The Historians' History of the World 05

Crassus was advancing to the relief of his son when the rolling of the Parthians’ drums was heard, and they came exhibiting the head of that unfortunate youth. The spirits of the Romans were now quite depressed; Crassus vainly tried to rouse them, crying that the loss was his not theirs, and urging them to renewed exertions. The Parthians after harassing them through the day retired for the night. Cassius and the legate Octavius, having tried, but in vain, to rouse their general, who was now sunk in despair, called a council of the officers, and it was resolved to attempt a retreat that night. The wailing of the sick and wounded who were left behind informed the Parthians, but it not being their custom to fight at night they remained quiet till morning. They then took the deserted camp, and slaughtered four thousand men whom they found in it, and pursuing after the army cut off the stragglers. The Romans reached the town of Carrhæ, in which they had a garrison. Surenas to keep them from retreat, made feigned proposals of peace; but finding that he was only deceiving them, they set out in the night under the guidance of a Greek: their guide however proved treacherous, and led them into a place full of marshes and ditches. Cassius, who suspected him, turned back and made his escape with five hundred horse; Octavius with five thousand men, having had faithful guides, reached a secure position among the hills, and he brought off Crassus, who was assailed in the marshes by the Parthians. Surenas fearing lest they should get away in the night, let go some of his prisoners, in whose hearing he had caused to be said that the king did not wish to carry things to extremities; and he himself and his officers rode to the hill with unbent bows, and holding out his hand he called on Crassus to come down and meet him. The soldiers were overjoyed, but Crassus put no faith in him; at length when his men, having urged and pressed, began to abuse and threaten him, he took his officers to witness of the force that was put on him, and went down accompanied by Octavius and some of his other officers. The Parthians at first affected to receive him with respect, and a horse was brought for him to mount; but they soon contrived to pick a quarrel, and killed him and all who were with him. The head and right hand of Crassus were cut off; quarter was then offered to the troops, and most of them surrendered. The loss of the Romans in this unjust and ill-fated expedition was twenty thousand men slain and ten thousand captured. The Parthians, it is said, poured molten gold down the throat of Crassus, in reproach of his insatiable avarice. They afterwards made irruptions into Syria, which Cassius gallantly defended against them.

When the news of Crassus’ defeat and death reached Rome, the concern felt for the loss of the army was considerable, that of himself was thought nothing of; yet this was in reality the greater loss of the two, for he alone had the power to keep Cæsar and Pompey at unity, as Julia, whom they both agreed in loving as she deserved, and who was a bond of union between them, had lately died in childbirth, to the grief not merely of her father and husband, but of the whole Roman people (54).

ANARCHY AT ROME

[54-52 B.C.]

Affairs at Rome were now indeed in a state of perfect anarchy; violence and bribery were the only modes of obtaining office. In 54 all the candidates for the consulate were prosecuted for bribery; and C. Memmius, one of them, actually read in the senate a written agreement between himself and a fellow-candidate Cn. Domitius Calvinus on one part, and the actual consuls L. Domitius Ahenobarbus and App. Claudius on the other, by which the two former bound themselves, if elected through the consul’s influence, to pay them each forty thousand sesterces unless they produced three augurs to declare that they were present when the curiate law was passed, and two consulars to aver that they were present when the consular provinces were arranged, which would give the ex-consuls the provinces they desired—all utterly false. By these and other delays the elections were kept off for seven months, Pompey looking quietly on in hopes that they would be obliged to create him dictator. Many spoke of it as the only remedy; and though they did not name, they described him very exactly as the fittest person; but Sulla had made the name of dictator too odious; others talked of consular military tribunes. Cn. Domitius Calvinus and M. Valerius Messalla were, however, chosen consuls at the end of the seven months.