Editing Mark Antony (section)

====Parthian Campaign====
{{main|Antony's Parthian War}}

With the triumvirate renewed in 38 BC, Antony returned to Athens in the winter with his new wife [[Octavia Major|Octavia]], the sister of Octavian. With the assassination of the Parthian king [[Orodes II]] by his son [[Phraates IV]], who then seized the Parthian throne, in late 38 BC, Antony prepared to invade Parthia himself.[[File:Syd 1197.jpg|thumb|Marcus Antonius & Octavia Minor (sister of Augustus) Cistophorus - 39 BC]]Antony, however, realized Octavian had no intention of sending him the additional legions he had promised under the Treaty of Tarentum. To supplement his own armies, Antony instead looked to Rome's principal vassal in the East: his lover Cleopatra. In addition to significant financial resources, Cleopatra's backing of his Parthian campaign allowed Antony to amass the largest army Rome had ever assembled in the East. Wintering in [[Antioch]] during 37, Antony's combined Roman–Egyptian army numbered some 100,000, including 60,000 soldiers from sixteen legions, 10,000 cavalry from Spain and Gaul, plus an additional 30,000 auxiliaries.<ref>{{cite book |title=Mark Antony, a biography |last=Huzar |first=Eleanor Goltz |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |year=1978 |url=https://archive.org/details/markantonybiogra00huza_0/page/176/mode/1up |page=176|isbn=9780816608638 }}</ref> The size of his army indicated Antony's intention to conquer Parthia, or at least receive its submission by capturing the Parthian capital of [[Ecbatana]]. Antony's rear was protected by Rome's client kingdoms in Anatolia, Syria, and Judea, while the client kingdoms of Cappadocia, Pontus, and Commagene would provide supplies along the march.

Antony's first target for his invasion was the [[kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)|Kingdom of Armenia]]. Ruled by King [[Artavasdes II of Armenia]], Armenia had been an ally of Rome since the defeat of [[Tigranes the Great]] by [[Pompey the Great]] in 66 BC during the [[Third Mithridatic War]]. However, following [[Marcus Licinius Crassus]]'s defeat at the [[Battle of Carrhae]] in 53 BC, Armenia was forced into an alliance with Parthia due to Rome's weakened position in the East. Antony dispatched [[Publius Canidius Crassus]] to Armenia, receiving Artavasdes II's surrender without opposition. Canidius then led an invasion into the [[South Caucasus]], subduing [[Kingdom of Iberia (antiquity)|Iberia]]. There, Canidius forced the Iberian King [[Pharnavaz II]] into an alliance against Zober, king of neighboring [[Caucasian Albania|Albania]], subduing the kingdom and reducing it to a Roman protectorate.

With Armenia and the Caucasus secured, Antony marched south, crossing into the Parthian province of [[Media Atropatene]]. Though Antony desired a pitched battle, the Parthians would not engage, allowing Antony to march deep into Parthian territory by mid-August of 36 BC. This forced Antony to leave his logistics train in the care of two legions (approximately 10,000 soldiers), which was then attacked and completely destroyed by the Parthian army before Antony could rescue them. Though the Armenian King Artavasdes II and his cavalry were present during the massacre, they did not intervene. Despite the ambush, Antony continued the campaign. However, Antony was soon forced to retreat in mid-October after a failed two-month siege of the provincial capital.

The retreat soon proved a disaster as Antony's demoralized army faced increasing supply difficulties in the mountainous terrain during winter while constantly being harassed by the Parthian army. According to [[Plutarch]], eighteen battles were fought between the retreating Romans and the Parthians during the month-long march back to Armenia, with approximately 20,000 infantry and 4,000 cavalry dying during the retreat alone. Once in Armenia, Antony quickly marched back to [[Roman Syria|Syria]] to protect his interests there by late 36 BC, losing an additional 8,000 soldiers along the way. In all, two-fifths of his original army (some 80,000 men) had died during his failed campaign.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Plutarch |title=Antony |pages=50.1}}</ref> The narration of Strabo and Plutarch blames the Armenian king for the defeat, but modern sources note Antony's poor management.<ref name="iranica-antony">{{cite web |last1=Chaumont |first1=M. L. |title=ANTONY, MARK |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/antony-mark-roman-gencral-ca |website=[[Encyclopaedia Iranica]] |date=5 August 2011 |access-date=26 August 2017 |archive-date=26 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221026082247/https://iranicaonline.org/articles/antony-mark-roman-gencral-ca |url-status=live }}</ref>