal to Pompey. But after his death, Caesar's forces defeated a moving Parthian Army. Then, since the civil war was over, Julius Caesar was planning an invasion of Parthia, but after he was assassinated, the thought was dropped.

In the meantime, Parthian forces began a campaign across Syria in support of Brutus and Cassius. In 40 BC, they began to invade Roman territory with help from Quintus Labienus (another supporter of Brutus and Cassius). These combined forced kept making way across Syria and to the shore of the Mediterranean Sea, capturing all cities except Tyre. Pacorus kept advancing, and overthrew Hyrcanus II and appointed his nephew to take charge of the city of Hasmonean Judea.

After the next Roman Civil war concluded, a renewed strength was found in Western Asia, and they began pushing back on the Parthians again.

Between 40-37 BC, Marc Antony sent in Ventidius to repel Quintus Labienus, and the move was successful in pushing the Parthians out of Syria. Labienus was taken a a prisoner and put to death, and other Parthian forces who came to help also failed.

After the Romans gained back Syria, both empires came to a stand-still.

Around this time is also when the Roman Republic switched to the Roman Empire.

The Pax Romana, (Roman Peace) , changed the conflict between the nations. There was a time when the Roman Empire did not enter into any physical was, if anything, it was "diplomatic" issues that they dealt with.

This Roman peace was also influenced by the fact that Parthia had to deal with it's other borders; generals declaring independence in India, and the northern nation was pushing the borders.

Afraid of some impending war, Gaius Caesar and Phraataces came up with a compromise around 1 AD. this compromise said that the Parthian forces would withdraw from Armenia, and the Roman Empire would become the protectorate of the nation; but, there was a continuing rivalry between the two nations.

When one nation would make headway in Armenia, the other would fight back and make their own headway. Parthia would gain land and appoint their own king, then the Romans would retaliate, gain back the land, and reappoint their own leader. These battles occurred until 38 AD, when they came to an inconclusive ending , when the Romans decided they would allow Parthians to remain in the country as long as the Romans remained informed.

Meanwhile, both nations were going through a time of decline, but Parthia was experiencing the worst of it, making the nation rather weak. Then Trajan became emperor of the Roman Empire, and his goal was to further expand it's lands.

Trajan began his conquest to finally conquer Parthia in 113 AD, invading Armenia, killing it's king, Parthamasiris, who was related to the Parthian king, then annexing the nation to Rome.

He then moved on to the rest of Mesopotamia, and also annexed it to Rome. He conquered the Parthian capital Ctesiphon, then kept moving to invade the rest of the nation. He was unable to defeat all of Parthia, though, due to revolts in Palestine. In order to calm the rebels down, he appointed a Parthian as a "client ruler". Trajan was never able to finish his war before his death, though.

After Trajan's death, Hadrian, the next emperor of Rome, decided it would be best if Rome re-established the border to the Euphrates. This only caused a re-opening for the quarrels over Armenia, and started more battles between the two nations.

In 161, the fighting over Armenia once again became increasingly intense, and it led to another Roman conquest of Mesopotamia, in which the capital and other Parthian cities were again captured. The Romans once again had to withdraw their forces due to a plague that went through their lines. The two successful conquests by the Romans on the Parthians simply showed that Parthia was loosing strength and it was loosing the power and the influence it once held over the area.

One last conquest over Mesopotamia was launched by Septimus Severus, who was again able to conquer Ctesiphon.

Severus's son, Caracalla, Headed one last war against Parthia, in which he was assassinated in. his successor, Macrinus, continues the war, but was defeated neat the town Nisibus by the Parthians. This was the final battle between the two nations, this occurred in 217 AD.

In 224 AD, the Parthian King was killed by the Sassanids, and their empire fell to them. The Romans now had another rival to deal with.

Sources:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman%E2%80%93Parthian_Wars
• http://www.allempires.com/article/index.php?q=war_roman_parthian

The Roman-Parthian Wars

66 BC- 217 AD

Surena

Marcus Crassus

Julius Caesar

Mithradates II

Armenia

Roman Republic

Selucid Empire

Brutus

Crassuss

Pompey