CRASSUS' DOOMED CAMPAIGN

Determined to bask in the glory of his own military triumph, Marcus Crassus, the richest man in all of Rome, turned his gaze towards Parthia. His thirst for adoration would result in a catastrophe that would shake the Republic and condemn thousands of men to death

- BERNARD BALE

The words ‘Romans’ and ‘defeated’ do not sit well as neighbours in one sentence. However, the might of Rome met its match on more than one occasion, and few of her defeats were more devastating than the one inflicted at Carrhae, when Crassus’ legions ran into the guile and determination of the Parthian army.

It should have been a mismatch from the start as 40,000 highly trained, battle-hardened fighting men of Rome descended upon what was thought to be a feisty but less battle-proven Parthian army. As it happened, it was indeed a mismatch, but not as expected.

There were still more questions than answers at the end of this bloody battle. How did it all go wrong? Why was Senator Marcus Licinius Crassus so keen to take on the Parthians in the first place? How was this shocking defeat going to shake the very foundations of the Roman Republic? Perhaps a look at Carrhae and why it was important would be helpful at this stage.

Carrhae no longer exists, but the battlefield was thought to be to its east, an area now known as Harran, which nestles on the Turkish side of the border with Iran. It was once known as Mesopotamia and was a much-coveted spot on the trade routes between East and West.

Alexander the Great made sure that he conquered it during his famous empire-inflating campaigns. In 336 BCE he became the 20-year-old king of the whole region, something that any self-respecting Roman senator would wish to emulate. In 53 BCE, nearly 300 years later, Crassus was unable to resist the temptation of repeating the glory of Alexander’s triumph.