Comparison And Contrast Essay: The Battle Of Julius Caesar

After the death of Roman general, statesman, and dictator, Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix, two very wealthy and powerful men of Rome, Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus and Marcus Licinius Crassus began to grow hostile towards one another over power and leadership roles. Due to the fact that both men were backed by armies of their own, this was not viewed as a simple quarrel between two men. In efforts to avoid civil war, Julius Caesar suggested a three-way alliance. This unofficial partnership is known as the first Triumvirate. Having earned his title of Magnus for his countless victories and conquest, Pompey was Rome’s most famous general. Likewise, Julius Caesar was known for his eloquent speeches in the Senate, but it was his martial talents shown in Gaul and Britannia that were swiftly rising him up the ladder, making way for a new legend. Lastly, Marcus Licinius Crassus was not only a successful politician, but also the richest man in Rome. For

him,being well respected and wealthy wa snot enough. Crassus became increasingly jealous of Caesar and Pompey. They both had something that he did not but wanted very badly, eventually risking and losing his own life for it. Crassus was hungry for power. It wasn’t until Caesar began to exhibit military prowess, that Crassus immediately decided to seek out conquest of his own.
Out of greed for power and the recognition of successfully invading a region, in the Summer of 53B.C., Crassus decided to invade the city of Parthia. He did this without the permission of the Roman Republic. Likewise, Crassus failed to obtain permission from Armenian King, Artavasdes II to invade through his territory. Crassus and his army of 40,000 men, & legions, and some cavalry traveled to Carrhae across the open plains of Mesopotamia.
In this battle the Roman army’s strategy was not successful against the parthians. While known for having many techniques and tactics, the Romans had no idea what the Parthians had in store. After obtaining word of the presence of the parthian army drawing near, Crassus appeared to have panicked. His troops were extremely exhausted and worn out after a long and quick march across the Mesopotamian desert. Unfortunately, his army had no time to rest. Instead, Crassus began to form battle lines. Although he was advised to stretch out in classic battle formation, Crassus believed in setting his men up in a formation called "testudo." This formation would essentially block out enemies. The Romans believed that by doing this, they were creating a wall of steel. However, traveling through open plains allowed the General Surena and his 10,00 calvary, which included 1,000 cataphracts, to surround the Roman army and defeat them.
As the battle opened a shower of Parthian arrows fell down onto the Romans. Crassus ordered his son Publius to attack the archers with his Gallic cavalry and a unit of infantry. Initially, Publius drove back the horse archers, but by doing this he found himself a long ways away from the main Roman body. The Parthians cut off his force, surrounding it with horse archers and the cataphracts. Publius became overwhelmed. Trapped away from his father and the rest of the army, Publius ordered his own death at the hand of one of his men, and the Roman cavalry was slaughtered. Crassus then reorganized his lines in the traditional Roman style and ordered a general advance. As he was getting his army ready, the parthians who had defeated Publius and his cavalry rode in front of the Roman army with Publius’ head on a spear. After seeing this, Crassus lost his will to continue fighting. During the night, he then ordered a retreat to save the remaining of his army.
As the battle came to an ending, General Surena organized a meeting to call a truce. Reluctant at first, Crassus decided to attend. However, to his demise, the meeting was a trap. Crassus was killed in a scuffle after realizing he was set up. Some sources state that when he was killed the parthian king poured molten gold on his teeth and down his throat to show how greed had taken over him. Most ancient sources, however, identify Crassus' motives as a combination of greed and ambition-that is, a desire for glory. In the end, 20,000 Roman soldiers were killed. 10,000 soldiers were captured and a luck 10,000 escaped. Wounded Roman soldiers were left on the battlefield to perish or be captured. The parthian army only lost about 1,000 soldiers.
The battle of Carrhae provides historians with an example of how numbers are insignificant.

The Parthian army in total only had about 11,000 warm bodies, as opposed to the 40,000 men that made up the Roman army. General Surena and his army came prepared, knowing that they were outnumbered close to three times over. From this battle, one can also analyze the effectiveness of battle formations. Although Crassus was advised to set up his army in a proven successful formation, he decided to decline the advice and set the ranks in the way he thought would work. Lastly, this battle is significant to the study of Greek and Roman because one can review the different battle tactics that may or may not have been successful. By Publius seperating from the rest of the army, he made himself and his cavalry an obvious target. It can be assumed that if he would have worked with the Roman army instead of separating himself, the outcome for him and the Roman army as a whole could have been different, and possibly more desirable to the Roman

army.