Editing Marcus Licinius Crassus (section)

==Syrian governorship and death==
Crassus received Syria as his province, which promised to be an inexhaustible source of wealth. It might have been, had he not also sought military glory and crossed the [[Euphrates]] in an attempt to conquer [[Parthian Empire|Parthia]]. Crassus attacked Parthia not only because of its great source of riches, but because of a desire to match the military victories of Pompey and Caesar. The king of [[Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)|Armenia]], [[Artavasdes II of Armenia|Artavasdes II]], offered Crassus the aid of nearly 40,000 troops (10,000 [[cataphract]]s and 30,000 infantrymen) on the condition that Crassus invade through Armenia so that the king could not only maintain the upkeep of his own troops but also provide a safer route for his men and Crassus.<ref>Plutarch, ''Life of Crassus'', [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Crassus*.html 19.1–3]</ref> Crassus refused, and chose the more direct route by crossing the Euphrates, as he had done in his successful campaign in the previous year. Crassus received directions from the Osroene chieftain Ariamnes, who had previously assisted [[Pompey]] in his eastern campaigns.<ref>Plutarch, ''Life of Crassus'', 21.2</ref> Ariamnes was in the pay of the Parthians and urged Crassus to attack at once, falsely stating that the Parthians were weak and unorganized. He then led Crassus' army into desert, far from any water. In 53{{nbs}}BC, at the [[Battle of Carrhae]] (modern [[Harran]], in Turkey), Crassus' legions were defeated by a numerically inferior Parthian force. Crassus' legions were primarily heavy infantry, and not prepared for an attack by swift mounted archers, a tactic which Parthian troops had mastered. The Parthian horse archers devastated the unprepared Romans with hit-and-run tactics, feigning retreats as they shot to their rear.<ref>Richard Bulliet, Professor of Middle Eastern History, Columbia University</ref> Crassus refused his [[quaestor]] [[Gaius Cassius Longinus]]' plans to reconstitute the Roman battle line, and remained in the [[testudo formation]] to protect his flanks until the Parthians eventually ran out of arrows. However, the Parthians brought camels carrying arrows to continuously resupply their archers, letting them relentlessly barrage the Romans until dusk. Despite taking severe casualties, the Romans successfully retreated to Carrhae, forced to leave many wounded behind to be slaughtered by the Parthians.{{fact|date=January 2024}}
[[File:Le supplice de Crassus (Louvre, OA 1761).jpg|thumb|"The torture of Crassus", 1530s, Louvre]]
Subsequently, Crassus' men, being near [[mutiny]], demanded he [[parley]] with the Parthians, who had offered to meet with him. Crassus, despondent at the death of his son [[Publius Licinius Crassus (son of triumvir)|Publius]] in the battle, finally agreed to meet the Parthian general [[Surena]]. However, when Crassus mounted a horse to ride to the Parthian camp for a peace negotiation, his junior officer Octavius suspected a Parthian trap and grabbed Crassus' horse by the bridle, instigating a sudden fight with the Parthians that left all the Romans dead, including Crassus.<ref>Bivar (1983), p. 55</ref> A story later emerged that, after Crassus' death, the Parthians poured molten gold into his mouth to mock his thirst for wealth.<ref>Cassius Dio, 40.27</ref>

[[Plutarch]]'s biography of Crassus also mentions that, during the feasting and revelry in the wedding ceremony of Artavasdes' sister to the Parthian king [[Orodes II]]'s son and heir [[Pacorus I|Pacorus]] in the Armenian capital of [[Artashat (ancient city)|Artashat]], Crassus' head was brought to Orodes II.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Payaslian|first1=Simon|title=The history of Armenia: from the origins to the present|date=2007|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|location=New York|isbn=978-1403974679|page=24|edition=1st|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7J-g7Wld1vEC}}</ref> Both kings were enjoying a performance of [[Euripides]]' tragedy ''[[The Bacchae]]'' when an actor of the royal court, named Jason of Tralles, took the head and sang these verses:

{{blockquote|We bring from the mountain<br>A tendril fresh-cut to the palace<br>A wonderful prey.<ref>Plutarch, ''Life of Crassus'', [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Crassus*.html 33.2–3]</ref>}} Crassus' head was thus used instead of a prop to represent [[Pentheus]] and carried by of [[Agave (Theban princess)|Agave]].<ref>Bivar (1983), p. 56</ref>

Also according to Plutarch, Crassus was mocked by dressing up a Roman prisoner, Caius Paccianus, who resembled him, in women's clothing, calling him "Crassus" and "''imperator''", and leading him in a spectacular show of a final, satirical "triumphal procession", ridiculing the traditional symbols of Roman triumph and authority.<ref>Plutarch, ''Life of Crassus'', p. 418: "That one of his captives who bore the greatest likeness to Crassus, Caius Paccianus, put on a woman's royal robe, and under instructions to answer to the name of Crassus and the title of ''imperator'' when so addressed, was conducted along on horseback."</ref>