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diff --git a/16166.txt b/16166.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c94b3d1 --- /dev/null +++ b/16166.txt @@ -0,0 +1,9697 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Seven Great Monarchies Of The Ancient +Eastern World, Vol 6. (of 7): Parthia, by George Rawlinson + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Seven Great Monarchies Of The Ancient Eastern World, Vol 6. (of 7): Parthia + The History, Geography, And Antiquities Of Chaldaea, + Assyria, Babylon, Media, Persia, Parthia, And Sassanian + or New Persian Empire; With Maps and Illustrations. + +Author: George Rawlinson + +Illustrator: George Rawlinson + +Release Date: July 1, 2005 [EBook #16166] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SEVEN GREAT MONARCHIES *** + + + + +Produced by David Widger + + + + + +THE SEVEN GREAT MONARCHIES + +OF THE + +ANCIENT EASTERN WORLD; + + +OR, + + +THE HISTORY, GEOGRAPHY, AND ANTIQUITIES OF CHALDAEA, ASSYRIA + +BABYLON, MEDIA, PERSIA, PARTHIA, AND SASSANIAN, + +OR NEW PERSIAN EMPIRE. + + +BY + +GEORGE RAWLINSON, M.A., + +CAMDEN PROFESSOR OF ANCIENT HISTORY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD + + + +IN THREE VOLUMES. + + + +VOLUME III. + + + +WITH MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS + + + + +[Illustration: MAP of PARTHIA PROPER] + +[Illustration: MAP OF PARTHIA] + + + + +A HISTORY OF PARTHIA. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + + +_Geography of Parthia Proper, Character of the Region, Climate, +Character of the Surrounding Countries._ + + +The broad tract of desert which, eastward of the Caspian Sea, extends +from the Mougbojar hills to the Indian Ocean, a distance of above 1500 +miles, is interrupted about midway by a strip of territory possessing +features of much beauty and attraction. This strip, narrow compared to +the desert on either side of it, is yet, looked at by itself, a region +of no inconsiderable dimensions, extending, as it does from east to +west, a distance of 320, and from north to south of nearly 200 miles. +The mountain chain, which running southward of the Caspian, skirts the +great plateau of Iran, or Persia, on the north, broadens out, after +it passes the south-eastern corner of the sea, into a valuable and +productive mountain-region. Four or five distinct ranges here run +parallel to one another, having between them latitudinal valleys, with +glens transverse to their courses. The sides of the valleys are often +well wooded; the flat ground at the foot of the hills is fertile; water +abounds; and the streams gradually collect into rivers of a considerable +size. + +The fertile territory in this quarter is further increased by the +extension of cultivation to a considerable distance from the base of +the most southern of the ranges, in the direction of the Great Iranic +desert. The mountains send down a number of small streams towards +the south; and the water of these, judiciously husbanded by means of +reservoirs and _kanats_, is capable of spreading fertility over a broad +belt at the foot of the hills; which, left to nature, would be almost as +barren as the desert itself, into which it would, in fact, be absorbed. + +It was undoubtedly in the region which has been thus briefly described +that the ancient home of the Parthians lay. In this neighborhood alone +are found the geographic names which the most ancient writers who +mention the Parthians connect with them. Here evidently the Parthians +were settled at the time when Alexander the Great overran the East, and +first made the Greeks thoroughly familiar with the Parthian name and +territory. Here, lastly, in the time of the highest Parthian splendor +and prosperity, did a province of the Empire retain the name of +Parthyene, or Parthia Proper; and here, also, in their palmiest days, +did the Parthian kings continue to have a capital and a residence. + +Parthia Proper, however, was at no time coextensive with the region +described. A portion of that region formed the district called Hyrcania; +and it is not altogether easy to determine what were the limits between +the two. The evidence goes, on the whole, to show that, while Hyrcania +lay towards the west and north, the Parthian country was that towards +the south and east, the valleys of the Ettrek and Gurghan constituting +the main portions of the former, while the tracts east and south of +those valleys, as far as the sixty-first degree of E. longitude, +constituted the latter. + +If the limits of Parthia Proper be thus defined, it will have nearly +corresponded to the modern Persian province of Khorasan. It will have +extended from about Damaghan (long. 54 deg. 10') upon the west, to the +Heri-rud upon the east, and have comprised the modern districts of +Damaghan, Shah-rud, Sebzawar, Nishapur, Meshed, Shebri-No, and Tersheez. +Its length from east to west will have been about 300 miles, and its +average width about 100 or 120. It will have contained an area of about +33,000 square miles, being thus about equal in size to Ireland, Bavaria, +or St. Domingo. + +The character of the district has been already stated in general terms; +but some further particulars may now be added. It consists, in the +first place, of a mountain and a plain region--the mountain region lying +towards the north and the plain region towards the south. The mountain +region is composed of three main ranges, the Daman-i-Koh, or Hills of +the Kurds, upon the north, skirting the great desert of Rharaem, the +Alatagh and Meerabee mountains in the centre; and the Jaghetai or +Djuvein range, upon the south, which may be regarded as continued in the +hills above Tersheez and Khaff. The three ranges are parallel, running +east and west, but with an inclination, more or less strong, to the +north of west and the south of east. The northern and central ranges are +connected by a water-shed, which runs nearly east and west, a little to +the south of Kooshan, and separates the head streams of the Ettrek from +those of the Meshed river. The central and southern ranges are connected +by a more decided, mountain line, a transverse ridge which runs nearly +north and south, dividing between the waters that flow westward into the +Gurghan, and those which form the river of Nishapur. This conformation +of the mountains leaves between the ranges three principal valleys, the +valley of Meshed towards the south-east, between the Kurdish range and +the Alatagh and Meerabee; that of Miyanabad towards the west, between +the Alatagh and the Jaghetai; and that of Nishapur towards the south, +between the eastern end of the Jaghetai and the western flank of the +Meerabee. As the valleys are three in number, so likewise are the +rivers, which are known respectively as the Tejend, or river of Meshed, +the river of Nishapur, and the river of Miyanabad. + +The Tejend, which is the principal stream of the three, rises from +several sources in the hills south of Kooshan, and flows with a +south-easterly course down the valley of Meshed, receiving numerous +tributaries from both sides, until it reaches that city, when it bends +eastward, and, finding a way through the Kurdish range, joins the course +of the Heri-rud, about long. 01 deg. 10'. Here its direction is completely +changed. Turning at an angle, which is slightly acute, it proceeds to +flow to the west of north, along the northern base of the Kurdish range, +from which it receives numerous small streams, till it ends finally in a +large swamp or marsh, in lat. 39 deg., long. 57 deg., nearly. The entire length +of the stream, including only main windings, is about 475 miles. In its +later course, however, it is often almost dry, the greater portion of +the water being consumed in irrigation in the neighborhood of Meshed. + +The river of Nishapur is formed by numerous small streams, which descend +from the mountains that on three sides inclose that city. Its water +is at times wholly consumed in the cultivation of the plain; but the +natural course may be traced, running in a southerly and south-westerly +direction, until it debouches from the hills in the vicinity of +Tersheez. The Miyanabad stream is believed to be a tributary of the +Gurghan. It rises from several sources in the transverse range joining +the Alatagh to the Jaghetai, the streams from which all flow westward +in narrow valleys, uniting about long. 57 deg. 35'. The course of the river +from this point to Piperne has not been traced, but it is believed +to run in a general westerly direction along the southern base of the +Alatagh, and to form a junction with the Gurghan a little below the +ruins of the same name. Its length to this point is probably about 200 +miles. + +The elevation of the mountain chains is not great. No very remarkable +peaks occur in them; and it may be doubted whether they anywhere attain +a height of above 6000 feet. They are for the most part barren and +rugged, very scantily supplied with timber, and only in places capable +of furnishing a tolerable pasturage to flocks and herds. The valleys, +on the other hand, are rich and fertile in the extreme; that of Meshed, +which extends a distance of above a hundred miles from north-west +to south-east, and is from twenty to thirty miles broad, has almost +everywhere a good and deep soil, is abundantly supplied with water, +and yields a plentiful return even to the simplest and most primitive +cultivation. The plain about Nishapur, which is in length from eighty to +ninety miles, and in width from forty to sixty, boasts a still greater +fertility. + +The flat country along the southern base of the mountains, which ancient +writers regard as Parthia, par excellence, is A strip of territory about +300 miles long, varying in width ac cording to the labor and the skill +applied by its inhabitants to the perfecting of a system of irrigation. +At present the _kanats_, or underground water-courses, are seldom +carried to a distance of more than a mile or two from the foot of the +hills; but it is thought that anciently the cultivation was extended +considerably further. Ruined cities dispersed throughout the tract +sufficiently indicate its capabilities, and in a few places where much +attention is paid to agriculture the results are such as to imply that +the soil is more than ordinarily productive. The salt desert lies, +however, in most places within ten or fifteen miles of the hills; and +beyond this distance it is obviously impossible that the "Atak" or +"Skirt" should at any time have been inhabited. + +It is evident that the entire tract above described must have been at +all times a valuable and much coveted region. Compared with the arid and +inhospitable deserts which adjoin it upon the north and south, Khorasan, +the ancient Parthia and Hyrcania, is a terrestrial Paradise. Parthia, +though scantily wooded, still produces in places the pine, the walnut, +the sycamore, the ash, the poplar, the willow, the vine, the mulberry, +the apricot, and numerous other fruit trees. Saffron, asafoetida, and +the gum ammoniac plant, are indigenous in parts of it. Much of the soil +is suited for the cultivation of wheat, barley, and cotton. The ordinary +return upon wheat and barley is reckoned at ten for one. Game abounds +in the mountains, and fish in the underground water-courses. Among the +mineral treasures of the region may be enumerated copper, lead, iron, +salt, and one of the most exquisite of gems, the turquoise. This gem +does not appear to be mentioned by ancient writers; but it is so easily +obtainable that we can scarcely suppose it was not known from very +ancient times. + +The severity of the climate of Parthia is strongly stated by Justin. +According to modern travellers, the winters, though protracted, are +not very inclement, the thermometer rarely sinking below ten or eleven +degrees of Fahrenheit during the nights, and during the daytime rising, +even in December and January, to 40 deg. or 50 deg.. The cold weather, however, +which commences about October, continues till nearly the end of March, +when storms of sleet and hail are common. Much snow falls in the earlier +portion of the winter, and the valleys are scarcely clear of it till +March. On the mountains it remains much longer, and forms the chief +source of supply to the rivers during the spring and the early summer +time. In summer the heat is considerable, more especially in the region +known as the "Atak;" and here, too, the unwholesome wind, which blows +from the southern desert, is felt from, time to time as a terrible +scourge. But in the upland country the heat is at no time very intense, +and the natives boast that they are not compelled by it to sleep on +their house-tops during more than one month in the year. + +The countries by which Parthia Proper was bounded were the following: +Chorasmia, Margiana, Aria, Sarangia, Sagartia, and Hyrcania. + +Chorasmia lay upon the north, consisting of the low tract between the +most northerly of the Parthian mountain chains and the old course of the +Oxus. This region, which is for the most part an arid and inhospitable +desert, can at no time have maintained more than a sparse and scanty +population. The Turkoman tribes which at the present day roam over the +waste, feeding their flocks and herds alternately on the banks of the +Oxus and the Tejend, or finding a bare subsistence for them about the +ponds and pools left by the winter rains, represent, it is probable, +with sufficient faithfulness, the ancient inhabitants, who, whatever +their race, must always have been nomads, and can never have exceeded +a few hundred thousands. On this side Parthia must always have been +tolerably safe from attacks, unless the Cis-Oxianian tribes were +reinforced, as they sometimes were, by hordes from beyond the river. + +On the north-east was Margiana, sometimes regarded as a country by +itself, sometimes reckoned a mere district of Bactria. This was the +tract of fertile land upon the Murg-ab, or ancient Margus river, which +is known among moderns as the district of Merv. The Murg-ab is a stream +flowing from the range of the Paropamisus, in a direction which is a +little east of north; it debouches from the mountains in about lat. +36 deg. 25', and thence makes its way through the desert. Before it reaches +Merv, it is eighty yards wide and five feet deep, thus carrying a vast +body of water. By a judicious use of dykes and canals, this fertilizing +fluid was in ancient times carried to a distance of more than +twenty-five miles from the natural course of the river; and by these +means an oasis was created with a circumference of above 170, and +consequently a diameter of above fifty miles. This tract, inclosed on +every side by deserts, was among the most fertile of all known regions; +it was especially famous for its vines, which grew to such a size that +a single man could not encircle their stems with his two arms, and +bore clusters that were a yard long. Margiana possessed, however, as a +separate country, little military strength, and it was only as a +portion of some larger and more populous territory that it could become +formidable to the Parthians. + +South of Margiana, and adjoining upon Parthia toward the east, was Aria, +the tract which lies about the modern Herat. This was for the most +part a mountain region, very similar in its general character to the +mountainous portion of Parthia, but of much smaller dimensions. Its +people were fairly warlike; but the Parthian population was probably +double or triple their number, and Parthia consequently had but little +to fear in this quarter. + +Upon the south-east Parthia was bordered by Sarangia, the country of the +Sarangae, or Drangae. This appears to have been the district south +of the Herat valley, reaching thence as far as the Hamoon, or Sea of +Seistan. It is a country of hills and downs, watered by a number of +somewhat scanty streams, which flow south-westward from the Paropamisus +to the Hamoon. Its population can never have been great, and they were +at no time aggressive or enterprising, so that on this side also the +Parthians were secure, and had to deal with no formidable neighbor. + +Sagartia succeeded to Sarangia towards the west, and bordered Parthia +along almost the whole of its southern frontier. Excepting in the +vicinity of Tebbes and Toun (lat. 34 deg., long. 56 deg. to 58 deg.), this +district is an absolute desert, the haunt of the gazelle and the wild +ass, dry, saline, and totally devoid of vegetation. The wild nomads, who +wandered over its wastes, obtaining a scanty subsistence by means of +the lasso, were few in number, scattered, and probably divided by feuds. +Southern Parthia might occasionally suffer from their raids; but +they were far too weak to constitute a serious danger to the mountain +country. + +Lastly, towards the west and the north-west, Parthia was bordered by +Hyrcania, a region geographically in the closest connection with it, +very similar in general character, but richer, warmer, and altogether +more desirable. Hyrcania was, as already observed, the western and +north-western portion of that broad mountain region which has been +described as intervening between the eastern shores of the Caspian +and the river Arius, or Heri-rud. It consisted mainly of the two rich +valleys of the Gurghan and Ettrek, with the mountain chains inclosing or +dividing them. Here on the slopes of the hills grow the oak, the beech, +the elm, the alder, the wild cherry; here luxuriant vines spring from +the soil on every side, raising themselves aloft by the aid of their +stronger sisters, and hanging in wild festoons from tree to tree; +beneath their shade the ground is covered with flowers-of various kinds, +primroses, violets, lilies, hyacinths, and others of unknown species; +while in the flat land at the bottom of the valleys are meadows of the +softest and the tenderest grass, capable of affording to numerous +flocks and herds an excellent and unfailing pasture. Abundant game finds +shelter in the forests, while towards the mouths of the rivers, where +the ground is for the most part marshy, large herds of wild boars +are frequent; a single herd sometimes containing hundreds. Altogether +Hyrcania was a most productive and desirable country, capable of +sustaining a dense population, and well deserving Strabo's description +of it as "highly favored of Heaven." The area of the country was, +however, small, probably not much exceeding one half that of Parthia +Proper; and thus the people were not sufficiently numerous to cause the +Parthians much apprehension. + +The situation and character of Parthia thus, on the whole, favored her +becoming an imperial power. She had abundant resources within herself; +she had a territory apt for the production of a hardy race of men; and +she had no neighbors of sufficient strength to keep her down, when +she once developed the desire to become dominant. Surprise has been +expressed at her rise. But it is perhaps more astonishing that she +passed so many centuries in obscurity before she became an important +state, than that she raised herself at last to the first position among +the Oriental nations. Her ambition and her material strength were plants +of slow growth; it took several hundreds of years for them to attain +maturity: when, however, this point was reached, the circumstances +of her geographical position stood her in good stead, and enabled her +rapidly to extend her way over the greater portion of Western Asia. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + +_Early notices of the Parthians. Their Ethnic character and connections. +Their position under the Persian Monarchs, from Cyrus the Great to +Darius III. (Codomannus.)_ + + +The Parthians do not appear in history until a comparatively recent +period. Their name occurs nowhere in the Old Testament Scriptures. +They obtain no mention in the Zendavesta. The Assyrian Inscriptions +are wholly silent concerning them. It is not until the time of Darius +Hystaspis that we have trustworthy evidence of their existence as a +distinct people. In the inscriptions of this king we find their country +included under the name of Parthva or Parthwa among the provinces of +the Persian Empire, joined in two places with Sarangia, Aria, Chorasmia, +Bactria, and Sogdiana, and in a third with these same countries and +Sagartia. We find, moreover, an account of a rebellion in which the +Parthians took part. In the troubles which broke out upon the death of +the Pseudo-Smerdis, B.C. 521, Parthia revolted, in conjunction (as it +would seem) with Hyrcania, espousing the cause of that Median pretender, +who, declaring himself a descendant of the old Median monarchs, set +himself up as a rival to Darius. Hytaspes, the father of Darius, held at +this time the Parthian satrapy. In two battles within the limits of his +province he defeated the rebels, who must have brought into the field +a considerable force, since in one of the two engagements they lost in +killed and prisoners between 10,000 and 11,000 men. After their second +defeat the Parthians made their submission, and once more acknowledged +Darius for their sovereign. + +With these earliest Oriental notices of the Parthians agree entirely +such passages as contain any mention of them in the more ancient +literature of the Greeks. Hecatseus of Miletus, who was contemporary +with Darius Hystaspis, made the Parthians adjoin upon the Chorasmians in +the account which he gave of the geography of Asia. Herodotus spoke of +them as a people subject to the Persians in the reign of Darius, and +assigned them to the sixteenth satrapy, which comprised also the Arians, +the Sogdians, and the Chorasmians. He said that they took part in the +expedition of Xerxes against Greece (B.C. 480), serving in the army on +foot under the same commander as the Chorasmians, and equipped like them +with bows and arrows, and with spears of no great length. In another +passage he mentioned their being compelled to pay the Persian water tax, +and spoke of the great need which they had of water for the irrigation +of their millet and sesame crops. + +It is evident that these notices agree with the Persian accounts, +both as to the locality of the Parthians and as to the fact of their +subjection to the Persian government. They further agree in assigning +to the Parthians a respectable military character, yet one of no very +special eminency. On the ethnology of the nation, and the circumstances +under which the country became an integral part of the Persian +dominions, they throw no light. We have still to seek an answer to the +questions, "Who were the Parthians?" and "How did they become Persian +subjects?" + +Who were the Parthians? It is not until the Parthians have emerged +from obscurity and become a great people that ancient authors trouble +themselves with inquiries as to their ethnic character and remote +antecedents. Of the first writers who take the subject into their +consideration, some are content to say that the Parthians were a race of +Scyths, who at a remote date had separated from the rest of the nation, +and had occupied the southern portion of the Chorasmian desert, whence +they had gradually made themselves masters of the mountain region +adjoining it. Others added to this that the Scythic tribe to which they +belonged was called the Dahse; that their own proper name was Parni, or +Aparni; and that they had migrated originally from the country to the +north of the Palus Maeotis, where they had left the great mass of their +fellow tribesmen. Subsequently, in the time of the Antonines, the theory +was started that the Parthians were Scyths, whom Sesostris, on his +return from his Scythian expedition, brought into Asia and settled in +the mountain-tract lying east of the Caspian. + +It can scarcely be thought that these notices have very much historical +value. Moderns are generally agreed that the Scythian conquests of +Sesostris are an invention of the Egyptian priests, which they palmed +on Herodotus and Diodorus. Could they be regarded as having really taken +place, still the march back from Scythia to Egypt round the north and +east of the Caspian Sea would be in the highest degree improbable. The +settlement of the Parthians in Parthia by the returning conqueror is, in +fact, a mere duplicate of the tale commonly told of his having settled +the Colchians in Colchis, and is equally worthless. The earlier authors, +moreover, know nothing of the story, which first appears in the second +century after our era, and as time goes on becomes more circumstantial. + +Even the special connection of the Parthians with the Dahse, and their +migration from the shores of the Palus Mteotis, may be doubted. Strabo +admits it to be uncertain whether there were any Dahse at all about the +Mseotis; and, if there were, it would be open to question whether they +were of the same race with the Dahse of the Caspian. As the settlement +of the Parthians in the country called after their name dated from a +time anterior to Darius Hystaspis, and the Greeks certainly did not +set on foot any inquiries into their origin till at least two centuries +later, it would be unlikely that the Parthians could give them a true +account. The real groundwork of the stories told seems to have been +twofold. First, there was a strong conviction on the part of those who +came in contact with the Parthians that they were Scyths; and secondly, +it was believed that their name meant "exile." Hence it was necessary to +suppose that they had migrated into their country from some portion of +the tract known as Scythia to the Greeks, and it was natural to invent +stories as to the particular circumstances of the migration. + +The residuum of the truth, or at any rate the important conviction of +the ancient writers, which remains after their stories are sifted, is +the Scythic character of the Parthian people. On this point, Strabo, +Justin, and Arrian are agreed. The manners of the Parthians had, they +tell us, much that was Scythic in them. Their language was half Scythic, +half Median. They armed themselves in the Scythic fashion. They were, in +fact, Scyths in descent, in habits, in character. + +But what are we to understand by this? May we assume at once that +they were a Turanian people, in race, habits, and language akin to the +various tribes of Turkomans who are at present dominant over the entire +region between the Oxus and the Parthian mountain-tract, and within +that tract have many settlements? May we assume that they stood in an +attitude of natural hostility to the Arian nations by which they were +surrounded, and that their revolt was the assertion of independence by +a down-trodden people after centuries of subjection to the yoke of a +stranger? Did Turan, in their persons, rise against Iean after perhaps a +thousand years of oppression, and renew the struggle for predominance +in regions where the war had been waged before, and where it still +continues to be waged at the present day? + +Such conclusions cannot safely be drawn from the mere fact that the +Scythic character of the Parthians is asserted in the strongest terms +by the ancient writers. The term "Scythic" is not, strictly speaking, +ethnical. It designates a life rather a descent, habits rather than +blood. It is applied by the Greeks and Romans to Indo-European and +Turanian races indifferently, provided that they are nomads, dwelling +in tents or carts, living on the produce of their flocks and herds, +uncivilized, and, perhaps it may be added, accustomed to pass their +lives on horseback. We cannot, therefore, assume that a nation is +Turanian simply because it is pronounced "Scythic." Still, as in fact +the bulk of those races which have remained content with the nomadic +condition, and which from the earliest times to the present day have led +the life above described in the broad steppes of Europe and Asia, appear +to have been of the Turian type, a presumption is raised in favor of a +people being Turanian by decided and concordant statements that it is +Scythic. The presumption may of course be removed by evidence to the +contrary; but, until such evidence is produced it has weight, and +constitutes an argument, the force of which is considerable. + +In the present instance the presumption raised is met by no argument +of any great weight; while on the other hand it receives important +confirmation from several different quarters. It is said, indeed, that +as all, or almost all, the other nations of these parts were confessedly +Arians (e.g. the Bactrians, the Sogdians, the Chorasmians, the +Margians, the Arians of Herat, the Sagartians, the Sarangians, and the +Hyrcanians), it would be strange if the Parthians belonged to a wholly +different ethnic family. But, in the first place, the existence of +isolated nationalities, detached fragments of some greater ethnic mass, +embodied amid alien material, is a fact familiar to ethnologists; and, +further, it is not at all certain that there were not other Turanian +races in these parts, as, for instance, the Thamanasans. Again, it is +said that the Parthians show their Arian extraction by their names; but +this argument may be turned against those who adduce it. It is true that +among the Parthian names a considerable number are not only Arian, but +distinctly Persian--e.g., Mith-ridates, Tiridates, Artabanus, Orobazus, +Rhodaspes--but the bulk of the names have an entirely different +character. There is nothing Arian in such appellations as Amminapes, +Bacasis, Pacorus, Vonones, Sinnaces, Abdus, Abdageses, Gotarzes, +Vologeses, Mnasciras, Sanatroeces; nor anything markedly Arian in +Priapatius, Himerus, Orodes, Apreetseus, Ornos-pades, Parrhaces, +Vasaces, Monesis, Exedares. If the Parthians were Arians, what account +is to be given of these words? That they employed a certain number of +Persian names is sufficiently explained by their subjection during more +than two centuries to the Persian rule. We are also distinctly told that +they affected Persian habits, and desired to be looked upon as Persians. +The Arian names borne by Parthians no more show them to be Arians in +race than the Norman names adopted so widely by the Welsh show them to +be Northmen. On the other hand, the non-Arian names in the former case +are like the non-Norman names in the latter, and equally indicate a +second source of nomenclature, in which should be contained the key to +the true ethnology of the people. + +The non-Arian character of the Parthians is signified, if not proved, by +the absence of their name from the Zendavesta. The Zendavesta enumerates +among Arian nations the Bactrians, the Sogdians, the Margians, the +Hyrcanians, the Arians of Herat, and the Chorasmians, or all the +important nations of these parts except the Parthians. The Parthian +country it mentions under the name of Nisaya or Nisaea, implying +apparently that the Parthians were not yet settled in it. The only ready +way of reconciling the geography of the Zendavesta with that of later +ages is to suppose the Parthians a non-Arian nation who intruded +themselves among the early Arian settlements, coming probably from the +north, the great home of the Turanians. + +Some positive arguments in favor of the Turanian origin of the Parthians +may be based upon their names. The Parthians affect, in their names, +the termination -ac or -ah, as, for instance, in Arsac-es, Sinnac-es, +Parrhaces, Vesaces, Sana-trseces, Phraataces, etc.--a termination which +characterizes the primitive Babylonian, the Basque, and most of the +Turanian tongues. The termination -geses, found in such names as +Volo-geses, Abda-geses, and the like, may be compared with the -ghiz +of Tenghiz. The Turanian root annap, "God," is perhaps traceable in +Amm-inap-es. If the Parthian "Chos-roes" represents the Persian "Kurush" +or Cyrus, the corruption which the word has undergone is such as to +suggest a Tatar articulation. + +The remains of the Parthian language, which we possess, beyond their +names, are too scanty and too little to be depended on to afford us +any real assistance in settling the question of their ethnic character. +Besides the words surena, "Commander-in-chief," and Jcarta or Jcerta, +"city," "fort," there is scarcely one of which we can be assured that it +was really understood by the Parthians in the sense assigned to it. Of +these two, the latter, which is undoubtedly Arian, may have been adopted +from the Persians: the former is non-Arian, but has no known Turanian +congeners. + +If, however, the consideration of the Parthian language does not help +us to determine their race, a consideration of their manners and customs +strengthens much the presumption that they were Turanians. Like the +Turkoman and Tatar tribes generally, they passed almost their whole +lives on horseback, conversing, transacting business, buying and +selling, even eating on their horses. They practised polygamy, secluded +their women from the sight of men, punished unfaithfulness with extreme +severity, delighted in hunting, and rarely ate any flesh but that which +they obtained in this way, were moderate eaters but great drinkers, did +not speak much, but yet were very unquiet, being constantly engaged in +stirring up trouble either at home or abroad. A small portion of the +nation alone was free; the remainder were the slaves of the privileged +few. Nomadic habits continued to prevail among a portion of those who +remained in their primitive seats, even in the time of their greatest +national prosperity; and a coarse, rude, and semi-barbarous character +attached always even to the most advanced part of the nation, to the +king, the court, and the nobles generally, a character which, despite a +certain varnish of civilization, was constantly showing itself in +their dealings with each other and with foreign nations. "The Parthian +monarchs," as Gibbon justly observes, "like the Mogul (Mongol) +sovereigns of Hindostan, delighted in the pastoral life of their +Scythian ancestors, and the imperial camp was frequently pitched in the +plain of Ctesiphon, on the eastern bank of the Tigris." Niebuhr +seems even to doubt whether the Parthians dwelt in cities at all. He +represents them as maintaining from first to last their nomadic habits, +and regards the insurrection by which their empire was brought to an +end as a rising of the inhabitants of towns--the Tadjiks of those +times--against the Ilyats or wanderers, who had oppressed them for +centuries. This is, no doubt, an over statement; but it has a foundation +in fact, since wandering habits and even tent-life were affected by the +Parthians during the most flourishing period of their empire. + +On the whole, the Turanian character of the Parthians, though not +absolutely proved, appears to be in the highest degree probable. If it +be accepted, we must regard them as in race closely allied to the vast +hordes which from a remote antiquity have roamed over the steppe region +of upper Asia, from time to time bursting upon the south, and harassing +or subjugating the comparatively unwarlike inhabitants of the warmer +countries. We must view them as the congeners of the Huns, Bulgarians, +and Comans of the ancient world; of the Kalmucks, Ouigurs, Usbegs, +Eleuts, etc., of the present day. Perhaps their nearest representatives +will be, if we look to their primitive condition at the founding +of their empire, the modern Turkomans, who occupy nearly the same +districts; if we regard them in the period of their great prosperity, +the Osmanli Turks. Like the Turks, they combined great military prowess +and vigor with a capacity for organization and government not very usual +among Asiatics. Like them, they remained at heart barbarians, though +they put on an external appearance of civilization and refinement. Like +them, they never to any extent amalgamated with the conquered races, +but continued for centuries an exclusive dominant race, encamped in the +countries which they had overrun. + +The circumstances under which the Parthians became subjects of the +Persian empire may readily be conjectured, but cannot be laid down +positively. According to Diodorus, who probably followed Ctesias, they +passed from the dominion of the Assyrians to that of the Medes, and from +dependence upon the Medes to a similar position under the Persians. But +the balance of evidence is against these views. It is, on the whole, +most probable that neither the Assyrian nor the Median empire extended +so far eastward as the country of the Parthians. The Parthians probably +maintained their independence from the time of their settlement in +the district called after their name until the sudden arrival in their +country of the great Persian conqueror, Cyrus. This prince, as Herodotus +tells us, subdued the whole of Western Asia, proceeding from nation +to nation, and subjugating one people after another. The order of his +conquests is not traceable; but it is clear that after his conquest +of the Lydian empire (about B.C. 554) he proceeded eastward, with the +special object of subduing Bactria.43 To reach Bactria, he would have +to pass through, or close by, Parthia. Since, as Herodotus says, "he +conquered the whole way, as he went," we may fairly conclude that on +his road to Bactria he subjugated the Parthians. It was thus, almost +certainly, that they lost their independence and became Persian +subjects. Competent enough to maintain themselves against the +comparatively small tribes in their near neighborhood, the Chorasmians, +Hyrcanians, Arians of Herat, Bactrians, and Sagartians, it was not +possible for them to make an effectual resistance to a monarch who +brought against them the entire force of a mighty empire. Cyrus had, +it is probable, little difficulty in obtaining their submission. It is +possible that they resisted; but perhaps it is more probable that their +course on this occasion was similar to that which they pursued when the +Macedonian conqueror swept across these same regions. The Parthians at +that period submitted without striking a blow. There is no reason to +believe that they caused any greater trouble to Cyrus. + +When the Persian empire was organized by Darius Hystaspis into +satrapies, Parthia was at first united in the same government with +Chorasmia, Sogdiana, and Aria. Subsequently, however, when satrapies +were made more numerous, it was detached from these extensive countries +and made to form a distinct government, with the mere addition of the +comparatively small district of Hyrcania.40 It formed, apparently, one +of the most tractable and submissive of the Persian provinces. Except on +the single occasion already noticed, when it took part in a revolt that +extended to nearly one-half the empire, it gave its rulers no trouble; +no second attempt was made to shake off the alien yoke, which may indeed +have galled, but which was felt to be inevitable. In the final struggle +of Persia against Alexander, the Parthians were faithful to their +masters. They fought on the Persian side at Arbela; and though they +submitted to Alexander somewhat tamely when he invaded their country, +yet, as Darius was then dead, and no successor had declared himself, +they cannot be taxed with desertion. Probably they felt little interest +in the event of the struggle. Habit and circumstance caused them to send +their contingent to Arbela at the call of the Great King; but when the +Persian cause was evidently lost, they felt it needless to make further +sacrifices. Having no hope of establishing their independence, they +thought it unnecessary to prolong the contest. They might not gain, but +they could scarcely lose, by a change of masters. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + +_Condition of Western Asia under the earlier Seleucidce. Revolts of +Bactria and Parthia. Conflicting accounts of the establishment of the +Parthian Kingdom. First War with Syria._ + + +The attempt of Alexander the Great to unite the whole civilized world in +a single vast empire might perhaps have been a success if the mind which +conceived the end, and which had to a considerable extent elaborated the +means, had been spared to watch over its own work, and conduct it +past the perilous period of infancy and adolescence. But the premature +decease of the great Macedonian in the thirty-third year of his age, +when his plans of fusion and amalgamation were only just beginning to +develop themselves, and the unfortunate fact that among his "Successors" +there was not one who inherited either his grandeur of conception or +his powers of execution, caused his scheme at once to collapse; and the +effort to unite and consolidate led only to division and disintegration. +In lieu of Europe being fused with Asia, Asia itself was split up. For +nearly a thousand years, from the formation of the great Assyrian empire +to the death of Darius Codomannus, Western Asia, from the Mediterranean +to Affghanistan, or even to India, had been united tinder one head, had +acknowledged one sovereign. Assyria, Media, Persia, had successively +held the position of dominant power; and the last of the three had +given union, and consequently peace, to a wider stretch of country and +a vaster diversity of peoples than either of her predecessors. Under +the mild yoke of the Achaemenian princes had been held together for two +centuries, not only all the nations of Western Asia, from the Indian and +Thibetan deserts to the AEgean and the Mediterranean, but a great part +of Africa also, that is to say, Egypt, north-eastern Libya, and the +Greek settlements of Cyrene and Barca. The practical effect of the +conquests of Alexander was to break up this unity, to introduce in +the place of a single consolidated empire a multitude of separate and +contending kingdoms. The result was thus the direct opposite of the +great conqueror's design, and forms a remarkable instance of the +contradiction which so often subsists between the propositions of man +and the dispositions of an overruling Providence. + +The struggle for power which broke out almost immediately after his +death among the successors of Alexander may be regarded as having been +brought to a close by the battle of Ipsus. The period of fermentation +was then concluded, and something like a settled condition of things +brought about. A quadripartite division of Alexander's dominions was +recognized, Macedonia, Egypt, Asia Minor, and Syria (or south-western +Asia) becoming thenceforth distinct political entities. Asia Minor, the +kingdom of Lysimachus, had indeed less of unity than the other three +states. It was already disintegrated, the kingdoms of Bithynia, Pontus, +and Cappadocia, subsisting side by side with that of Lysimachus, which +was thus limited to western and south-western Asia Minor. After +the death of Lysimachus, further changes occurred; but the state of +Pergamus, which sprang up this time, may be regarded as the continuation +of Lysimachus's kingdom, and as constituting from the time of Eumenes +I. (B.C. 263) a fourth power in the various political movements and +combinations of the Graeco-Oriental world. + +Of the four powers thus established, the most important, and that with +which we are here especially concerned, was the kingdom of Syria (as +it was called), or that ruled for 247 years by the Seleucidae. Seleucus +Nicator, the founder of this kingdom, was one of Alexander's officers, +but served without much distinction through the various compaigns by +which the conquest of the East was effected. At the first distribution +of provinces (B.C. 323) among Alexander's generals after his death, he +received no share; and it was not until B.C. 320, when upon the death of +Perdiccas a fresh distribution was made at Triparadisus, that his +merits were recognized, and he was given the satrapy of Babylon. In this +position he acquired a character for mildness and liberality, and made +himself generally beloved, both by his soldiers and by those who were +under his government. In the struggle between Antigonus and Eumenes +(B.C. 317-316), he embraced the side of the former, and did him some +good service; but this, instead of evoking gratitude, appears to have +only roused in Antigonus a spirit of jealousy. The ambitious aspirant +after universal dominion, seeing in the popular satrap a possible, and +far from a contemptible, rival, thought it politic to sweep him out of +his way; and the career of Seleucus would have been cut short had he +not perceived his peril in time, and by a precipitate flight secured his +safety. Accompanied by a body of no more than fifty horsemen, he took +the road for Egypt, escaped the pursuit of a detachment sent to overtake +him, and threw himself on the protection of Ptolemy. + +This event, untoward in appearance, proved the turning-point in +Seleucus's fortunes. It threw him into irreconcilable hostility with +Antigonus, while it brought him forward before the eyes of men as +one whom Antigonus feared. It gave him an opportunity of showing his +military talents in the West, and of obtaining favor with Ptolemy, and +with all those by whom Antigonus was dreaded. When the great struggle +came between the confederate monarchs and the aspirant after universal +dominion, it placed him on the side of the allies. Having recovered +Babylon (B.C. 312), Seleucus led the flower of the eastern provinces to +the field of Ipsus (B.C. 301), and contributed largely to the victory, +thus winning himself a position among the foremost potentates of the +day. By the terms of the agreement made after Ipsus, Seleucus was +recognized as monarch of all the Greek conquests in Asia, with the sole +exceptions of Lower Syria and Asia Minor. + +The monarchy thus established extended from the Holy Land and +the Mediterranean on the west, to the Indus valley and the Bolor +mountain-chain upon the east, and from the Caspian and Jaxartes towards +the north, to the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean towards the south. It +comprised Upper Syria, Mesopotamia, parts of Cappadocia and Phrygia, +Armenia, Assyria, Media, Babylonia, Susiana, Persia, Carmania, Sagartia, +Hyrcania, Parthia, Bactria, Sogdiana, Aria, Zarangia, Arachosia, +Sacastana, Gedrosia, and probably some part of India. Its entire area +could not have been much less than 1,200,000 square miles. Of these, +some 300,000 or 400,000 may have been desert; but the remainder was +generally fertile, and comprised within its limits some of the very most +productive regions in the whole world. The Mesopotamian lowland, the +Orontes valley, the tract between the Caspian and the mountains, the +regions about Merv and Balkh, were among the richest in Asia, and +produced grain and fruits in incredible abundance. The rich pastures +of Media and Armenia furnished excellent horses. Bactria gave an +inexhaustible supply of camels. Elephants in large numbers were readily +procurable from India. Gold, silver, copper, iron, lead, tin, were +furnished by several of the provinces, and precious stones of various +kinds abounded. Moreover, for above ten centuries, the precious metals +and the most valuable kinds of merchandise had flowed from every quarter +into the region; and though the Macedonians may have carried off, or +wasted, a considerable quantity of both, yet the accumulations of ages +withstood the drain, and the hoarded wealth which had come down from +Assyrian, Babylonian, and Median times was to be found in the days of +Seleucus chiefly within the limits of his Empire. + +The situation which nature pointed out as most suitable for the capital +of a kingdom having the extension that has been here indicated was +some portion of the Mesopotamian valley, which was at once central and +fertile. The empire of Seleucus might have been conveniently ruled +from the site of the ancient Nineveh, or from either of the two still +existing and still flourishing cities of Susa and Babylon. The impetus +given to commerce by the circumstances of the time rendered a site near +the sea preferable to one so remote as that of Nineveh, and the +same consideration made a position on the Tigris or Euphrates more +advantageous than one upon a smaller river. So far, all pointed to +Babylon as the natural and best metropolis; and it was further in favor +of that place that its merits had struck the Great Conqueror, who +had designed to make it the capital of his own still vaster Empire. +Accordingly Babylon was Seleucus's first choice; and there his Court +was held for some years previously to his march against Antigonus. +But either certain disadvantages were found to attach to Babylon as +a residence, or the mere love of variety and change caused him very +shortly to repent of his selection, and to transfer his capital to +another site. He founded, and built with great rapidity, the city of +Seleucia upon the Tigris, at the distance of about forty miles from +Babylon, and had transferred thither the seat of government even before +B.C. 301. Thus far, however, no fault had been committed. The second +capital was at least as conveniently placed as the first, and would have +served equally well as a centre from which to govern the Empire. But +after Ipsus a further change was made--a change that was injudicious in +the extreme. Either setting undue store by his newly-acquired western +provinces, or over-anxious to keep close watch on his powerful neighbors +in those parts, Lysimachus and Ptolemy, Seleucus once more transferred +the seat of empire, exchanging this time the valley of the Tigris for +that of the Orontes, and the central position of Lower Mesopotamia for +almost the extreme western point of his vast territories. Antioch arose +in extraordinary beauty and magnificence during the first few years +that succeeded Ipsus, and Seleucus in a short time made it his ordinary +residence. The change weakened the ties which bound the Empire together, +offended the bulk of the Asiatics, who saw their monarch withdraw from +them into a remote region, and particularly loosened the grasp of the +government on those more eastern districts which were at once furthest +from the new metropolis and least assimilated to the Hellenic character. +Among the causes which led to the disintegration of the Seleucid +kingdom, there is none that deserves so well to be considered the +main cause as this. It was calculated at once to produce the desire to +revolt, and to render the reduction of revolted provinces difficult, +if not impossible. The evil day, however, might have been indefinitely +delayed had the Seleucid princes either established and maintained +through their Empire a vigorous and effective administration, or +abstained from entangling themselves in wars with their neighbors in the +West, the Ptolemies and the princes of Asia Minor. + +But the organization of the Empire was unsatisfactory. Instead of +pursuing the system inaugurated by Alexander and seeking to weld +the heterogeneous elements of which his kingdom was composed into a +homogeneous whole, instead of at once conciliating and elevating +the Asiatics by uniting them with the Macedonians and the Greeks, by +promoting intermarriage and social intercourse between the two classes +of his subjects, educating the Asiatics in Greek ideas and Greek +schools, opening his court to them, promoting them to high employments, +making them feel that they were as much valued and as well cared for as +the people of the conquering race, the first Seleucus, and after him +his successors, fell back upon the old simpler, ruder system, the system +pursued before Alexander's time by the Persians, and before them perhaps +by the Medes--the system most congenial to human laziness and human +pride--that of governing a nation of slaves by means of a class +of victorious aliens. Seleucus divided his empire into satrapies, +seventy-two in number. He bestowed the office of satrap on none but +Macedonians and Greeks. The standing army, by which he maintained his +authority, was indeed composed in the main of Asiatics, disciplined +after the Greek model; but it was officered entirely by men of Greek or +Macedonian parentage. Nothing was done to keep up the self-respect of +Asiatics, or to soften the unpleasantness that must always attach to +being governed by foreigners. Even the superintendence over the satraps +seems to have been insufficient. According to some writers, it was a +gross outrage offered by a satrap to an Asiatic subject that stirred +up the Parthians to their revolt. The story may not be true; but its +currency shows of what conduct towards those under their government the +satraps of the Seleucidae were thought, by such as lived near the time, +to have been capable. + +It would, perhaps, have been difficult for the Seleucid princes, even +had they desired it, to pursue a policy of absolute abstention in +the wars of their western neighbors. So long as they were resolute to +maintain their footing on the right bank of the Euphrates, in Phrygia, +Cappadocia, and upper Syria, they were of necessity mixed up with the +quarrels of the west. Could they have been content to withdraw within +the Euphrates, they might have remained for the most part clear of such +entanglements; but even then there would have been occasions when they +must have taken the field in self-defence. As it was, however, the idea +of abstention seems never to have occurred to them. It was the fond +dream of each "Successor" of Alexander that in his person might, +perhaps, be one day united all the territories of the great Conqueror. +Seleucus would have felt that he sacrificed his most cherished hopes +if he had allowed the west to go its own way, and had contented himself +with consolidating a great power in the regions east of the Euphrates. + +And the policy of the founder of the house was followed by his +successors. The three Seleucid sovereigns who reigned prior to +the Parthian revolt were, one and all, engaged in frequent, if not +continual, wars with the monarchs of Egypt and Asia Minor. The first +Seleucus, by his claim to the sovereignty of Lower Syria, established a +ground of constant contention with the Ptolemies; and though he did not +prosecute the claim to the extent of actual hostility, yet in the reign +of his son, Antiochus I., called Soter, the smothered quarrel broke out. +Soter fomented the discontent of Cyrene with its subjection to Egypt, +and made at least one expedition against Ptolemy Philadelphus in person +(B.C. 264). His efforts did not meet with much success; but they were +renewed by his son, Antiochus II., surnamed "the God", who warred with +Philadelphus from B.C. 260 to B.C. 250, contending with him chiefly in +Asia Minor. These wars were complicated with others. The first Antiochus +aimed at adding the kingdom of Bithynia to his dominions, and attacked +successively the Bythynian monarchs, Zipcetas and Nicomedes I. (B.C. +280-278). This aggression brought him into collision with the Gauls, +whom Nicomedes called to his aid, and with whom Antiochus had several +struggles, some successful and some disastrous. He also attacked Eumenes +of Pergamus (B.C. 263), but was defeated in a pitched battle near +Sardis. The second Antiochus was not engaged in so great a multiplicity +of contests; but we hear of his taking a part in the internal affairs of +Miletus, and expelling a certain Timachus, who had made himself tyrant +of that city. There is also some ground for thinking that he had a +standing quarrel with the king of Media Atropatene. Altogether it +is evident that from B.C. 280 to B.C. 250 the Seleucid princes were +incessantly occupied with wars in the west, in Asia Minor and in Syria +Proper, wars which so constantly engaged them that they had neither time +nor attention to spare for the affairs of the far east. So long as the +Bactrian and Parthian satraps paid their tributes, and supplied the +requisite quotas of troops for service in the western wars, the Antiochi +were content. The satraps were left to manage affairs at their own +discretion; and it is not surprising that the absence of a controlling +hand led to various complications and disorders. + +Moreover, the personal character of the second Antiochus must be taken +into account. The vanity and impiety, which could accept the name of +"Theus" for a service that fifty other Greeks had rendered to oppressed +towns without regarding themselves as having done anything very +remarkable, would alone indicate a weak and contemptible morale, and +might justify us, did we know no more, in regarding the calamities of +his reign as the fruit of his own unfitness to rule an empire. But +there is sufficient evidence that he had other, and worse, vices. He +was noted, even among Asiatic sovereigns, for luxury and debauchery; he +neglected all state affairs in the pursuit of pleasure; his wives and +male favorites were allowed to rule his kingdom at their will; and +their most flagrant crimes were neither restrained nor punished. Such a +character could have inspired neither respect nor fear. The satraps, to +whom the conduct of their sovereign could not but become known, would +be partly encouraged to follow the bad example, partly provoked by it to +shake themselves free of so hateful and yet contemptible a master. + +It was, probably, about the year B.C. 256, the fifth of the second +Antiochus, when that prince, hard pressed by Philadelphus in the west, +was also, perhaps, engaged in a war with the king of Atropatene in the +north, that the standard of revolt was first actually raised in the +eastern provinces, and a Syrian satrap ventured to declare himself an +independent sovereign. This was Diodotus, satrap of Bactria a Greek, as +his name shows. Suddenly assuming the state and style of king he +issued coins stamped with his own name, and established himself without +difficulty as sovereign over the large and flourishing province of +Bactria, or the tract of fertile land about the upper and middle +Oxus. This district had from a remote antiquity been one with special +pretensions. The country was fertile, and much of it strong; the people +were hardy and valiant; they were generally treated with exceptional +favor by the Persian monarchs; and they seem to have had traditions +which assigned them a pre-eminence among the Arian tribes at some +indefinitely distant period. We may presume that they would gladly +support the bold enterprise of their new monarch; they would feel their +vanity flattered by the establishment of an independent Bactria, even +though it were under Greek kings; and they would energetically second +him in an enterprise which gratified their pride, while it held out to +them hopes of a career of conquest, with its concomitants of plunder and +glory. The settled quiet which they had enjoyed under the Achaemenide +and the Seleucidae was probably not much to their taste; and they +would gladly exchange so tame and dull a life for the pleasures of +independence and the chances of empire. + +It would seem that Antiochus, sunk in luxury at his capital, could not +bring himself to make even an effort to check the spirit of rebellion, +and recover his revolted subjects. Bactria was allowed to establish +itself as an independent monarchy, without having to undergo the ordeal +of a bloody struggle. Antiochus neither marched against Diodotus +in person, nor sent a general to contend with him. The authority of +Diodotus was confirmed and riveted on his subjects by an undisturbed +reign of eighteen years before a Syrian army even showed itself in his +neighborhood. + +The precedent of successful revolt thus set could not well be barren +of consequences. If one province might throw off the yoke of its feudal +lord with impunity, why might not others? Accordingly, within a few +years the example set by Bactria was followed in the neighboring country +of Parthia, but with certain very important differences. In Bactria the +Greek satrap took the lead, and the Bactrian kingdom was, at any rate at +its commencement, as thoroughly Greek as that of the Seleucidae. But in +Parthia Greek rule was from the first cast aside. The natives rebelled +against their masters. An Asiatic race of a rude and uncivilized type, +coarse and savage, but brave and freedom-loving, rose up against the +polished but effeminate Greeks who held them in subjection, and claimed +and established their independence. The Parthian kingdom was thoroughly +anti-Hellenic. It appealed to patriotic feelings, and to the hate +universally felt towards the stranger. It set itself to undo the work +of Alexander, to cast out the Europeans, to recover to the Asiatics the +possession of Asia. It was naturally almost as hostile to Bactria as to +Syria, although danger from a common enemy might cause it sometimes +to make a temporary alliance with that kingdom. It had, no doubt, the +general sympathy of the populations in the adjacent countries, and +represented to them the cause of freedom and autonomy. + +The exact circumstances under which the Parthian revolt took place are +involved in much obscurity. According to one account the leader of the +revolt, Arsaces, was a Bactrian, to whom the success of Diodotus was +disagreeable, and who therefore quitted the newly-founded kingdom, and +betook himself to Parthia, where he induced the natives to revolt and to +accept him for their monarch. Another account, which is attractive from +the minute details into which it enters, is the following:--"Arsaces and +Tiridates were brothers, descendants of Phriapites, the son of Arsaces. +Pherecles, who had been made satrap of their country by Antiochus Theus, +offered a gross insult to one of them, whereupon, as they could not +brook the indignity, they took five men into counsel, and with their aid +slew the insolent one. They then induced their nation to revolt from +the Macedonians, and set up a government of their own, which attained to +great power." A third version says that the Arsaces, whom all represent +as the first king, was in reality a Scythian, who at the head of a body +of Parnian Dahce, nomads inhabiting the valley of the Attrek (Ochus), +invaded Parthia, soon after the establishment of Bactrian independence, +and succeeded in making himself master of it. With this account, which +Strabo seems to prefer, agrees tolerably well that of Justin, who +says that "Arsaces, having been long accustomed to live by robbery +and rapine, attacked the Parthians with a predatory band, killed their +satrap, Andragoras, and seized the supreme authority." As there was +in all probability a close ethnic connection between the Dahae and the +Parthians, it would be likely enough that the latter might accept for +a king a chieftain of the former who had boldly entered their country, +challenged the Greek satrap to an encounter, and by defeating and +killing him freed them--at any rate for the time--from the Greek yoke. +An oppressed people gladly adopts as chief the head of an allied tribe +if he has shown skill and daring, and offers to protect them from their +oppressors. + +The revolt of Arsaces has been placed by some as early as the year B.C. +256. The Bactrian revolt is assigned by most historians to that +year; and the Parthian, according to some, was contemporary. The +best authorities, however, give a short interval between the two +insurrections; and, on the whole, there is perhaps reason to regard the +Parthian independence as dating from about B.C. 250. This year was the +eleventh of Antiochus Theus, and fell into the time when he was still +engaged in his war with Ptolemy Philadelphus. It might have been +expected that when he concluded a peace with the Egyptian monarch in +B.C. 249, he would have turned his arms at once towards the east, and +have attempted at any rate the recovery of his lost dominions. But, as +already stated, his personal character was weak, and he preferred the +pleasures of repose at Antioch to the hardships of a campaign in the +Caspian region. So far as we hear, he took no steps to re-establish +his authority; and Arsaces, like Diodotus, was left undisturbed to +consolidate his power at his leisure. + +Arsaces lived, however, but a short time after obtaining the crown. His +authority was disputed within the limits of Parthia itself; and he had +to engage in hostilities with a portion of his own subjects. We may +suspect that the malcontents were chiefly, if not solely, those of Greek +race, who may have been tolerably numerous, and whose strength would +lie in the towns. Hecatompylos, the chief city of Parthia, was among the +colonies founded by Alexander; and its inhabitants would naturally be +disinclined to acquiesce in the rule of a "barbarian." Within little +more than two years of his coronation, Arsaces, who had never been able +to give his kingdom peace, was killed in battle by a spear-thrust in the +side; and was succeeded (B.C. 247) by his brother, having left, it is +probable, no sons, or none of mature age. + +Tiridates, the successor of Arsaces, took upon his accession his +brother's name, and is known in history as Arsaces II. The practice +thus begun passed into a custom, each Parthian monarch from henceforth +bearing as king the name of Arsaces in addition to his own real +appellation, whatever that might be. In the native remains the assumed +name almost supersedes the other; but, fortunately, the Greek and Roman +writers who treat of Parthian affairs, have preserved the distinctive +appellations, and thus saved the Parthian history from inextricable +confusion. It is not easy to see from what quarter this practice was +adopted; perhaps we should regard it as one previously existing among +the Dahan Scyths. + +If the Parthian monarchy owed its origin to Arsaces I., it owed its +consolidation, and settled establishment to Arsaces II., or Tiridates. +This prince, who had the good fortune to reign for above thirty years, +and who is confused by many writers with the actual founder of the +monarchy, having received Parthia from his brother, in the weak and +unsettled condition above described, left it a united and powerful +kingdom, enlarged in its boundaries, strengthened in its defences, in +alliance with its nearest and most formidable neighbor, and triumphant +over the great power of Syria, which had hoped to bring it once more +into subjection. He ascended the throne, it is probable, early in B.C. +247, and had scarcely been monarch a couple of years when he witnessed +one of those vast but transient revolutions to which Asia is subject, +but which are of rare occurrence in Europe. Ptolemy Euergetes, the son +of Philadelphus, having succeeded to his father's kingdom in the same +year with Tiridates, marched (in B.C. 245) a huge expedition into Asia, +defeated Seleucus II. (Callinicus) in Syria, took Antioch, and then, +having crossed the Euphrates, proceeded to bring the greater part of +Western Asia under his sway. Mesopotamia, Assyria, Babylonia, Susiana, +Persia, Media, submitted to him. He went in person as far as Babylon, +and, according to his own account, was acknowledged as master by all +the Eastern provinces to the very borders of Bactria. The Parthian +and Bactrian kingdoms cannot but have trembled for their newly won +independence. Here was a young warrior who, in a single campaign, had +marched the distance of a thousand miles, from the banks of the Nile to +those of the Lower Euphrates, without so much as receiving a check, and +who was threatening to repeat the career of Alexander. What resistance +could the little Parthian state hope to offer to such an enemy? It +must have rejoiced Tiridates to hear that while the new conqueror was +gathering somewhat too hastily the fruits of victory, collecting and +despatching to Egypt the most valuable works of art that he could find +in the cities which he had taken, and levying heavy contributions on the +submitted countries, a revolt had broken out in his own land, to quell +which he was compelled to retire suddenly and to relinquish the greater +part of his acquisitions. Thus the threatened conquest proved a mere +inroad, and instead of a power of greater strength replacing Syria in +these regions, Syria practically retained her hold of them, but with +enfeebled grasp, her strength crippled, her prestige lost, and her honor +tarnished. Ptolemy had, it is probable, not retired very long, when, +encouraged by what he had seen of Syria's weakness, Tiridates took the +aggressive, and invading the neighboring district of Hyrcania, succeeded +in detaching it from the Syrian state, and adding it to his own +territory. This was throwing out a challenge which the Syrian monarch, +Callinicus, could scarcely decline to meet, unless he was prepared to +lose, one by one, all the outlying provinces of his empire. + +Accordingly in B.C. 237, having patched up a peace with his brother, +Antiochus Hierax, the Syrian monarch made an expedition against Parthia. +Not feeling, however, altogether confident of success if he trusted +wholly to his own unaided efforts, he prudently entered into an alliance +with Diodotus the Bactrian king, and the two agreed to combine their +forces against Tiridates. Hereupon that monarch, impressed with a +deep sense of the impending danger, quitted Parthia, and, proceeding +northwards, took refuge with the Aspasiacae, a Scythian tribe which +dwelt between the Oxus and the Jaxartes. The Aspasiacae probably lent +him troops; at any rate, he did not remain long in retirement, but, +hearing that the Bactrian king, whom he especially feared, was dead, he +contrived to detach his son and successor from the Syrian alliance, and +to draw him over to his own side. Having made this important stroke, he +met Callinicus in battle, and completely defeated his army. + +This victory was with reason regarded by the Parthians as a sort of +second beginning of their independence. Hitherto their kingdom had +existed precariously, and as it were by sufferance. It could not but +be that the power from which they had revolted would one day seek to +reclaim its lost territory; and, until the new monarchy had measured +its strength against that of its former mistress, none could feel secure +that it would be able to maintain its existence. The victory gained by +Tiridates over Callinicus put an end to these doubts. It proved to the +world at large, and also to the Parthians themselves, that they had +nothing to fear--that they were strong enough to preserve their freedom. +Considering the enormous disproportion between the military strength +and resources of the narrow Parthian State and the vast Syrian +Empire--considering that the one comprised about fifty thousand and the +other above a million of square miles; that the one had inherited the +wealth of ages and the other was probably as poor as any province in +Asia; that the one possessed the Macedonian arms, training, and tactics, +while the other knew only the rude warfare of the Steppes--the result +of the struggle cannot but be regarded as surprising. Still it was +not without precedent, and it has not been without repetition. It adds +another to the many instances where a small but brave people, bent on +resisting foreign domination, have, when standing on their defence, in +their own territory, proved more than a match for the utmost force that +a foe of overwhelming strength could bring against them. It reminds us +of Marathon, of Bannock-burn, of Morgarten. We may not sympathize wholly +with the victors, for Greek civilization, even of the type introduced by +Alexander into Asia, was ill replaced by Tatar coarseness and barbarism; +but we cannot refuse our admiration to the spectacle of a handful of +gallant men determinedly resisting in the fastness of their native land +a host of aliens, and triumphing over their would-be oppressors. + +The Parthians themselves, deeply impressed with the importance of +the contest, preserved the memory of it by a solemn festival on the +anniversary of their victory, which they still celebrated in the time of +Trogus. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + +_Consolidation of the Parthian Kingdom. Death of Tiridates and accession +of Arsaces III. Attack on Media. War of Artabanus (Arsaces III.) with +Antiochus the Great. Period of inaction. Great development of Bactrian +power. Reigns of Priapatius (Arsaces IV.) and Phraates I. (Arsaces V.)_ + + +Selbucus might perhaps not have accepted his defeat as final had he been +altogether free to choose whether he would continue the Parthian war +or no. The resources of his Empire were so vast, his command of men +and money so unbounded, that he could easily have replaced one army by +another, and so have prolonged the struggle. But renewed troubles had +broken out in the western portion of his dominions, where his brother, +Antiochus Hierax, was still in arms against his authority. Seleucus +felt it necessary to turn his attention to this quarter, and having +once retired from the Parthian contest, he never afterwards renewed it. +Tiridates was left unmolested, to act as he thought fit, and either to +attempt further conquests, or to devote himself to securing those which +he had effected. He chose the latter course, and during the remainder of +his reign--a space of above twenty years--he employed himself wholly in +strengthening and adorning his small kingdom. Having built a number +of forts in various strong positions, and placed garrisons in them, he +carefully selected a site for a new city, which he probably intended to +make his capital. The spot chosen combined the advantages of being +at once delightful and easily defensible. It was surrounded with +precipitous rocks, which enclosed a plain of extraordinary fertility. +Abundant wood and copious streams of water were in the neighborhood. The +soil was so rich that it scarcely required cultivation, and the woods +were so full of game as to afford endless amusement to hunters. To the +town which he built in this locality Tiridates gave the name of Dara, a +word which the Greeks and Romans elongated into Dareium. Unfortunately, +modern travellers have not yet succeeded in identifying the site, +which should, however, lie towards the East, perhaps in the vicinity of +Meshed. + +We may presume that Tiridates, when he built this remarkable city, +intended to make it the seat of government. Hecatompylos, as a Greek +town, had the same disadvantages, which were considered in later times +to render Seleucia unfit for the residence of the Parthian Court and +monarch. Dara, like Ctesiphon, was to be wholly Parthian. Its strong +situation would render it easy of defence; its vicinity to forests +abounding in game would give it special charms in the eyes of persons +so much devoted, as the Parthian princes were, to the chase. But the +intention of Tiridates, if we have truly defined it, failed of taking +permanent effect. He may himself have fixed his abode at Dara, but his +successors did not inherit his predilections; and Hecatompylos remained, +after his reign, as before it, the head-quarters of the government, and +the recognized metropolis of Parthia Proper. + +After passing in peace and prosperity the last twenty years of his +reign, Tiridates died in a good old age, leaving his crown to a son, +whose special name is a little uncertain, but who is called by most +moderns Artabanus I. + +Artabanus, having ascended the Parthian throne about B.C. 214, and being +anxious to distinguish himself, took advantage of the war raging between +Antiochus III., the second son of Seleucus Callinicus, and Achseus, one +of his rebel satraps, to advance into Media, and to add to his dominions +the entire tract between Hyrcania and the Zagros mountains. Of the +manner in which he effected his conquests we have no account; but they +seem to have been the fruit of a single campaign, which must have +been conducted with great vigor and military skill. The Parthian prince +appears to have occupied Ecbatana, the ancient capital of the Median +Empire, and to have thence threatened the Mesopotamian countries. Upon +receiving intelligence of his invasion, Antiochus levied a vast army, +and set out towards the East, with a determination to subjugate all +the revolted provinces, and to recover the limits of the old Empire +of Nicator. Passing the Zagros chain, probably by way of Behistun and +Kermanshaw, he easily retook Ecbatana, which was an open town, and +undefended by the Parthians, and proceeded to prepare for a further +advance eastward. The route from Ecbatana to the Caspian Gates crosses, +of necessity, unless a considerable circuit be taken, some large tracts +of barren ground, inlets or bays of the Great Salt Desert of Iran. +Artabanus cherished the hope that here the difficulties of the way would +effectually bar his enemy's progress, more especially as his troops were +so numerous, and as water was scanty throughout the whole region. The +streams which flow from Zagros towards the East are few and scanty; they +mostly fail in summer, which, even in Asia, is the campaigning season; +and those who cross the desert at this time must depend on the wells +wherewith the more western part of the region is supplied by means of +_kanats_ or underground conduits, which are sometimes carried many miles +from the foot of the mountains. The position of the wells, which were +few in number, was known only to the natives; and Artabanus hoped that +the Syrian monarch would be afraid to place the lives of his soldiers in +such doubtful keeping. When, however, he found that Antiochus was not +to be deterred by any fears of this kind, but was bent on crossing the +desert, he had recourse to the barbaric expedients of filling in, or +poisoning, the wells along the line of route-which the Syrian prince +was likely to follow. But these steps seem to have been taken too late. +Antiochus, advancing suddenly, caught some of the Parthian troops at +their barbarous work, and dispersed them without difficulty. He then +rapidly effected the transit, and, pressing forward, was soon in the +enemy's country, where he occupied the chief city, Hecatompylos. Up +to this point the Parthian monarch had declined an engagement. No +information has come down to us as to his motives; but they may +be readily enough conjectured. To draw an enemy far away from his +resources, while retiring upon one's own; to entangle a numerous host +among narrow passes and denies; to decline battle when he offers it, +and then to set upon him unawares, has always been the practice of weak +mountain races when attacked by a more numerous foe. It is often good +policy in such a case even to yield the capital without a blow, and +to retreat into a more difficult situation. The assailant must follow +whithersoever his foe retires, or quit the country, leaving him +unsubdued. Antiochus, aware of this necessity, and rendered confident of +success by the evacuation of a situation so strong, and so suitable for +the Parthian tactics as Hecatompylos, after giving his army a short +rest at the captured capital, set out in pursuit of Artabanus, who +had withdrawn his forces towards Hyrcania. To reach the rich Hyrcanian +valleys, he was forced to cross the main chain of the Elburz, which here +attains an elevation of 7000 or 8000 feet. The route which his army had +to follow was the channel of a winter-torrent, obstructed with stones +and trunks of trees, partly by nature, partly by the efforts of the +inhabitants. The long and difficult ascent was disputed by the enemy the +whole way, and something like a pitched battle was fought at the top; +but Antiochus persevered, and, though his army must have suffered +severely, descended into Hyrcanian and captured several of the towns. +Here our main authority, Polybius, suddenly deserts us, and we can give +no further account of the war beyond its general result--Artabanus and +the Parthians remained unsubdued after a struggle which seems to have +lasted some years; Artabanus himself displayed great valor; and at +length the Syrian monarch thought it best to conclude a peace with him, +in which he acknowledged the Parthian independence. It is probable that +he exacted in return a pledge that the Parthian monarch should lend him +his assistance in the expedition which he was bent on conducting against +Bactria; but there is no actual proof that the conditions of peace +contained this clause. We are left in doubt whether Artabanus stood +aloof in the war which Antiochus waged with Euthydemus of Bactria +immediately after the close of his Parthian campaigns, or whether he +lent his aid to the attempt made to crush his neighbor. Perhaps, on the +whole, it is most probable that, nominally, he was Antiochus's ally in +the war, but that, practically, he gave him little help, having no wish +to see Syria aggrandized. + +At any rate, whether Euthydemus had to meet the attack of Syria only, or +of Syria and Parthia in combination, the result was, that Bactria, +like Parthia, proved strong enough to maintain her ground, and that the +Syrian King, after a while, grew tired of the struggle, and consented to +terms of accommodation. The Bactrian monarchy, like the Parthian, came +out of the contest unscathed--indeed we may go further, and say that the +position of the two kingdoms was improved by the attacks made upon them. +If a prince possessing the personal qualities that distinguished the +third Antiochus, and justified the title of "Great" which he derived +from his oriental expedition--if such a prince, enjoying profound peace +at home, and directing the whole force of his empire against them, could +not succeed in reducing to subjection the revolted provinces of the +northeast, but, whatever military advantages he might gain, found +conquest impossible, and returned home, having acknowledged as +independent kings those whom he went out to chastise as rebellious +satraps, it was evident that the kingdoms might look upon themselves +as firmly established, or, at least, as secure from the danger of +re-absorption into the Syrian State. The repulse of Callinicus was a +probable indication of the fate of all future efforts on the part of +Syria to reduce Parthia; the conditions of peace granted by Antiochus to +both countries, after a series of military successes, constituted almost +a proof that the yoke of Syria would never be re-imposed on either the +Parthian or the Bactrian nation. + +With the departure of Antiochus from the East, about B.C. 206, we enter +upon a period when Parthian history is, for a quarter of a century, +almost a blank. Nothing more is known of Arsaces III. after Antiochus +retired; and nothing at all is known of his successor, Priapatius, +beyond his name and the length of his reign, which lasted for fifteen +years (from about B.C. 196 to 181). The reigns of these princes coincide +with those of Euthydemus and his son, Demetrius, in Bactria; and perhaps +the most probable solution of the problem of Parthian inactivity at this +time is to be found in the great development of Bactrian power which +now took place, and the influence which the two neighboring kingdoms +naturally exercised upon each other. When Parthia was strong and +aggressive, Bactria was, for the most part, quiet; and when Bactria +shows signs of vigorous and active life, Parthia languishes and retires +into the shade. + +The Bactrian Kingdom, founded (as we have seen) a little before the +Parthian, sought from the first its aggrandizement in the East rather +than in the West. The Empire of Alexander had included all the countries +between the Caspian Sea and the Sutlej; and these tracts, which +constitute the modern Khorasan, Afghanistan, and Punjaub, had all been +to a certain extent Hellenized by means of Greek settlements and Greek +government. But Alexander was no sooner dead than a tendency displayed +itself in these regions, and particularly in the more eastern ones, +towards a relapse into barbarism, or, if this expression be too strong, +at any rate towards a rejection of Hellenism. During the early wars +of the "Successors" the natives of the Punjaub generally seized the +opportunity to revolt; the governors placed over the various districts +by Alexander were murdered; and the tribes everywhere declared +themselves free. Among the leaders of the revolt was a certain +Chandragupta (or Sandracottus), who contrived to turn the circumstances +of the time to his own special advantage, and built up a considerable +kingdom in the far East out of the fragments which had detached +themselves from what was still called the Macedonian Empire. When +Seleucus Nicator, about B.C. 305, conducted an expedition across the +Indus, he found this monarch established in the tract between the Indus +and the Ganges, ruling over extensive dominions and at the head of +a vast force. It is uncertain whether the two rivals engaged in +hostilities or no. At any rate, a peace was soon made; and Seleucus, in +return for five hundred elephants, ceded to Sandracottus certain lands +on the west bank of the Indus, which had hitherto been regarded as +Macedonian. These probably consisted of the low grounds between the +Indus and the foot of the mountains--the districts of Peshawur, Bunnoo, +Murwut, Shikarpoor, and Kurrachee--which are now in British occupation. +Thus Hellenism in these parts receded more and more, the Sanskritic +Indians recovering by degrees the power and independence of which they +had been deprived by Alexander. + +This state of things could not have been pleasing to the Greek princes +of Bactria, who must have felt that the reaction towards barbarism in +these parts tended to isolate them, and that there was a danger of their +being crushed between the Parthians on the one hand and the perpetually +advancing Indians on the other. When Antiochus the Great, after +concluding his treaty with Euthydemus, marched eastward, the Bactrian +monarch probably indulged in hopes that the Indians would receive a +check, and that the Greek frontier would be again carried to the Indus, +if not to the Sutlej. But, if so, he was disappointed. Antiochus, +instead of making war upon the Indians, contented himself with renewing +the old alliance of the Seleucidae with the Maurja princes, and +obtaining a number of elephants from Sophagesenus, the grandson of +Sandracottus. It is even possible that he went further, and made +cessions of territory in return for this last gift, which brought the +Indian frontier still nearer than before to that of Bactria, At any +rate, the result of the Indian expedition of Antiochus seems to have +been unsatisfactory to Euthydemus, who shortly afterwards commenced what +are called "Indian Wars" on his south-eastern frontier, employing in +them chiefly the arms of his son, Demetrius. During the latter years +of Euthydemus and the earlier ones of Demetrius, the Bactrian rule was +rapidly extended over the greater portion of the modern Afghanistan; nor +did it even stop there. The arms of Demetrius were carried across the +Indus into the Punjaub region; and the city of Euthymedeia upon the +Hydaspes remained to later times an evidence of the extent of his +conquests. From B.C. 206 to about B.C. 185 was the most flourishing +period of the Bactrian monarchy, which expanded during that space from a +small kingdom into a considerable empire. + +The power and successes of the Bactrian princes at this time account +sufficiently for the fact that the contemporary Parthian monarchs stood +upon their guard, and undertook no great expeditions. Arsaces III., who +continued on the throne for about ten or twelve years after his peace +with Antiochus, and Priapatius, or Arsaces IV., his son, who succeeded +him, and had a reign of fifteen years, were content, as already +observed, to watch over their own State, husbanding its resources, and +living at peace with all their neighbors. It was not till Phraates I. +(Arsaces V.), the son of Priapatius, had mounted the throne, B.C. 181, +that this policy was departed from, and Parthia, which had remained +tranquil for a quarter of a century, once more aroused herself, and +assumed an attitude of aggression. + +The quarter to which Phraates I. directed his arms was the country of +the Mardians, a poor but warlike people, who appear to have occupied +a portion of the Elburz range, probably that immediately south of +Mazanderan and Asterabad. The reduction of these fierce mountaineers +is likely to have occupied him for some years, since their country was +exceedingly strong and difficult. Though the Mardi were (nominally, at +any rate) subjects of the Seleucidae, we do not hear of any assistance +being rendered them, or, indeed, of any remonstrance being made against +the unprovoked aggression of the Parthian monarch. The reign of Phraates +I. in Parthia coincides with that of Seleucus IV. (Philopator) in Syria; +and we may account for the inactivity of this prince, in part by +his personal character, which was weak and pacific, in part by the +exhaustion of Syria at the time, in consequence of his father's great +war with Rome (B.C. 197-190), and of the heavy contribution which +was imposed upon him at the close of it. Syria may scarcely have yet +recovered sufficient strength to enter upon a new struggle, especially +one with a distant and powerful enemy. The material interests of the +Empire may also have seemed to be but little touched by the war, since +the Mardi were too poor to furnish much tribute; and it is possible, if +not even probable, that their subjection to Syria had long been rather +formal than real. Seleucus therefore allowed the Mardians to be reduced, +conceiving, probably, that their transfer to the dominion of the +Arsacidse neither increased the Parthian power nor diminished his own. + +But the nation which submits to be robbed of a province, however +unproductive and valueless, must look to having the process repeated +at intervals, until it bestirs itself and offers resistance. There is +reason to believe that Phraates had no sooner conquered the Mardians +than he cast his eyes on an adjacent district, and resolved to add it to +his territories. This was the tract lying immediately to the West of the +Caspian Gates, which was always reckoned to Media, forming, however, +a distinct district, know as Media Rhagiana. It was a region of much +natural fertility, being watered by numerous streams from the Elburz +range, and possessing a soil of remarkable productiveness. Its breadth +was not great, since it consisted of a mere strip between the mountains +and the Salt Desert which occupies the whole centre of the Iranic +tableland; but it extended in length at least a hundred and fifty miles, +from the Caspian Gates to the vicinity of Kasvin. Its capital city, from +a remote antiquity, was Rbages, situated near the eastern extremity +of the strip, probably at the spot now called Kaleh Erij, about +twenty-three miles from the "Gates." On this region it is clear that +Phraates cast a covetous eye. How much of it he actually occupied is +doubtful; but it is at least certain that he effected a lodgment in its +eastern extremity, which must have put the whole region in jeopardy. +Nature has set a remarkable barrier between the more eastern and the +more western portions of Occidental Asia, about midway in the tract +which lies due south of the Caspian Sea. The Elburz range in this part +is one of so tremendous a character, and northward abuts so closely +on the Caspian, that all communication between the east and the west +necessarily passes to the south of it. In this quarter the Great Desert +offering an insuperable obstacle to transit, the line of communication +has to cling to the flanks of the mountain chain, the narrow strip +between the mountains and the desert--rarely ten miles in width--being +alone traversable. But about long. 52 deg. 20' this strip itself fails. A +rocky spur runs due south from the Elburz into the desert for a distance +of some twenty or thirty miles, breaking the line of communication, and +seeming at first sight to obstruct it completely. This, however, is not +the case absolutely. The spur itself is penetrable by two passes, one +where it joins the Elburz, which is the more difficult of the two, and +another, further to the south, which is easier. The latter now known +as the Girduni Sudurrah pass, constitutes the famous "Pylae Caspiae." +Through this pass alone can armies proceed from Armenia, Media, and +Persia eastward, or from Turkestan, Khorasan, and Afghanistan into the +more western parts of Asia. The position is therefore one of primary +importance. It was to guard it that Rhages was built so near the eastern +end of its territory. So long as it remained in the possession of Syria, +Parthian aggression was checked. Rhagiana, the rest of Media, and the +other provinces were safe, or nearly so. On the other hand, the loss of +it to Parthia laid the eastern provinces open to her, and was at once +almost equivalent to the loss of all Rhagiana, which had no other +natural protection. Now we find that Phraates surmounted the "Gates," +and effected a lodgment in the plain country beyond them. He removed a +portion of the conquered Mardians from their mountain homes to the city +of Charax, which was on the western side of the Gates, probably on the +site now occupied by the ruins known as Uewanikif. Their location in +this strong post was a menace to the neighboring town of Rhages, which +can scarcely have maintained itself long against an enemy encamped at +its doors. We are not informed, however, of any results which followed +on the occupation of Charax during the lifetime of Phraates. His reign +lasted only seven years--from B.C. 181 to B.C. 174--and it is thus +probable that he died before there was time for his second important +conquest to have any further consequences. + +Phraates had sufficient warning of his coming decease to make +preparations with respect to a successor. Though he had several sons, +some of whom were (we must suppose) of sufficient age to have ascended +the throne, he left his crown to his brother, Mithridates. He felt, +probably, that the State required the direction of a firm hand, that war +might at any time break out with either Syria or Bactria; while, if +the career of conquest on which he had made Parthia enter were to be +pursued, he could trust his brother better than any of his sons to +conduct aggressive expeditions with combined vigor and prudence. We +shall see, as the history proceeds, how Mithridates justified his +choice. Phraates would also appear to have borne his brother especial +affection, since he takes the name of "Philadelphus" (brother-loving) +upon his coins. It must have been a satisfaction to him that he was able +by his last act at once to consult for the good of his country, and to +gratify a sentiment on which it is evident that he prided himself. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + +_Reign of Mithridates I. Position of Bactria and Syria at his accession. +His first war with Bactria. His great Expedition against the Eastern +Syrian provinces, and its results. His second war with Bactria, +terminating in its conquest. Extent of his Empire. Attempt of Demetrius +Nicator to recover the lost Provinces fails. Captivity of Demetrius. +Death of Mithridates._ + + +The reign of Mithridates I. is the most important in the Parthian +history. [PLATE 1. Fig. 3.] Receiving from his brother Phraates a +kingdom of but narrow dimensions, confined (as it would seem) between +the city of Charax on the one side, and the river Arius, or Hori-rud, +on the other, he transformed it, within the space of thirty-seven years +(which was the time that his reign lasted), into a great and nourishing +Empire. It is not too much to say that, but for him, Parthia might have +remained a more petty State on the outskirts of the Syrian kingdom, +and, instead of becoming a rival to Rome, might have sunk shortly into +obscurity and insignificance. + + +[Illustration: PLATE 1.] + + +As commonly happens in the grand changes which constitute the +turning-points of history, the way for Mithridates's vast successes was +prepared by a long train of antecedent circumstances. To show how the +rise of the Parthians to greatness in the middle of the second century +before our era was rendered possible, we must turn aside once more +from our proper subject and cast a glance at the condition of the two +kingdoms between which Parthia stood, at the time when Mithridates +ascended the throne. + +The Bactrian monarchs in their ambitious struggles to possess themselves +of the tracts south of the Paropamisus, and extending from the Heri-rud +to the Sutlej and the mouths of the Indus, overstrained the strength +of their State, and by shifting the centre of its power injured +irretrievably its principle of cohesion. As early as the reign of +Demetrius a tendency to disruption showed itself, Eucratidas having +held the supreme power for many years in Bactria itself, while Demetrius +exercised authority on the southern side of the mountains. It is true +that at the death of Demetrius this tendency was to a certain extent +checked, since Eucratidas was then able to extend his sway over almost +the whole of the Bactrian territory. But the old evil recurred shortly, +though in a less pronounced form. Eucratidas, without being actually +supplanted in the north by a rival, found that he could devote to that +portion of the Empire but a small part of his attention. The southern +countries and the prospect of southern and eastern conquests engrossed +him. While he carried on successful wars with the Arachotians, the +Drangians, and the Indians of the Punjaub region, his hold on the more +northern countries was relaxed, and they began to slip from his grasp. +Incursions of the nomad Scyths from the Steppes carried fire and +sword over portions of these provinces, some of which were Even, it is +probable, seized and occupied by the invaders. + +Such was, it would seem, the condition of Bactria under Eucratidas, the +contemporary of Mithridates. In Syria, Antiochus Epiphanes had succeeded +his brother Seleucus IV. (Philopator) about a year before Mithridates +ascended the Parthian throne. He was a prince of courage and energy; +but his hands were fully occupied with wars in Egypt, Palestine, and +Armenia, and the distant East could attract but a small share of his +thought or attention. The claim put forward by Egypt to the possession +of Coele-Syria and Palestine, promised to Ptolemy V. (it was affirmed) +as a dowry with Cleopatra, the daughter of Antiochus the Great, led to +hostilities in the south-west which lasted continuously for four years +(B.C. 171 to B.C. 168), and were complicated during two of them with +troubles in Judaea, rashly provoked by the Syrian monarch, who, unaware +of the stubborn temper of the Jews, goaded them into insurrection. +The war with Egypt came to an end in B.C. 168; it brought Syria no +advantage, since Rome interposed, and required the restitution of +all conquests. The war with the Jews had no such rapid termination. +Antiochus, having not only plundered and desecrated the Temple, but +having set himself to eradicate utterly the Jewish religion, and +completely Hellenize the people, was met with the most determined +resistance on the part of a moiety of the nation. A patriotic party +rose up under devoted leaders, who asserted, and in the end secured, the +independence of their country. Not alone during the remaining years +of Epiphanes, but for half a century after his death, throughout seven +reigns, the struggle continued; Judaea taking advantage of every trouble +and difficulty in Syria to detach herself more and more completely from +her oppressor; being a continual thorn in her side, a constant source of +weakness, preventing more than anything else the recovery of her power. +The triumph which Epiphanes obtained in the distant Armenia (B.C. +166-5), where he defeated and captured the king, Artaxias, was a poor +set-off against the foe which he had created to himself at his doors +through his cruelty and intolerance. + +In another quarter, too, the Syrian power received a severe shake +through the injudicious violence of Epiphanes. The Oriental temples +had, in some instances, escaped the rapacity of Alexander's generals and +"Successors;" their treasuries remained unviolated, and contained large +hoards of the precious metals. Epiphanes, having exhausted his own +exchequer by his wars and his lavish gifts, saw in these un-plundered +stores a means of replenishing it, and made a journey into his +south-eastern provinces for the purpose. The natives of Elymais, +however, resisted his attempt, and proved strong enough to defeat it; +the baffled monarch retired to Tabae, where he shortly afterward fell +sick and died. In the popular belief his death was a judgment upon him +for his attempted sacrilege; and in the exultation caused by the event +the bands which joined these provinces to the Empire must undoubtedly +have been loosened. + +Nor did the removal of Epiphanes (B.C. 164) improve the condition of +affairs in Syria. The throne fell to his son, Antiochus Eupator, a boy +of nine, according to Appian, or, according to another authority, of +twelve years of age. The regent, Lysias, exercised the chief power, and +was soon engaged in a war with the Jews, whom the death of Epiphanes +had encouraged to fresh efforts. The authority of Lysias was further +disputed by a certain Philip, whom Epiphanes, shortly before his death, +had made tutor to the young king. The claims of this tutor to the +regent's office being supported by a considerable portion of the army, a +civil war arose between him and Lysias, which raged for the greater +part of two years (B.C. 163-2), terminating in the defeat and death +of Philip. But Syrian affairs did not even then settle down into +tranquillity. A prince of the Seleucid house, Demetrius by name, the son +of Seleucus IV., and consequently the first cousin of Eupator, was at +this time detained in Rome as a hostage, having been sent there during +his father's lifetime as a security for his fidelity. Demetrius, with +some reason, regarded his claim to the Syrian throne as better than that +of his cousin, the son of the younger brother, and being in the full +vigor of early youth, he determined to assert his pretensions in Syria, +and to make a bold stroke for the crown. Having failed to obtain the +Senate's consent to his quitting Italy, he took his departure secretly, +crossed the Mediterranean in a Carthaginian vessel, and, landing in +Asia, succeeded within a few months in establishing himself as Syrian +monarch. + +From this review it sufficiently appears that the condition of things, +both in Syria and Bactria, was favorable to any aspirations which +the power that lay between them might entertain after dominion and +self-aggrandizement. The Syrian and Bactrian kings, at the time of +Mithridates's accession, were, both of them, men of talent and energy; +but the Syrian monarch was soon involved in difficulties at home, while +the Bactrian had his attention attracted to prospects of advantage in a +remote quarter, Mithridates might, perhaps, have attacked the territory +of either with an equal chance of victory; and as his predecessor had +set him the example of successful warfare on his western frontier, we +might have expected his first efforts to have been in this direction, +against the dependencies of Syria. But circumstances which we cannot +exactly trace determined his choice differently. While Eucratidas was +entangled in his Indian wars, Mithridates invaded the Bactrian territory +where it adjoined Parthia, and added to his Empire, after a short +struggle, two provinces, called respectively Turiua and that of +Aspionus. It is conjectured that these provinces lay towards the north +and the north-west, the one being that of the Turanians proper, and the +other that of the Aspasiacae, who dwelt between the Jaxartes and +the Oxus. But there is scarcely sufficient ground for forming even a +conjecture on the subject, since speculation has nothing but the names +themselves to rest upon. + +Successful in this quarter, Mithridates, a few years later, having +waited until the Syrian throne was occupied by the boy Eupator, and the +two claimants of the regency, Lysias and Philip, were contending in arms +for the supreme power, made suddenly an expedition towards the west, +falling upon Media, which, though claimed by the Syrian kings as a +province of their Empire, was perhaps at this time almost, if not quite, +independent. The Medes offered a vigorous resistance to his attack; +and, in the war which followed, each side had in turn the advantage; +but eventually the Parthian prince proved victorious, and the great +and valuable province of Media Magna was added to the dominons of the +Arsacidae. A certain Bacasis was appointed to govern it, whether as +satrap or as tributary monarch is not apparent; while the Parthian king, +recalled towards home by a revolt, proceeded to crush rebellion before +resuming his career of conquest. + +The revolt which now occupied for a time the attention of Mithridates +was that of Hyrcania. The Hyrcanians were Arians in race; they were +brave and high-spirited, and under the Persian monarchs had enjoyed some +exceptional privileges which placed them above the great mass of the +conquered nations. It was natural that they should dislike the yoke of a +Turanian people; and it was wise of them to make their effort to obtain +their freedom before Parthia grew into a power against which revolt +would be utterly hopeless. Hyrcania might now expect to be joined by the +Medes, and even the Mardi, who were Arians like themselves, and could +not yet have forgotten the pleasures of independence. But though the +effort does not seem to have been ill-timed, it was unsuccessful. No aid +was given to the rebels, so far as we hear, by any of their neighbors. +Mithridates's prompt return nipped the insurrection in the bud; Hyrcania +at once submitted, and became for centuries the obedient vassal of her +powerful neighbor. + +The conquest of Media had brought the Parthians into contact with +the rich country of Susiana or Elymais; and it was not long before +Mithridates, having crushed the Hyrcanian revolt, again advanced +westward, and invaded this important province. Elymais appears to have +a had a king of its own, who must either have been a vassal of the +Seleucidse, or have acquired an independent position by revolt after the +death of Epiphanes. In the war which followed between this monarch and +Mithridates, the Elymseans proved wholly unsuccessful, and Mithridates +rapidly overran the country and added it to his dominions. After this he +appears to have received the submission of the Persians on the one hand +and the Babylonians on the other, and to have rested on his laurels for +some years, having extended the Parthian sway from the Hindoo Koosh to +the Euphrates. + +The chronological data which have come down to us for this period +are too scanty to allow of any exact statement of the number of years +occupied by Mithridates in effecting these conquests. All that can be +said is that he appears to have commenced them about B.C. 163 and to +have concluded them some time before B.C. 140, when he was in his turn +attacked by the Syrians. Probably they had been all effected by the +year B.C. 150; since there is reason to believe that about that time +Mithridates found his power sufficiently established in the west to +allow of his once more turning his attention eastward, and renewing his +aggressions upon the Bactrian kingdom, which had passed from the rule of +Eucratidas under that of his son and successor, Heliocles. + +Heliocles, who was allowed by his father a quasi-royal position, +obtained the full possession of the Bactrian throne by the crime of +parricide. It is conjectured that he regarded with disapproval his +father's tame submission to Parthian ascendency, and desired the +recovery of the provinces which Eucratidas had been content to cede for +the sake of peace. We are told that he justified his crime on the ground +that his father was a public enemy; which is best explained by supposing +that he considered him the friend of Bactria's great enemy, Parthia. +If this be the true account of the circumstances under which he became +king, his accession would have been a species of challenge to +the Parthian monarch, whose ally he had assassinated. Mithridates +accordingly marched against him with all speed, and, easily defeating +his troops, took possession of the greater part of his dominion. Elated +by this success, he is said to have pressed eastward, to have invaded +India, and overrun the country as far as the river Hydaspes, but, if +it be true that his arms penetrated so far, it is, at any rate, certain +that he did not here effect any conquest. Greek monarchs of the Bactrian +series continued masters of Oabul and Western India till about B.C. 126; +no Parthian coins are found in this region; nor do the best authorities +claim for Mithridates any dominion beyond the mountains which enclose on +the west the valley of the Indus. + +By his war with Heliocles the empire of Mithridates reached its greatest +extension. It comprised now, besides Parthia Proper, Bactria, Aria, +Drangiana, Arachosia, Margiana, Hyrcania, the country of the Mardi, +Media Magna, Susiana, Persia and Babylonia. Very probably its limits +were still wider. The power which possessed Parthia, Hyrcania, and +Bactria, would rule almost of necessity over the whole tract between the +Elburz range and the Oxus, if not even over the region between the Oxus +and the Jaxartes; that which held the Caspian mountains and eastern +Media could not fail to have influence over the tribes of the Iranic +desert; while Assyria Proper would naturally follow the fortunes of +Babylonia and Susiana. Still the extent of territory thus indicated +rests only on conjecture. If we confine ourselves to what is known by +positive evidence, we can only say that the Parthian Kingdom of this +period contained, at least, twelve provinces above enumerated. It thus +stretched from east to west a distance of fifteen hundred miles between +the Suleiman mountains and the Euphrates, varying in width from three or +four hundred miles--or even more--towards the west and east, to a +narrow strip of less than a hundred miles toward the centre. It probably +comprised an area of about 450,000 square miles; which is somewhat less +than that of the modern Persia. + +Unlike the modern Persia, however, the territory consisted almost +entirely of productive regions. The excellent quality of the soil +in Parthia Proper, Hyrcania, and Margiana, has been already noticed. +Bactria, the next province to Margiana towards the east, was less +uniformly fertile; but still it contained a considerable proportion of +good land along the course of the Oxus and its tributaries, which was +cultivated in vineyards and cornfields, or else pastured large herds of +cattle. The Mardian mountain territory was well wooded; and the plain +between the mountains and the Caspian was rich in the extreme. Media, +where it adjoined on the desert, was comparatively sterile; but still +even here an elaborate system of artificial irrigation brought a belt of +land under culture. Further west, in the Zagros chain, Media comprised +some excellent pasture lands, together with numerous valleys as +productive as any in Asia. Elymais was, in part, of the same character +with the mountainous portion of Media, while beyond the mountain it +sank down into a rich alluvium, not much inferior to the Babylonian. +Babylonia itself was confessedly the most fertile country in Asia. It +produced wheat, barley, millet, sesame, vetches, dates, and fruits +of all kinds. The return of the wheat crop was from fifty to a +hundred-and-fifty-fold; while that of the barley crop was three +hundred-fold. The dates were of unusual size and superior flavor; +and the palm, which abounded throughout the region, furnished an +inexhaustible supply both of fruit and timber. + +The great increase of power which Mithridates had obtained by his +conquests could not be a matter of indifference to the Syrian monarchs. +Their domestic troubles--the contentions between Philip and Lysias, +between Lysias and Demetrius Soter, Soter and Alexander Balas, Balas and +Demetrius II., Demetrius II. and Tryphon, had so engrossed them for the +space of twenty years (from B.C. 162 to B.C. 142) that they had felt it +impossible, or hopeless, to attempt any expedition towards the East, +for the protection or recovery of their provinces. Mithridates had +been allowed to pursue his career of conquest unopposed, so far as the +Syrians were concerned, and to establish his sway from the Hindoo Koosh +to the Euphrates. But a time at last came when home dangers were less +pressing, and a prospect of engaging the terrible Parthians with success +seemed to present itself. The second Demetrius had not, indeed, wholly +overcome his domestic enemy, Tryphon; but he had so far brought him into +difficulties as to believe that he might safely be left to be dealt +with by his wife, Cleopatra, and by his captains. At the same time the +condition of affairs in the East seemed to invite his interference, +Mithridates ruled his new conquests with some strictness, suspecting, +probably, their fidelity, and determined that he would not by any +remissness allow them to escape from his grasp. The native inhabitants +could scarcely be much attached to the Syro-Macedonians, who had +certainly not treated them very tenderly; but a possession of 170 years' +duration confers prestige in the East, and a strange yoke may have +galled more than one to whose pressure they had become accustomed. +Moreover, all the provinces which Parthia took from Syria contained +Greek towns, and their inhabitants might at all times be depended on +to side with their countrymen against the Asiatics. At the present +conjuncture, too, the number of the malcontents was swelled by the +addition of the recently subdued Bactrians, who hated the Parthian yoke, +and longed earnestly for a chance of recovering their freedom. Thus when +Demetrius II., anxious to escape the reproach of inertness, determined +to make an expedition against the great Parthian monarch, he found +himself welcomed as a deliverer by a considerable number of his enemy's +subjects, whom the harshness, or the novelty, of the Parthian rule +had offended. The malcontents joined his standard as he advanced; +and supported, as he thus was, by Persian, Elymsen, and Bactrian +contingents, he engaged and defeated the Parthians in several battles. +Upon this, Mithridates, finding himself inferior in strength, had +recourse to stratagem, and having put Demetrius off his guard by +proposals of peace, attacked him, defeated him, and took him prisoner. +The invading army appears to have been destroyed. The captive monarch +was, in the first instance, conveyed about to the several nations which +had revolted, and paraded before each in turn, as a proof to them of +their folly in lending him aid, but afterwards he was treated in a +manner befitting his rank and the high character of his captor. Assigned +a residence in Hyrcania, he was maintained in princely state, and was +even promised by Mithridates the hand of his daughter, Ehodo-guns. The +Parthian monarch, it is probable, had the design of conquering Syria, +and thought it possible that he might find it of advantage to have +a Syrian prince in his camp, well disposed towards him, connected by +marriage, and thus fitted for the position of tributary monarch. But the +schemes of Mithridates proved abortive. His career had now reached its +close. Attacked by illness not very long after his capture of Demetrius, +his strength proved insufficient to bear up against the malady, and he +died after a glorious reign of about thirty-eight years, B.C. 136. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + +_System of government established by Mithridates I. Constitution of the +Parthians. Government of the Provinces. Laws and Institutions. Character +of Mithridates I._ + + +The Parthian institutions possessed great simplicity; and it is probable +that they took a shape in the reign of Arsaces I., or, at any rate, of +Tiridates, which was not greatly altered afterwards. Permanency is the +law of Oriental governments; and in a monarchy which lasted less than +five hundred years, it is not likely that many changes occurred. The +Parthian institutions are referred to Mithridates I., rather than to +Tiridates, because in the reign of Mithridates Parthia entered upon a +new phase of her existence--became an empire instead of a mere +monarchy; and the sovereign of the time could not but have reviewed +the circumstances of his State, and have determined either to adopt the +previous institutions of his country, or to reject them. Mithridates +I. had attained a position which entitled and enabled him to settle +the Parthian constitution as he thought best; and, if he maintained an +earlier arrangement, which is uncertain, he must have done so of his +own free will, simply because he preferred the existing Parthian +institutions to any other. Thus the institutions may be regarded as +starting from him, since he approved them, and made them those of the +Parthian EMPIRE. + +Like most sovereignties which have arisen out of an association of +chiefs banding themselves together for warlike purposes under a single +head, the Parthian monarchy was limited. The king was permanently +advised by two councils, consisting of persons not of his own +nomination, whom rights, conferred by birth or office, entitled to their +seats. One of these was a family conclave (concilium domesticum), or +assembly of the full-grown males of the Royal House; the other was a +Senate comprising both the spiritual and the temporal chiefs of the +nation, the Sophi, or "Wise Men," and the Magi, or "Priests." Together +these two bodies constituted the Megistanes, the "Nobles" or "Great +Men"--the privileged class which to a considerable extent checked and +controlled the monarch. The monarchy was elective, but only in the house +of the Arsacidae; and the concurrent vote of both councils was necessary +in the appointment of a new king. Practically, the ordinary law of +hereditary descent appears to have been followed, unless in the case +where a king left no son of sufficient age to exercise the royal office. +Under such circumstances, the Megistanes usually nominated the late +king's next brother to succeed him, or, if he had left behind him no +brother, went back to an uncle. When the line of succession had once +been changed, the right of the elder branch was lost, and did not revive +unless the branch preferred died out or possessed no member qualified to +rule. When a king had been duly nominated by the two councils, the +right of placing the diadem upon his head belonged to the Surena, the +"Field-Marshal," or "Commander in Chief of the Parthian armies." The +Megistanes further claimed and sometimes exercised the right of deposing +a monarch whose conduct displeased them; but an attempt to exercise this +privilege was sure to be followed by a civil war, no monarch accepting +his deposition without a struggle; and force, not right, practically +determining whether he should remain king or no. + +After a king was once elected and firmly fixed upon the throne, his +power appears to have been nearly despotic. At any rate he could put to +death without trial whomsoever he chose; and adult members of the Royal +House, who provoked the reigning monarch's jealousy, were constantly so +treated. Probably it would have been more dangerous to arouse the fears +of the "Sophi" and "Magi." The latter especially were a powerful body, +consisting of an organized hierarchy, which had come down from ancient +times, and was feared and venerated by all classes of the people. Their +numbers at the close of the Empire, counting adult males only, are +reckoned at eighty thousand;' they possessed considerable tracts of +fertile land, and were the sole inhabitants of many large towns or +villages, which they were permitted to govern as they pleased. The +arbitrary power of the monarchs must, in practice, have been largely +checked by the privileges of this numerous priestly caste, of which it +would seem that in later times they became jealous, thereby preparing +the way for their own downfall. + +The dominion of the Parthians over the conquered provinces was +maintained by reverting to the system which had prevailed generally +through the East before the accession of the Persians to power, and +establishing in the various countries either viceroys, holding office +for life, or sometimes dependent dynasties of kings. In either case, the +rulers, so long as they paid tribute regularly to the Parthian monarchs +and aided them in their wars, were allowed to govern the people beneath +their sway at their pleasure. Among monarchs, in the higher sense of +the term, may be enumerated the kings of Persia, Elymaiis, Adiabene, +Osrhoene, and of Armenia and Media Atropatene, when they formed, as +they sometimes did, portions of the Parthian Empire. The viceroys, +who governed the other provinces, bore the title of Vitaxae, and were +fourteen or fifteen in number. The remark has been made by the historian +Gibbon that the system thus established "exhibited under other names a +lively image of the feudal system which has since prevailed in Europe." +The comparison is of some value, but, like most historical parallels, it +is inexact, the points of difference between the Parthian and the feudal +system being probably more numerous than those of resemblance, but the +points of resemblance being very main points, not fewer in number, and +striking. + +It was with special reference to the system thus established that the +Parthian monarchs took the title of "King of Kings", so frequent upon +their coins, which seems sometimes to have been exchanged for what was +regarded as an equivalent phrase, "Satrap of Satraps". This title seems +to appear first on the coins of Mithridates I. + +In the Parthian system there was one anomaly of a very curious +character. The Greek towns, which were scattered in large numbers +throughout the Empire, enjoyed a municipal government of their own, and +in some cases were almost independent communities, the Parthian kings +exercising over them little or no control. The great city of Seleucia +on the Tigris was the most important of all these: its population was +estimated in the first century after Christ at six hundred thousand +souls; it had strong walls, and was surrounded by a most fertile +territory. It had its own senate, or municipal council, of three hundred +members, elected by the people to rule them from among the wealthiest +and best educated of the citizens. Under ordinary circumstances it +enjoyed the blessing of complete self-government, and was entirely free +from Parthian interference, paying no doubt its tribute, but otherwise +holding the position of a "free city." It was only in the case of +internal dissensions that these advantages were lost, and the Parthian +soldiery, invited within the walls, arranged the quarrels of parties, +and settled the constitution of the State at its pleasure. Privileges +of a similar character, though, probably, less extensive, belonged +(it would seem) to most of the other Greek cities of the Empire. The +Parthian monarchs thought it polite to favor them; and their practice +justified the title of "Phil-Hellene," which they were fond of assuming +upon their coins. On the whole, the policy may have been wise, but it +diminished the unity of the Empire; and there were times when serious +danger arose from it. The Syro-Macedonian monarchs could always count +with certainty on having powerful friends in Parthia, whatever portion +of it they invaded; and even the Romans, though their ethnic connection +with the cities was not so close, were sometimes indebted to them for +very important assistance. + +We are told that Mithridates I., after effecting his conquests, made a +collection of the best laws which he found to prevail among the various +subject peoples, and imposed them upon the Parthian nation. This +statement is, no doubt, an exaggeration; but we may attribute, with +some reason, to Mithridates the introduction at this time of various +practices and usages, whereby the Parthian Court was assimilated to +those of the earlier Great Monarchies of Asia, and became in the eyes +of foreigners the successor and representative of the old Assyrian and +Persian Kingdoms. The assumption of new titles and of a new state--the +organization of the Court on a new plan--the bestowal of a new character +on the subordinate officers of the Empire, were suitable to the new +phase of its life on which the monarchy had now entered, and may with +the highest probability, if not with absolute certainty, be assigned to +this period. + +It has been already noticed that Mithridates appears to have been the +first Parthian sovereign who took the title of "King of Kings." +The title had been a favorite one with the old Assyrian and Persian +monarchs, but was not adopted either by the Seleucidae or by the Greek +kings of Bactria. Its revival implied a distinct pretension to that +mastery of Western Asia which had belonged of old to the Assyrians and +Persians, and which was, in later times, formally claimed by Artaxerxes, +the son of Sassan, the founder of the New Persian Kingdom. Previous +Parthian monarchs had been content to call themselves "the King," or +"the Great King"--Mithridates is "the King of Kings, the great and +illustrious Arsaces." + +At the same time Mithridates appears to have assumed the tiara, or tall +stiff crown, which, with certain modifications in its shape, had +been the mark of sovereignty, both under the Assyrians and under the +Persians. Previously the royal headdress had been either a mere cap of +a Scythic type, but lower than the Scyths commonly wore it; or the +ordinary diadem, which was a band round the head terminating in two long +ribbons or ends, that hung down behind the head on the back. According +to Herodian, the diadem, in the later times, was double; but the coins +of Parthia do not exhibit this peculiarity. [PLATE 1, Fig. 4.] + +Ammianus says that among the titles assumed by the Parthian monarchs was +that of "Brother of the Sun and Moon." It appears that something of a +divine character was regarded as attaching to the race. In the civil +contentions, which occur so frequently throughout the later history, +combatants abstained from lifting their hands knowingly against an +Arsacid, to kill or wound one being looked upon as sacrilege. The +name of _Deos_ was occasionally assumed, as it was in Syria; and more +frequently kings took the epithet of [Greek], which implied the divinity +of their father. After his death a monarch seems generally to have been +the object of a qualified worship; statues were erected to him in the +temples, where (apparently) they were associated with the images of the +great luminaries. + +Of the Parthian Court and its customs we have no account that is either +complete or trustworthy. Some particulars, however, may be gathered of +it on which we may place reliance. The best authorities are agreed that +it was not stationary, but migrated at different times of the year to +different cities of the Empire, in this resembling the Court of the +Achaemenians. It is not quite clear, however, which were the cities thus +honored. Ctesiphon was undoubtedly one of them. All writers agree +that it was the chief city of the Empire, and the ordinary seat of +the government. Here, according to Strabo, the kings passed the winter +months, delighting in the excellence of the air. The town was situated +on the left bank of the Tigris, opposite to Seleucia, twelve or thirteen +miles below the modern Baghdad. Pliny says that it was built by the +Parthians in order to reduce Seleucia to insignificance, and that when +it failed of its purpose they built another city. + +Vologesocerta, in the same neighborhood with the same object; but the +account of Strabo is more probable--viz., that it grew up gradually out +of the wish of the Parthian kings to spare Seleucia the unpleasantness +of having the rude soldiery, which followed the Court from place to +place, quartered upon them The remainder of the year, Strabo tells us, +was spent by the Parthian kings either at the Median city of Ecbatana, +which is the modern Hamadan, or in the province of Hyrca--In Hyrcania, +the palace, according to him, was at Tape and between this place and +Ecbatana he no doubt regarded the monarchs as spending the time which +was not passed at Ctesiphon. Athenaeus, however, declares that Rhages +was the spring residence of the Parthian kings; and it seems not +unlikely that this famous city, which Isidore, writing in Parthian +times, calls "the greatest in Media," was among the occasional +residences of the Court. Parthia itself was, it would seem, deserted; +but still a city of that region preserved in one respect a royal +character, being the place where all the earlier kings were interred. + +The pomp and grandeur of the Parthian monarchs are described only in the +vaguest terms by the classical writers. No author of repute appears +to have visited the Parthian Court. We may perhaps best obtain a true +notion of the splendor of the sovereign from the accounts which have +reached us of his relations and officers, who can have reflected only +faintly the magnificence of the sovereign. Plutarch tells us that the +general whom Orodes deputed to conduct the war against Crassus came into +the field accompanied by two hundred litters wherein were contained +his concubines, and by a thousand camels which carried his baggage. His +dress was fashioned after that of the Medes; he wore his hair parted +in the middle and had his face painted with cosmetics. A body of ten +thousand horse, composed entirely, of his clients and slaves, followed +him in battle. We may conclude from this picture, and from the +general tenor of the classical notices, that the Arsacidae revived +and maintained very much such a Court as that of the old Achaemenian +princes, falling probably somewhat below their model in politeness and +refinement, but equalling it in luxury, in extravagant expenditure, and +in display. + +Such seems to have been the general character of those practices and +institutions which distinguish the Parthians from the foundation of +their Empire by Mithridates, Some of them, it is probable, he rather +adopted than invented; but there is no good reason for doubting that of +many he was the originator. He appears to have been one of those rare +individuals to whom it has been given to unite the powers which form +the conqueror with those which constitute the successful organizer of a +State. Brave and enterprising in war, prompt to seize an occasion and to +turn it to the best advantage, not even averse to severities where they +seemed to be required, he yet felt no acrimony towards those who had +resisted his arms, but was ready to befriend them so soon as their +resistance ceased. Mild, clement, philanthropic, he conciliated those +whom he subdued almost more easily than he subdued them, and by the +efforts of a few years succeeded in welding together a dominion which +lasted without suffering serious mutilation for nearly four centuries. +Though not dignified with the epithet of "Great," he was beyond all +question the greatest of the Parthian monarchs. Later times did him more +justice than his contemporaries, and, when the names of almost all the +other kings had sunk into oblivion, retained his in honor, and placed it +on a par with that of the original founder of Parthian independence. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + + +_Reign of Phraates II. Expedition of Antiochus Sidetes against Parthia. +Release of Demetrius. Defeat and Death of Sidetes. War of Phraates with +the Northern Nomads. His death and character._ + + +Mithridates was succeeded by his son, Phraates, the second monarch of +the name, and the seventh Arsaces. This prince, entertaining, like his +father, the design of invading Syria, and expecting to find some +advantage from having in his camp the rightful occupant of the Syrian +throne, treated the captive Demetrius with even greater kindness than +his father had done, not only maintaining him handsomely, but even +giving him his sister Ehodogune, in marriage. Demetrius, however, was +not to be reconciled to his captivity by any such blandishments, and +employed his thoughts chiefly in devising plans by which he might +escape. By the help of a friend he twice managed to evade the vigilance +of his guards, and to make his way from Hyrcania towards the frontiers +of his own kingdom; but each time he was pursued and caught without +effecting his purpose. The Parthian monarch was no doubt vexed at his +pertinacity, and on the second occasion thought it prudent to feign, if +he did not even really feel, offence: he banished his ungrateful +brother-in-law from his presence, but otherwise visited his crime with +no severer penalty than ridicule. Choosing to see in his attempts to +change the place of his abode no serious design, but only the wayward +conduct of a child, he sent him a present of some golden dice, implying +thereby that it was only for lack of amusement he had grown discontented +with his Hyrcanian residence. + +Antiochus Sidetes, the brother of Demetrius, had been generally accepted +by the Syrians as their monarch, at the time when the news reached them +of that prince's defeat and capture by Mithridates. He was an active and +enterprising sovereign, though fond of luxury and display. For some +years (B.C. 140-137) the pretensions of Tryphon to the throne gave him +full occupation; but, having finally established his authority after a +short war, and punished the pretender with death, he found himself, in +B.C. 137, at liberty to turn his arms against foreign enemies. He would +probably have at once attacked Parthia, but for the attitude of a nearer +neighbor, which he regarded as menacing, and as requiring his immediate +attention. Demetrius, before his departure for the East, had rewarded +the Jews for services rendered him in his war with Tryphon by an open, +acknowledgment of their independence. Sidetes, though indebted to the +Jewish High Priest, Simon, for offers of aid against the same adversary, +could not bring himself to pay the price for it which Demetrius had +thought reasonable--an independent Palestine appeared to him a danger +close to his doors, and one that imperilled the very existence of the +Syrian State. Accordingly, he had no sooner put down Tryphon than he +resolved to pick a quarrel with the Jews, and to force them to resume +their old position of vassalage to Syria. His general, Cendebseus, +invaded their country, but was defeated near Azotus. Antiochus had to +take the field in person. During two years, John Hyrcanus, who had +succeeded his father, Simon (B.C. 135), baffled all his efforts; but at +last, in B.C. 133, he was forced to submit, to acknowledge the authority +of Syria, to dismantle Jerusalem, and to resume the payment of tribute. +Sidetes then considered the time come for a Parthian expedition, and, +having made great preparations, he set out for the East in the spring +of B.C. 129. + +It is impossible to accept without considerable reserve the accounts +that have come down to us of the force which Antiochus collected. +According to Justin, it consisted of no more than 80,000 fighting men, +to which was attached the incredible number of 300,000 camp-followers, +the majority being composed of cooks, bakers, and actors. As in other +extreme cases the camp-followers do but equal or a little exceed the +number of men fit for service, this estimate, which makes them nearly +four times as numerous, is entitled to but little credit. The late +writer, Orosius, corrects the error here indicated; but his account +seems to err in rating the supernumeraries too low. According to him, +the armed force amounted to 300,000, while the camp-followers, including +grooms, sutlers, courtesans, and actors, were no more than a third +of the number. From the two accounts, taken together, we are perhaps +entitled to conclude that the entire host did not fall much short of +400,000 men. This estimate receives confirmation from an independent +statement made by Diodorus, with respect to the number who fell in the +campaign--a statement of which we shall have to speak later. + +The army of Phraates, according to two accounts of it (which, however, +seem to represent a single original authority), numbered no more than +120,000. An attempt which he made to enlist in his service a body of +Scythian mercenaries failed, the Scyths being willing to lend their aid, +but arriving too late to be of any use. At the same time a defection of +the subject princes deprived the Parthian monarch of contingents which +usually swelled his numbers, and threw him upon the support of his own +countrymen, chiefly or solely. Under these circumstances it is more +surprising that he was able to collect 120,000 men than that he did not +bring into the field a larger number. + +The Syrian troops, magnificently appointed and supported by a body of +Jews under John Hyrcanus, advanced upon Babylon, receiving on their +way the adhesion of many of the Parthian tributaries, who professed +themselves disgusted by the arrogance and pride of their masters. +Phraates, on his part, advanced to meet his enemies, and in person or +by his generals engaged Antiochus in three battles, but without success. +Antiochus was three times a conqueror. In a battle fought upon the +river Lycus (Zab) in further Assyria he defeated the Parthian general, +Indates, and raised a trophy in honor of his victory. The exact scene +of the other combats is unknown, but they were probably in the same +neighborhood. The result of them was the conquest of Babylonia, and the +general revolt of the remaining Parthian provinces, which followed the +common practice of deserting a falling house, and drew off or declared +for the enemy. + +Under these circumstances Phraates, considering that the time was come +when it was necessary for him to submit or to create a diversion by +raising troubles in the enemy's territory, released Demetrius from his +confinement, and sent him, supported by a body of Parthian troops, to +reclaim his kingdom. He thought it probable that Antiochus, when the +intelligence reached him, would retrace his steps, and return from +Babylon to his own capital. At any rate his efforts would be distracted; +he would be able to draw fewer reinforcements from home; and he would be +less inclined to proceed to any great distance from his own country. + +Antiochus, however, was either uninformed of the impending danger or did +not regard it as very pressing. The winter was approaching; and, instead +of withdrawing his troops from the occupied provinces and marching +them back into Syria, he resolved to keep them where they were, merely +dividing them, on account of their numbers, among the various cities +which he had taken, and making them go into winter quarters. It was, +no doubt, his intention to remain quiet during the two or three winter +months, after which he would have resumed the war, and have endeavored +to penetrate through Media into Parthia Proper, where he might expect +his adversary to make his last stand. + +But Phraates saw that the position of affairs was favorable for striking +a blow before the spring came. The dispersion of his enemy's troops +deprived him of all advantage from the superiority of their numbers. +The circumstance of their being quartered in towns newly reduced, +and unaccustomed to the rudeness and rapacity of soldiers and +camp-followers, made it almost certain that complications would arise, +and that it would not be long before in some places the Parthians, +so lately declared to be oppressors, would be hailed as liberators. +Moreover, the Parthians were, probably, better able than their +adversaries to endure the hardships and severities of a campaign in the +cold season. Parthia is a cold country, and the winters, both of the +great plateau of Iran and of all the mountain tracts adjoining it, are +severe. The climate of Syria is far milder. Moreover, the troops +of Antiochus had, we are informed, been enervated by an excessive +indulgence on the part of their leader during the marches and halts of +the preceding summer. Their appetites had been pampered; their habits +had become unmanly; their general tone was relaxed; and they were likely +to deteriorate still more in the wealthy and luxurious cities where they +were bidden to pass the winter. + +These various circumstances raised the spirits of Phraates, and made him +hold himself in readiness to resume hostilities at a moment's notice. +Nor was it long before the complications which he had foreseen began to +occur. The insolence of the soldiers quartered upon them exasperated the +inhabitants of the Mesopotamian towns, and caused them to look back with +regret to the time when they were Parthian subjects. The requisitions +made on them for stores of all kinds was a further grievance. After a +while they opened communications with Phraates, and offered to return +to their allegiance if he would assist them against their oppressors. +Phraates gladly listened to these overtures. At his instigation a plot +was formed like that which has given so terrible a significance to the +phrase "Sicilian vespers." It was agreed that on an appointed day all +the cities should break out in revolt: the natives should take arms, +rise against the soldiers quartered upon them, and kill all, or as many +as possible. Phraates promised to be at hand with his army, to prevent, +the scattered detachments from giving help to each other. It was +calculated that in this way the invaders might be cut off almost to a +man without the trouble of even fighting a battle. + +But, before he proceeded to extremities, the Parthian prince determined +to give his adversary a chance of escaping the fate prepared for him by +timely concessions. The winter was not over; but the snow was beginning +to melt through the increasing warmth of the sun's rays, and the day +appointed for the general rising was probably drawing near. Phraates +felt that no time was to be lost. Accordingly, he sent ambassadors to +Antiochus to propose peace, and to inquire on what conditions it would +be granted him. The reply of Antiochus, according to Diodotus, was +as follows: "If Phraates would release his prisoner, Demetrius, from +captivity, and deliver him up without ransom, at the same time restoring +all the provinces which had been taken from Syria, and consenting to pay +a tribute for Parthia itself, peace might be had; but not otherwise." +To such terms it was, of course, impossible that Phraates should listen; +and his ambassadors, therefore, returned without further parley. + +Soon afterwards the day appointed for the outbreak arrived. Apparently, +no suspicion had been excited. The Syrian troops were everywhere quietly +enjoying themselves in their winter quarters, when, suddenly and +without warning, they found themselves attacked by the natives. Taken +at disadvantage, it was impossible for them to make a successful +resistance; and it would seem that the great bulk of them were massacred +in their quarters. Antiochus, and the detachment stationed with him, +alone, so far as we hear, escaped into an open field and contended for +their lives in just warfare. It had been the intention of the Syrian +monarch, when he took the field, to hasten to the protection of the +troops quartered nearest to him; but he no sooner commenced his march +than he found himself confronted by Phraates, who was at the head of +his entire army, having, no doubt, anticipated Antiochus's design and +resolved to frustrate it. The Parthian prince was anxious to engage at +once, as his force far outnumbered that commanded by his adversary; +but the latter might have declined the battle, if he had so willed, and +have, at any rate, greatly protracted the struggle. He had a mountain +region--Mount Zagros, probably--within a short distance of him, and +might have fallen back upon it, so placing the Parthian horse at great +disadvantage; but he was still at an age when caution is apt to be +considered cowardice, and temerity to pass for true courage. Despite the +advice of one of his captains, he determined to accept the battle which +the enemy offered, and not to fly before a foe whom he had three times +defeated. But the determination of the commander was ill seconded by his +army. Though Antiochus fought strenuously, he was defeated, since his +troops were without heart and offered but a poor resistance. Antiochus +himself perished, either slain by the enemy or by his own hand. His son, +Seleucus, a boy of tender age, and his niece, a daughter of Demetrius, +who had accompanied him in his expedition, were captured. His troops +were either cut to pieces or made prisoners. The entire number of those +slain in the battle, and in the previous massacre, was reckoned at +300,000. + +Such was the issue of this great expedition. It was the last which any +Seleucid monarch conducted into these countries--the final attempt made +by Syria to repossess herself of her lost Eastern provinces. Henceforth +Parthia was no further troubled by the power that had hitherto been her +most dangerous enemy, but was allowed to enjoy without molestation from +Syria the conquests which she had effected. Syria, in fact, had from +this time a difficulty in preserving her own existence. The immediate +result of the destruction of Antiochus and his host was the revolt of +Judaea, which henceforth maintained its independence uninterruptedly. +The dominions of the Seleucidae were reduced to Cilicia and Syria +Proper, or the tract west of the Euphrates, between Amanus and +Palestine. Internally, the state was agitated by constant commotions +from the claims of various pretenders to the sovereignty: externally, +it was kept in continual alarm by the Egyptians, Arabians, or Romans. +During the sixty years which elapsed between the return of Demetrius +to his kingdom and the conversion of Syria into a Roman province, she +ceased wholly to be formidable to her neighbors. Her flourishing +period was gone by, and a rapid decline set in, from which there was no +recovery. It is surprising that the Romans did not step in earlier and +terminate a rule which was but a little removed from anarchy. Rome, +however, had other work on her hands; and the Syrian kingdom continued +to exist till B.C. 65, though in a feeble and moribund condition. + +But Phraates could not, without prophetic foresight, have counted on +such utter prostration following as the result of a single--albeit a +terrible--blow. Accordingly, we find him still exhibiting a dread of the +Seleucid power even after his great victory. He had released Demetrius +too late to obtain any benefit from the hostile feeling which that +prince probably entertained towards his brother. Had he not released him +too soon for his own safety? Was it not to be feared that the Syrians +might rally under one who was their natural leader, might rapidly +recover their strength, and renew the struggle for the mastery of +Western Asia? The first thought of the dissatisfied monarch was to +hinder the execution of his own project. Demetrius was on his way to +Syria, but had not yet arrived there, or, at any rate, his arrival had +not been as yet reported. Was it not possible to intercept him? The +Parthian king hastily sent out a body of horse, with orders to pursue +the Syrian prince at their best speed, and endeavor to capture him +before he passed the frontier. If they succeeded, they were to bring +him hack to their master, who would probably have then committed his +prisoner to close custody. The pursuit, however, failed. Demetrius +had anticipated, or at least feared, a change of purpose, and, having +prosecuted his journey with the greatest diligence, had reached his own +territory before the emissaries of Phraates could overtake him. + +It is uncertain whether policy or inclination dictated the step which +Phraates soon afterwards took of allaying himself by marriage with the +Seleucidae. He had formally given his sister, Ehodogune, as a wife to +Demetrius, and the marriage had been fruitful, Rhodogune having borne +Demetrius several children. The two houses of the Seleucidae and +Arsacidae were thus already allied to some extent. Phraates resolved +to strengthen the bond. The unmarried daughter of Demetrius whom he +had captured after his victory over Antiochus took his fancy; and he +determined to make her his wife. At the same time he adopted other +measures calculated to conciliate the Seleucid prince. He treated his +captive, Seleucus, the son of Antiochus, with the greatest respect. To +the corpse of Antiochus he paid royal honors; and, having placed it in a +silver coffin, he transmitted it to the Syrians for sepulture. + +Still, if we may believe Justin, he entertained the design of carrying +his arms across the Euphrates and invading Syria, in order to avenge +the attack of Antiochus upon his territories. But events occurred which +forced him to relinquish this enterprise. The Scythians, whom he had +called to his aid under the pressure of the Syrian invasion, and who had +arrived too late to take part in the war, demanded the pay which they +had been promised, and suggested that their arms should be employed +against some other enemy. Phraates was unwilling either to requite +services not rendered, or to rush needlessly into a fresh war merely +to gratify the avarice of his auxiliaries. He therefore peremptorily +refused to comply with either suggestion. Upon this, the Scythians +determined to take their payment into their own hands, and began to +ravage Parthia and to carry off a rich booty. Phraates, who had removed +the headquarters of his government to Babylonia, felt it necessary to +entrust affairs there to an officer, and to take the field in person +against this new enemy, which was certainly not less formidable than +the Syrians. He selected for his representative at the seat of Empire +a certain Himerus (or Evemerus), a youth with whom he had a disgraceful +connection, and having established him as a sort of viceroy, marched +away to the northeast, and proceeded to encounter the Scythians in that +remote region. Besides his native troops, he took with him a number +of Greeks, whom he had made prisoners in his war with Antiochus. Their +fidelity could not but be doubtful; probably, however, he thought that +at a distance from Syria they would not dare to fail him, and that with +an enemy so barbarous as the Scythians they would have no temptation to +fraternize. But the event proved him mistaken. The Greeks were sullen at +their captivity, and exasperated by some cruel treatment which they +had received when first captured. They bided their time; and when, in a +battle with the Scythians, they saw the Parthian soldiery hard pressed +and in danger of defeat, they decided matters by going over in a body +to the enemy. The Parthian army was completely routed and destroyed, and +Phraates himself was among the slain. We are not told what became of the +victorious Greeks; but it is to be presumed that, like the Ten Thousand, +they fought their way across Asia, and rejoined their own countrymen. + +Thus died Phraates I., after a reign of about eight or nine years. +Though not possessing the talents of his father, he was a brave and +warlike prince, active, enterprising, fertile in resources, and bent +on maintaining against all assailants the honor and integrity of the +Empire. In natural temperament he was probably at once soft and cruel. +But, when policy required it, he could throw his softness aside and show +himself a hardy and intrepid warrior. Similarly, he could control his +natural harshness, and act upon occasion with clemency and leniency. He +was not, perhaps, without a grim humor, which led him to threaten more +than he intended, in order to see how men would comport themselves when +greatly alarmed. There is some evidence that he aimed at saying good +things; though it must be confessed that the wit is not of a high order. +Altogether he has more character than most Oriental monarchs; and +the monotony of Arsacid biography is agreeably interrupted by the +idiosyncrasy which his words and conduct indicate. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + +_Accession of Artabanus II. Position of Parthia. Growing pressure upon +her, and general advance towards the south, of the Saka or Scyths. +Causes and extent of the movement. Character and principal tribes of the +Saka. Scythic war of Artabanus. His death._ + + +The successor of Phraates was his uncle, Artabanus, a son of Priapatius. +It is probable that the late king had either left no son, or none +of sufficient age to be a fit occupant of the throne at a season of +difficulty. The "Megistanes," therefore, elected Artabanus in his +nephew's place, a man of mature age, and, probably, of some experience +in war. The situation of Parthia, despite her recent triumph over the +Syro-Macedonians, was critical; and it was of the greatest importance +that the sceptre should be committed to one who would bring to the +discharge of his office those qualities of wisdom, promptness, and +vigor, which a crisis demands. + +The difficulty of the situation was two-fold. In the first place, +there was an immediate danger to be escaped. The combined Greeks and +Scythians, who had defeated the Parthian army and slain the monarch, +might have been expected to push their advantage to the utmost, and +seek to establish themselves as conquerors in the country which lay +apparently at their mercy. At any rate, the siege and sack of some of +the chief towns was a probable contingency, if permanent occupation +of the territory did not suit the views of the confederates. The +new monarch had to rid Parthia of her invaders at as little cost as +possible, before he could allow himself to turn his attention to any +other matter whatsoever. Nor did this, under the circumstances, appear +to be an easy task. The flower of the Parthian troops had been destroyed +in the late battle, and it was not easy to replace them by another +native army. The subject-nations were at no time to be depended upon +when Parthia was reduced to straits, and at the present conjecture some +of the most important were in a condition bordering upon rebellion. +Himerus, the viceroy left by Phraates in Babylonia, had first driven +the Babylonians and Seleucians to desperation by his tyranny, and then +plunged into a war with the people of Mesene, which must have made it +difficult for him to send Artabanus any contingent. Fortunately for the +Parthians, the folly or moderation of their enemies rendered any great +effort on their part unnecessary. The Greeks, content with having +revenged themselves, gave the new monarch no trouble at all: the +Scythians were satisfied with plundering and wasting the open country, +after which they returned quietly to their homes. Artabanus found +himself quit of the immediate danger which had threatened him almost +without exertion of his own, and could now bend his thoughts to the +position of his country generally, and the proper policy to pursue under +the circumstances. + +For there was a second and more formidable danger impending over the +State--a danger not casual and temporary like the one just escaped, but +arising out of a condition of things in neighboring regions which had +come about slowly, and which promised to be permanent. To give the +reader the means of estimating this danger aright, it will be necessary +to take a somewhat wide view of the state of affairs on the northern +and north-eastern frontiers of Parthia for some time previously to the +accession of Artabanus, to trace out the causes which were at work, +producing important changes in these regions, and to indicate the +results which threatened, and those which were accomplished. The +opportunity will also serve for giving such an account of the chief +races which here bordered the empire as will show the nature of the +peril to which Parthia was exposed at this period. + +In the wide plains of Northern Asia, extending from the Arctic Ocean to +the Thian Chan mountains and the Jaxartes, there had been nurtured from +a remote antiquity a nomadic population, at no time very numerous in +proportion to the area over which it was spread, but liable on occasions +to accumulate, owing to a combination of circumstances, in this or that +portion of the region occupied, and at such times causing trouble to its +neighbors. From about the close of the third century B.C. symptoms +of such an accumulation had begun to display themselves in the tract +immediately north of the Jaxartes, and the inhabitants of the countries +south of that river had suffered from a succession of raids and inroads, +which were not regarded as dangerous, but which gave constant annoyance. +Crossing the great desert of Kharesm by forced marches, some of the +hordes invaded the green valleys of Hyrcania and Parthia, and carried +desolation over those fair and flourishing districts. About the same +time other tribes entered the Bactrian territory and caused alarm to the +Greek kingdom recently established in that province. It appears that +the Parthian monarchs, unable to save their country from incursions, +consented to pay a sort of black-mail to their invaders, by allowing +them the use of their pasture grounds at certain fixed times--probably +during some months of each year. The Bactrian princes had to pay a +heavier penalty. Province after province of their kingdom was swallowed +up by the northern hordes, who gradually occupied Sogdiana, or the tract +between the lower Jaxartes and the lower Oxus, whence they proceeded to +make inroads into Bactria itself. The rich land on the Polytimetus, or +Ak Su, the river of Samarkand, and even the highlands between the upper +Jaxartes and upper Oxus, were permanently occupied by the invaders; +and if the Bactrians had not compensated themselves for their losses by +acquisitions of territory in Afghanistan and India, they would soon +have had no kingdom left. The hordes were always increasing in strength +through the influx of fresh immigrants, and in lieu of Bactria a power +now stood arrayed on the north-eastern frontier of the Parthians, which +was reasonably regarded with the most serious alarm and suspicion. + +The origin of the state of things here described is to be sought, +according to the best authorities, in certain movements which took +place about B.C. 200, in a remote region of inner Asia. At that time a +Turanian people called the Yue-chi were expelled from their territory on +the west of Chen-si by the Hiong-nu, whom some identified with the Huns. +The Yue-chi separated into two bands; the smaller descended southwards +into Thibet; the larger passed westwards, and after a hard struggle +dispossessed a people called 'Su' of the plains west of the river of Hi. +These latter advanced to Ferghana and the Jaxartes; and the Yue-chi not +long afterwards retreating from the Usiun, another nomadic race, passed +the 'Su' on the north and occupied the tracts between the Oxus and the +Caspian. The Su were thus in the vicinity of the Bactrian Greeks; the +Yue-chi in the neighborhood of the Parthians. On the particulars of +this account, which come from the Chinese historians, we cannot perhaps +altogether depend; but there is no reason to doubt the main fact, +attested by a writer who visited the Yue-chi in B.C. 139, that they had +migrated about the period mentioned from the interior of Asia, and had +established themselves sixty years later in the Caspian region. Such a +movement would necessarily have thrown the entire previous population +of those parts into commotion, and would probably have precipitated them +upon their neighbors. It accounts satisfactorily for the pressure of the +northern hordes at this period on the Parthians, Bactrians, and even +the Indians; and it completely explains the crisis in Parthian history, +which we have now reached, and the necessity which lay upon the nation +of meeting and, if possible, overcoming, an entirely new danger. + +In fact, one of those occasions of peril had arisen, to which in ancient +times the civilized world was always liable from an outburst of northern +barbarism. Whether the peril has altogether passed away or not we need +not here inquire; but certainly in the old world there was always a +chance that civilization, art, refinement, luxury, might suddenly and +almost without warning be swept away by an overwhelming influx of savage +hordes from the unpolished North. From the reign of Oyaxares, when +the evil first showed itself, the danger was patent to all wise and +far-seeing governors both in Europe and Asia, and was from time to time +guarded against. The expeditions of Cyrus against the Massagetse, of +Darius Hystaspis against the European Scyths, of Alexander against the +Getee, of Trajan and Probus across the Danube, were designed to check +and intimidate the northern nations, to break their power, and diminish +the likelihood of their taking the offensive. It was now more than four +centuries since in this part of Asia any such effort had been made; and +the northern barbarians might naturally have ceased to fear the arms and +discipline of the South. Moreover the circumstances of the time +scarcely left them a choice. Pressed on continually more and more by the +newly-arrived Su and Yue-chi, the old inhabitants of the Transoxianian +regions were under the necessity of seeking new settlements, and could +only attempt to find them in the quarter towards which they were driven +by the new-comers. Strengthened, probably, by daring spirits from among +their conquerors themselves they crossed the rivers and the deserts +by which they had been hitherto confined, and advancing against the +Parthians, Bactrians, and Arians, threatened to carry all before them. +We have seen how successful they were against the Bactrians. In Ariana, +they passed the mountains, and, proceeding southwards, occupied the +tract below the great lake wherein the Helmend terminates, which took +from them the name of Saeastane ("land of the Saka," or Scyths)--a name +still to be traced in the modern "Seistan." Further to the east they +effected a lodgment in Kabul, and another in the the southern portion of +the Indus valley, which for a time bore the name of Indo-Scythia. They +even crossed the Indus and attempted to penetrate into the interior of +India, but here they were met and repulsed by a native monarch, about +the year B.C. 56. + +The people engaged in this great movement are called, in a general way, +by the classical writers, Sacse, or Scythse--i.e. Scyths. They consisted +of a number of tribes, similar for the most part in language, habits, +and mode of life, and allied more or less closely to the other nomadic +races of Central and Northern Asia. Of these tribes the principal were +the Massagetse ("great Jits, or Jats"), who occupied the country on +both sides of the lower course of the Oxus; the Dahse, who bordered the +Caspian above Hyrcania, and extended thence to the latitude of Herat; +the Tochari, who settled in the mountains between the upper Jaxartes and +the upper Oxus, where they gave name to the tract known as Tokhar-estan; +the Asii, or Asiani, who were closely connected with the Tochari, +and the Sakarauli (Saracucse?), who are found connected with both the +Tochari and the Asiani. Some of these tribes contained within them +further sub-divisions; e.g. the Dahse, who comprised the Parni (or +Apariii), the Pissuri, and the Xanthii; and the Massagetse, who included +among them Chorasmii, Attasii, and others. + +The general character of the barbarism in which these various races were +involved may be best learnt from the description given of one of them, +the Massagetae, with but few differences, by Herodotus and Strabo. +According to this description, the Massagetse were nomads, who moved +about in wagons or carts, accompanied by their flocks and herds, on +whose milk they chiefly sustained themselves. Each man had only one +wife, but all the wives were held in common. They were good riders and +excellent archers, but fought both on horseback and on foot, and used, +besides their bows and arrows, lances, knives, and battle-axes. They had +little or no iron, but made their spear and arrow-heads, and their other +weapons, of bronze. They had also bronze breast-plates; but otherwise +the metal with which they adorned and protected their own persons, +and the heads of their horses, was gold. To a certain extent they were +cannibals. It was their custom not to let the aged among them die a +natural death, but, when life seemed approaching its natural term, to +offer them up in sacrifice,--and then boil the flesh and feast on it. +This mode of ending life was regarded as the best and most honorable; +such as died of disease were not eaten but buried, and their friends +bewailed their misfortune. + +It may be added to this that we have sufficient reason to believe that +the Massagetse and the other nomads of these parts regarded the use +of poisoned arrows as legitimate in warfare, and employed the venom of +serpents, and the corrupted blood of man, to make the wounds which they +inflicted more deadly. + +Thus, what was threatened was not merely the conquest of one race by +another cognate to it, like that of the Medes by the Persians, or of +the Greeks by Rome, but the obliteration of such art, civilization, +and refinement as Western Asia had attained to in course of ages by +the successive efforts of Babylonians, Assyrians, Medes, Persians, and +Greeks--the spread over some of the fairest regions of the earth of a +low type of savagery--a type which in religion went no further than the +worship of the sun; in art knew but the easier forms of metallurgy and +the construction of carts; in manners and customs, included cannibalism, +the use of poisoned weapons, and a relation between the sexes +destructive alike of all delicacy and of all family affection. The +Parthians were, no doubt, rude and coarse in their character as compared +with the Persians; but they had been civilized to a certain extent by +three centuries of subjection to the Persians and the Greco-Macedonians +before they rose to power; they affected Persian manners; they +patronized Greek art, they appreciated the advantages of having in their +midst a number of Greek states. Had the Massagetse and their kindred +tribes of Sakas, Tochari, Dahse, Yue-chi, and Su, which now menaced the +Parthian power, succeeded in sweeping it away, the general declension of +all which is lovely or excellent in human life would have been marked. +Scythicism would have overspread Western Asia. No doubt the conquerors +would have learned something from those whom they subjected; but it +cannot be supposed that they would have learned much. The change would +have been like that which passed over the Empire of the West, when +Goths, Vandals, Burgundians, Alans, Heruli, depopulated its fairest +provinces and laid its civilization in the dust. The East would have +been barbarized; the gains of centuries would have been lost; the work +of Cyrus, Darius, Alexander, and other great benefactors of Asiatic +humanity, have been undone; Western Asia would have sunk back into a +condition not very much above that from which it was raised two thousand +years earlier by the primitive Chaldaeans and the Assyrians. + +Artabanus II., the Parthian monarch who succeeded Phraates II., appears +to have appreciated aright the perils of his position. He was not +content, when the particular body of barbarians which had defeated and +slain his predecessor, having ravaged Parthia Proper, returned home, +to fold his arms and wait until he was again attacked. According to the +brief, but expressive words of Justin, he assumed the aggressive, and +invaded the country of the Tochari, one of the most powerful of the +Scythic tribes, which was now settled in a portion of the region that +had, till lately, belonged to the Bactrian kingdom. Artabanus evidently +felt that what was needed was to roll back the flood of invasion +which had advanced so near to the sacred home of his nation; that the +barbarians required to be taught a lesson; that they must at least be +made to understand that Parthia was to be respected; or that, if this +could not be done, the fate of the Empire was sealed. He therefore, with +a gallantry and boldness that we cannot sufficiently admire--a boldness +that seemed like rashness, but was in reality prudence--without +calculating too closely the immediate chances of battle, led his troops +against one of the most forward of the advancing tribes. But fortune, +unhappily, was adverse. How the battle was progressing we are not told; +but it appears that in the thick of an engagement Artabanus received +a wound in the forearm, from the effects of which he died almost +immediately. The death of the leader decides in the East, almost to a +certainty, the issue of a contest. We cannot doubt that the Parthians, +having lost their monarch, were repulsed; that the expedition failed; +and that the situation of affairs became once more at least as +threatening as it had been before Artabanus made his attempt. Two +Parthian monarchs had now fallen within the space of a few years in +combat with the aggressive Scyths--two Parthian armies had suffered +defeat. Was this to be always so? If it was, then Parthia had only to +make up her mind to fall, and, like the great Roman, to let it be her +care that she should fall grandly and with dignity. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + + +_Accession of Mithridates II. Termination of the Scythic Wars. +Commencement of the struggle with Armenia. Previous history of Armenia. +Result of the first Armenian War. First contact of Rome with Parthia. +Attitude of Rome towards the East at this time. Second Armenian War. +Death of Mithridates._ + + +On the death of Artabanus II., about B.C. 124, his son, Mithridates II., +was proclaimed king. Of this monarch, whose achievements (according to +Justin) procured him the epithet of "the Great," the accounts which have +come down to us are extremely scanty and unsatisfactory. Justin, who is +our principal informant on the subject of the early Parthian history, +has unfortunately confounded him with the third monarch of the name, who +ascended the throne more than sixty years later, and has left us +only the slightest and most meagre outline of his actions. The other +classical writers, only to a very small extent, supplement Justin's +narrative; and the result is that of a reign which was one of the most +important in the early Parthian series, the historical inquirer at the +present day can form but a most incomplete conception. + +It appears, however, from the account of Justin, and from such other +notices as have reached us of the condition of things at this time in +the regions lying east of the Caspian, that Mithridates was entirely +successful where his father and his cousin had signally failed. He +gained a number of victories over the Scythic hordes; and effectually +checked their direct progress towards the south, throwing them thereby +upon the east and the south-east. Danger to Parthia from the Scyths +seems after his reign to have passed away. They found a vent for their +superabundant population in Seistan, Afghanistan, and India, and ceased +to have any hopes of making an impression on the Arsacid kingdom. +Mithridates, it is probable, even took territory from them. The +acquisition of parts of Bactria by the Parthians from the Scyths, which +is attested by Strabo, belongs, in all likelihood, to his reign; and +the extension of the Parthian dominion to Seistan may well date from the +same period. Justin tells us that he added many nations to the Parthian +Empire. The statements made of the extent of Parthia on the side of +Syria in the time of Mithridates the First render it impossible for us +to discover these nations in the west: we are, therefore, compelled to +regard them as consisting of races on the eastern frontier, who could at +this period only be outlying tribes of the recent Scythic immigration. + +The victories of Mithridates in the East encouraged him to turn his +arms in the opposite direction, and to make an attack on the important +country of Armenia, which bordered his north-western frontier. Armenia +was at the time under the government of a certain Ortoadistus, who seems +to have been the predecessor, and was perhaps the father, of the great +Tigranes. Ortoadistus ruled the tract called by the Romans "Armenia +Magna," which extended from the Euphrates on the west to the mouth of +the Araxes on the east, and from the valley of the Kur northwards to +Mount Niphates and the head streams of the Tigris towards the south. The +people over which he ruled was one of the oldest in Asia and had on many +occasions shown itself impatient of a conqueror. Justin, on reaching +this point in his work, observes that he could not feel himself +justified if, when his subject brought before him so mighty a kingdom, +he did not enter at some length on its previous history. The modern +historian would be even less excusable than Justin if he omitted such +a review, since, while he has less right to assume a knowledge of early +Armenian history on the part of his readers, he has greater means of +gratifying their curiosity, owing to the recent discovery of sources of +information unknown to the ancients. + +Armenia first comes before us in Genesis, where it is mentioned as the +country on whose mountains the ark rested. A recollection of it was +thenceforth retained in the semi-mythic traditions of the Babylonians. +According to some, the Egyptian monarchs of the eighteenth and +nineteenth dynasties carried their arms into its remote valleys, and +exacted tribute from the petty chiefs who then ruled there. At any rate, +it is certain that from about the ninth century B.C. it was well known +to the Assyrians, who were engaged from that time till about B.C. 640 +in almost constant wars with its inhabitants. At this period three +principal races inhabited the country--the Nairi, who were spread from +the mountains west of Lake Van along both sides of the Tigris to Bir +on the Euphrates, and even further; the Urarda (Alarodii, or people of +Ararat), who dwelt north and east of the Nairi, on the upper Euphrates, +about the lake of Van, and probably on the Araxes; and the Minni, whose +country lay south-east of the Urarda, in the Urumiyeh basin and the +adjoining parts of Zagros. Of these three races, the Urarda were the +most powerful, and it was with them that the Assyrians waged their most +bloody wars. The capital city of the Urarda was Van, on the eastern +shores of the lake; and here it was that their kings set up the most +remarkable of their inscriptions. Six monarchs, who apparently all +belong to one dynasty, left inscriptions in this locality commemorative +of their military expeditions or of their offerings to the gods. The +later names of the series can be identified with those of kings who +contended with Assyrian monarchs belonging to the last, or Sargonid +dynasty; and hence we are entitled approximately to fix the series to +the seventh and eighth centuries before our era. The Urarda must at this +time have exercised a dominion over almost the whole of the region +to which the name of Armenia commonly attaches. They were worthy +antagonists of the Assyrians, and, though occasionally worsted in +fight, maintained their independence, at any rate, till the time of +Asshur-bani-pal (about B.C. 640), when the last king of the Van series, +whose name is read as Bilat-duri, succumbed to the Assyrian power, and +consented to pay a tribute for his dominions. + +There is reason to believe that between the time when we obtain this +view of the primitive Armenian peoples and that at which we next have +any exact knowledge of the condition of the country--the time of the +Persian monarchy--a great revolution had taken place in the region. +The Nairi, Urarda, and Minni were Turanian, or, at any rate, non-Arian, +races. Their congeners in Western Asia were the early Babylonians and +the Susianians, not the Medes, the Persians, or the Phrygians. But by +the time of Herodotus the Arian character of the Armenians had become +established. Their close connection with the Phrygians was recognized. +They had changed their national appellation; for while in the Assyrian +period the terms Nairi and Urarda had preponderated, under the Persians +they had come to be called Armenians and their country Armenia. The +personal names of individuals in the country, both men and women, had +acquired a decidedly Arian cast. Everything seems to indicate that a +strange people had immigrated into the land, bringing with them a new +language, new manners and customs, and a new religious system. From what +quarter they had come, whether from Phrygia as Herodotus and Stephen +believed, or, as we should gather from their language and religion, from +Media, is perhaps doubtful; but it seems certain that from one quarter +or another Armenia had been Arianized; the old Turanian character had +passed away from it; immigrants had nocked in, and a new people had +been formed--the real Armenian of later times, and indeed of the present +day--by the admixture of ruling Arian tribes with a primitive Turanian +population, the descendants of the old inhabitants. + +The new race, thus formed, though perhaps not less brave and warlike +than the old, was less bent on maintaining its independence. Moses of +Chorene, the Armenian historian, admits that from the time of the Median +preponderance in Western Asia the Armenians held under them a subject +position. That such was their position under the Persians is abundantly +evident;25 and, so far as appears, there was only one occasion during +the entire Achaemenian period (B.C. 559 to B.C. 331) when they exhibited +any impatience of the Persian yoke, or made any attempt to free +themselves from it. In the early portion of the reign of Darius +Hystaspis they took part in a revolt raised by a Mede called Phraortes, +and were not reduced to obedience without some difficulty. But from +henceforth their fidelity to the Achaemenian Kings was unbroken; they +paid their tribute (apparently) without reluctance, and furnished +contingents of troops to the Persian armies when called upon. After +Arbela they submitted without a struggle to Alexander; and when in the +division of his dominions, which followed upon the battle of Ipsus, they +fell naturally to Seleucus, they acquiesced in the arrangement. It was +not until Antiochus the Great suffered his great defeat at the hands of +the Romans (B.C. 190) that Armenia bestirred itself, and, after probably +four and a half centuries of subjection, became once more an independent +power. Even then the movement seems to have originated rather in the +ambition of a chief than in a desire for liberty on the part of +the people. Artaxias had been governor of the Greater Armenia under +Antiochus, and seized the opportunity afforded by the battle of Magnesia +to change his title of satrap into that of sovereign. No war followed. +Antiochus was too much weakened by his reverses to make any attempt to +reduce Artaxias or recover Armenia; and the nation obtained autonomy +without having to undergo the usual ordeal of a bloody struggle. When at +the expiration of five-and-twenty years Epiphanes, the son of Antiochus +the Great, determined on an effort to reconquer the lost province, no +very stubborn resistance was offered to him. Artaxias was defeated and +made prisoner in the very first year of the war (B.C. 165), and Armenia +seems to have passed again under the sway of the Seleucidae. + +It would seem that matters remained in this state for the space of about +fifteen or sixteen years. When, however, Mithridates I. (Arsaces VI.), +about B.C. 150, had overrun the eastern provinces of Syria, and made +himself master in succession of Media, Elymais, and Babylonia, the +revolutionary movement excited by his successes reached Armenia, and the +standard of independence was once more raised in that country. According +to the Armenian historians, an Arsacid prince, Wagharshag or Valarsaces, +was established as sovereign by the influence of the Parthian monarch, +but was allowed to rule independently. A reign of twenty-two years is +assigned to this prince, whose kingdom is declared to have reached from +the Caucasus to Nisibis, and from the Caspian to the Mediterranean. He +was succeeded by his son, Arshag (Arsaces), who reigned thirteen years, +and was, like his father, active and warlike, contending chiefly with +the people of Pontus. At his death the crown descended to his son, +Ardashes, who is probably the Ortoadistus of Justin. + +Such were the antecedents of Armenia when Mithridates II., having +given an effectual check to the progress of the Scythians in the east, +determined to direct his arms towards the west, and to attack the +dominions of his relative, the third of the Armenian Arsacidse. Of +the circumstances of this war, and its results, we have scarcely +any knowledge. Justin, who alone distinctly mentions it, gives us no +details. A notice, however, in Strabo, which must refer to about this +time, is thought to indicate with sufficient clearness the result of the +struggle, which seems to have been unfavorable to the Armenians. Strabo +says that Tigranes, before his accession to the throne, was for a time +a hostage among the Parthians. As hostages are only given by the +vanquished party, we may assume that Ortoadistus (Ardashes) found +himself unable to offer an effectual resistance to the Parthian +king, and consented after a while to a disadvantageous peace, for his +observance of which hostages were required by the victor. + +It cannot have been more than a few years after the termination of this +war, which must have taken place towards the close of the second, or +soon after the beginning of the first century, that Parthia was for the +first time brought into contact with Rome. + +The Great Republic, which after her complete victory over Antiochus +III., B.C. 190, had declined to take possession of a single foot of +ground in Asia, regarding the general state of affairs as not then ripe +for an advance of Terminus in that quarter, had now for some time seen +reason to alter its policy, and to aim at adding to its European an +extensive Asiatic dominion. Macedonia and Greece having been absorbed, +and Carthage destroyed (B.C. 148-146), the conditions of the political +problem seemed to be so far changed as to render a further advance +towards the east a safe measure; and accordingly, when it was seen that +the line of the kings of Pergamus was coming to an end, the Senate set +on foot intrigues which had for their object the devolution upon Rome +of the sovereignty belonging to those monarchs. By clever management the +third Attalus was induced, in repayment of his father's obligations +to the Romans, to bequeath his entire dominions as a legacy to the +Republic. In vain did his illegitimate half-brother, Aristonicus, +dispute the validity of so extraordinary a testament; the Romans, aided +by Mithridates IV., then monarch of Pontus, easily triumphed over such +resistance as this unfortunate prince could offer, and having ceded to +their ally the portion of Phrygia which had belonged to the Pergamene +kingdom, entered on the possession of the remainder. Having thus +become an Asiatic power, the Great Republic was of necessity mixed +up henceforth with the various movements and struggles which agitated +Western Asia, and was naturally led to strengthen its position among the +Asiatic kingdoms by such alliances as seemed at each conjuncture best +fitted for its interests. + +Hitherto no occasion had arisen for any direct dealings between Rome +and Parthia. Their respective territories were still separated by +considerable tracts, which were in the occupation of the Syrians, the +Cappadocians, and the Armenians. Their interests had neither clashed, +nor as yet sufficiently united them to give rise to any diplomatic +intercourse. But the progress of the two Empires in opposite directions +was continually bringing them nearer to each other; and events had now +reached a point at which the Empires began to have (or seem to have) +such a community of interests as led naturally to an exchange of +communications. A great power had been recently developed in these +parts. In the rapid way so common in the East. Mithridates V., of +Pontus, the son and successor of Rome's ally, had, between B.C. 112 and +B.C. 93, built up an Empire of vast extent, numerous population, and +almost inexhaustible resources. He had established his authority over +Armenia Minor, Colchis, the entire east coast of the Black Sea, the +Chersonesus Taurica, or kingdom of the Bosporus, and even over the whole +tract lying west of the Chersonese as far as the mouth of the Tyras, +or Dniester. Nor had these gains contented him. He had obtained half of +Paphlagonia by an iniquitous compact with Nicomedes, King of Bithynia; +he had occupied Galatia; and he was engaged in attempts to bring +Cappadocia under his influence. In this last-named project he was +assisted by the Armenians, with whose king, Tigranes, he had (about B.C. +96) formed a close alliance, at the same time giving him his daughter, +Cleopatra, in marriage. Rome, though she had not yet determined on war +with Mithridates, was resolved to thwart his Cappadocian projects, and +in B.C. 92 sent Sulla into Asia with orders to put down the puppet whom +Mithridates and Tigranes were establishing, and to replace upon the +Cappadocian throne a certain Ariobarzanes, whom they had driven from +his kingdom. In the execution of this commission, Sulla was brought +into hostile collision with the Armenians, whom he defeated with great +slaughter, and drove from Cappadocia together with their puppet king. +Thus, not only did the growing power of Mithridates of Pontus, by +inspiring Rome and Parthia with a common fear, tend to draw them +together, but the course of events had actually given them a common +enemy in Tigranes of Armenia, who was equally obnoxious to both. + +For Tigranes, who, during the time that he was a hostage in Parthia, +had contracted engagements towards the Parthian monarch which involved +a cession of territory, and who in consequence of his promises had been +aided by the Parthians in seating himself on his father's throne though +he made the cession required of him in the first instance had soon +afterwards repented of his good faith, had gone to war with his +benefactors, recovered the ceded territory, and laid waste a +considerable tract of country lying within the admitted limits of +the Parthian kingdom. These proceedings had, of course, alienated +Mithridates II.; and we may with much probability ascribe to them the +step, which he now took, of sending an ambassador to Sulla. Orobazus, +the individual selected, was charged to propose an alliance offensive +and defensive between the two countries. Sulla received the overture +favorably, but probably considered that it transcended his powers to +conclude a treaty; and thus nothing more was effected by the embassy +than the establishment of a good understanding between the two States. + +Soon after this Tigranes appears to have renewed his attacks upon +Parthia, which in the interval between B.C. 92 and B.C. 83 he greatly +humbled, depriving it of the whole of Upper Mesopotamia, at this time +called Gordyene, and under rule of one of the Parthian tributary kings. +Of the details of this war we have no account; and it is even uncertain +whether it fell within the reign of Mithridates II. or no. The +unfortunate mistake of Justin, whereby he confounded this monarch with +Mithridates III., has thrown this portion of the Parthian history into +confusion, and has made even the successor of Mithridates II. uncertain. + +Mithridates II. probably died about B.C. 89, after a reign which +must have exceeded thirty-five years. His great successes against +the Scythians in the earlier portion of his reign were to some extent +counterbalanced by his losses to Tigranes in his old age; but on the +whole he must be regarded as one of the more vigorous and successful of +the Parthian monarchs, and as combining courage with prudence. It is to +his credit that he saw the advantage of establishing friendly relations +with Rome at a time when an ordinary Oriental monarch might have +despised the distant Republic, and have thought it beneath his dignity +to make overtures to so strange and anomalous a power. Whether he +definitely foresaw the part which Rome was about to play in the East, +we may doubt; but at any rate he must have had a prevision that the +part would not be trifling or insignificant. Of the private character of +Mithridates we have no sufficient materials to judge. If it be true that +he put his envoy, Orobazus, to death on account of his having allowed +Sulla to assume a position at their conference derogatory to the dignity +of the Parthian State, we must pronounce him a harsh master; but the +tale, which rests wholly on the weak authority of the gossip-loving +Plutarch, is perhaps scarcely to be accepted. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + + +_Dark period of Parthian History. Doubtful succession of the Monarchs. +Accession of Sanatrceces, ab. B.C. 76. Position of Parthia during the +Mithridatic Wars. Accession of Phraates III. His relations with Pompey. +His death. Civil War between his two sons, Mithridates and Orodes. Death +of Mithridates._ + + +The successor of Mithridates II. is unknown. It has been argued, indeed, +that the reigns of the known monarchs of this period would not be unduly +long if we regarded them as strictly consecutive, and placed no blank +between the death of Mithridates II. and the accession of the next +Arsaces whose name has come down to us. Sanatrodoeces, it has been said, +may have been, and may, therefore, well be regarded as, the successor +of Mithridates. But the words of the epitomizer of Trogus, placed at +the head of this chapter, forbid the acceptance of this theory. The +epitomizer would not have spoken of "many kings" as intervening between +Mithridates II. and Orodes, if the number had been only three. The +expression implies, at least, four or five monarchs; and thus we have +no choice but to suppose that the succession of the kings is here +imperfect, and that at least one or two reigns were interposed between +those of the second Mithridates and of the monarch known as Sanatroeces, +Sinatroces, or Sintricus. + +A casual notice of a Parthian monarch in a late writer may supply the +gap, either wholly or in part. Lucian speaks of a certain Mnasciras as +a Parthian king, who died at the advanced age of ninety-six. As there +is no other place in the Parthian history at which the succession is +doubtful, and as no such name as Mnascris occurs elsewhere in the list, +it seems necessary, unless we reject Lucian's authority altogether, to +insert this monarch here. We cannot say, however, how long he reigned, +or ascribe to him any particular actions; nor can we say definitely +what king he either succeeded or preceded. It is possible that his reign +covered the entire interval between Mithridates II. and Sanatroeces; it +is possible, on the other hand, that he had successors and predecessors, +whose names have altogether perished. + +The expression used by the epitomizer of Trogus, and a few words +dropped by Plutarch, render it probable that about this time there were +contentions between various members of the Arsacid family which issued +in actual civil war. Such contentions are a marked feature of the later +history; and, according to Plutarch, they commenced at this period. We +may suspect, from the great age of two of the monarchs chosen, that +the Arsacid stock was now very limited in number, that it offered no +candidates for the throne whose claims were indisputable, and that +consequently at each vacancy there was a division of opinion among the +"Megistanes," which led to the claimants making appeal, if the election +went against them, to the arbitrament of arms. + +The dark time of Parthian history is terminated by the +accession--probably in B.C. 76--of the king above mentioned as known +by the three names of Sanatroeces, Sinatroces, and Sintricus. The form, +Sanatroeces, which appears upon the Paithian coins, is on that account +to be preferred. The king so called had reached when elected the +advanced age of eighty. It may be suspected that he was a son of the +sixth Arsaces (Mithridates I.), and consequently a brother of Phraates +II. He had, perhaps, been made prisoner by that Scythians in the course +of the disastrous war waged by that monarch, and had been retained in +captivity for above fifty years. At any rate, he appears to have +been indebted to the Scythians in some measure for the crown which he +acquired so tardily, his enjoyment of it having been secured by the help +of a contingent of troops furnished to him by the Scythian tribe of the +Sacauracae. + +The position of the Empire at the time of his accession was one of +considerable difficulty. Parthia, during the period of her civil +contentions, had lost much ground in the west, having been deprived by +Tigranes of at least two important provinces. At the same time she had +been witness of the tremendous struggle between Rome and Pontus which +commenced in B.C. 88, was still continuing, and still far from decided, +when Sanatroeces came to the throne. An octogenarian monarch was unfit +to engage in strife, and if Sanatroeces, notwithstanding this drawback, +had been ambitious of military distinction, it would have been difficult +for him to determine into which scale the interests of his country +required that he should cast the weight of his sword. On the one hand, +Parthia had evidently much to fear from the military force and the +covetous disposition of Tigranes, king of Armenia, the son-in-law of +Mithridates, and at this time his chosen alley. Tigranes had hitherto +been continually increasing in strength. By the defeat of Artanes, king +of Sophene, or Armenia Minor, he had made himself master of Armenia +in its widest extent; by his wars with Parthia herself he had acquired +Gordyene, or Northern Mesopotamia, and Adiabene, or the entire rich +tract east of the middle Tigris (including Assyria Proper and Arbelitis), +as far, at any rate, as the course of the lower Zab; by means which are +not stated he had brought under subjection the king of the important +country of Media Artropatene, independent since the time of Alexander. +Invited into Syria, about B.C. 83, by the wretched inhabitants, wearied +with the perpetual civil wars between the princes of the house of the +Seleucidae, he had found no difficulty in establishing himself as +king over Cilicia, Syria, and most of Phoenicia. About B.C. 80 he +had determined on building himself a new capital in the province of +Gordyene, a capital of a vast size, provided with all the luxuries +required by an Oriental court, and fortified with walls which recalled +the glories of the ancient cities of the Assyrians. The position of this +huge town on the very borders of the Parthian kingdom, in a province +which had till very recently been Parthian, could be no otherwise +understood that as a standing menace to Parthia itself, the proclamation +of an intention to extend the Armenian dominion southwards, and to +absorb at any rate all the rich and fertile country between Gordyene +and the sea. Thus threatened by Armenia, it was impossible for +Sanatroeces cordially to embrace the side of Mithridates, with which +Armenia and its king were so closely allied; it was impossible for him +even to wish that the two allies should be free to work their will on +the Asiatic continent unchecked by the power which alone had for the +last twelve years obstructed their ambitious projects. + +On the other hand, there was already among the Asiatic princes generally +a deep distrust of Rome--a fear that in the new people, which had +crept so quietly into Asia, was to be found a power more permanently +formidable than the Macedonians, a power which would make up for want +of brilliancy and dash by a dogged perseverance in its aims, and a +stealthy, crafty policy, sure in the end to achieve great and striking +results. The acceptance of the kingdom of Attalus had not, perhaps, +alarmed any one; but the seizure of Phrygia during the minority of +Mithridates, without so much as a pretext, and the practice, soon +afterwards established, of setting up puppet kings, bound to do the +bidding of their Roman allies, had raised suspicions; the ease with +which Mithridates notwithstanding his great power and long preparation, +had been vanquished in the first war (B.C. 88-84) had aroused fears; and +Sanatroeces could not but misdoubt the advisability of lending aid to +the Romans, and so helping them to obtain a still firmer hold on Western +Asia. Accordingly we find that when the final war broke out, in B.C. 74, +his inclination was, in the first instance, to stand wholly aloof, and +when that became impossible, then to temporize. To the application +for assistance made by Mithridates in B.C. 72 a direct negative was +returned; and it was not until, in B.C. 69, the war had approached his +own frontier, and both parties made the most earnest appeals to him for +aid, that he departed from the line of pure abstention, and had recourse +to the expedient of amusing, both sides with promises, while he +helped neither. According to Plutarch, this line of procedure offended +Lucullus, and had nearly induced him to defer the final struggle with +Mithridates and Tigranes, and turn his arms against Parthia. But the +prolonged resistance of Nisibis, and the successes of Mithridates in +Pontus, diverted the danger; and the war rolling northwards, Parthia was +not yet driven to take a side, but was enabled to maintain her neutral +position for some years longer. + +Meanwhile the aged Sanatroeces died, and was succeeded by his son, +Phraates III. This prince followed at first his father's example, and +abstained from mixing himself up in the Mithridatic war; but in B.C. +66, being courted by both sides, and promised the restoration of the +provinces lost to Tigranes, he made alliance with Pompey, and undertook, +while the latter pressed the war against Mithridates, to find occupation +for the Armenian monarch in his own land. This engagement he executed +with fidelity. It had happened that the eldest living son of Tigranes, a +prince bearing the same name as his father, having raised a rebellion +in Armenia and been defeated, had taken refuge in Parthia with Phraates. +Phraates determined to take advantage of this circumstance. The young +Tigranes was supported by a party among his countrymen who wished to see +a youthful monarch upon the throne; and Phraates therefore considered +that he would best discharge his obligations to the Romans by fomenting +this family quarrel, and lending a moderate support to the younger +Tigranes against his father. He marched an army into Armenia in the +interest of the young prince, overran the open country, and advanced +on Artaxata, the capital. Tigranes, the king, fled at his approach, and +betook himself to the neighboring mountains. Artaxata was invested; +but as the siege promised to be long, the Parthian monarch after a +time withdrew, leaving the pretender with as many troops as he thought +necessary to press the siege to a successful issue. The result, however, +disappointed his expectations. Scarcely was Phraates gone, when the old +king fell upon his son, defeated him, and drove him beyond his borders. +He was forced, however, soon afterwards, to submit to Pompey, who, while +the civil war was raging in Armenia, had defeated Mithridates and driven +him to take refuge in the Tauric Chersonese. + +Phraates, now, naturally expected the due reward of his services, +according to the stipulations of his agreement with Pompey. But that +general was either dissatisfied with the mode in which the Parthian had +discharged his obligations, or disinclined to strengthen the power which +he saw to be the only one in these parts capable of disputing with Rome +the headship of Asia. He could scarcely prevent, and he does not seem +to have tried to prevent, the recovery of Adiabene by the Parthians; +but the nearer province of Gordyene to which they had an equal claim, +he would by no means consent to their occupying. At first he destined it +for the younger Tigranes. When the prince offended him, he made it over +to Ariobarzanes, the Cappadocian monarch. That arrangement not taking +effect, and the tract being disputed between Phraates and the elder +Tigranes, he sent his legate, Afranius, to drive the Parthians out of +the country, and delivered it over into the hands of the Armenians. +At the same time he insulted the Parthian monarch by refusing him +his generally recognized title of "King of Kings." He thus entirely +alienated his late ally, who remonstrated against the injustice with +which he was treated, and was only deterred from declaring war by the +wholesome fear which he entertained of the Roman arms. + +Pompey, on his side, no doubt took the question into consideration +whether or no he should declare the Parthian prince a Roman enemy, and +proceed to direct against him the available forces of the Empire. He had +purposely made him hostile, and compelled him to take steps which might +have furnished a plausible _casus belli_. But, on the whole, he found +that he was not prepared to venture on the encounter. The war had not +been formally committed to him; and if he did not prosper in it, he +dreaded the accusations of his enemies at Rome. He had seen, moreover, +with his own eyes; that the Parthians were an enemy far from despicable, +and his knowledge of campaigning told him that success against them was +not certain. He feared to risk the loss of all the glory which he had +obtained by grasping greedily at more, and preferred enjoying the fruits +of the good luck which had hitherto attended him to tempting fortune on +a new field. He therefore determined that he would not allow himself to +be provoked into hostilities by the reproaches, the dictatorial words, +or even the daring acts of the Parthian King. When Phraates demanded his +lost provinces he replied, that the question of borders was one which +lay, not between Parthia and Rome, but between Parthia and Armenia. When +he laid it down that the Euphrates properly bounded the Roman territory, +and charged Pompey not to cross it, the latter said he would keep to +the just bounds, whatever they were. When Tigranes complained that after +having been received into the Roman alliance he was still attacked by +the Parthian armies, the reply of Pompey was that he was willing to +appoint arbitrators who should decide all the disputes between the two +nations. The moderation and caution of these answers proved contagious. +The monarchs addressed resolved to compose their differences, or at any +rate to defer the settlement of them to a more convenient time. They +accepted Pompey's proposal of an arbitration; and in a short time an +arrangement was effected by which relations of amity were re-established +between the two countries. + +It would seem that not very long after the conclusion of this peace and +the retirement of Pompey from Asia (B.C. 62), Phraates lost his life. He +was assassinated by his two sons, Mithridates and Orodes; for what cause +we are not told. Mithridates, the elder of the two, succeeded him +(about B.C. 60); and, as all fear of the Romans had now passed away +in consequence of their apparently peaceful attitude, he returned soon +after his accession to the policy of his namesake, Mithridates II., and +resumed the struggle with Armenia from which his father had desisted. +The object of the war was probably the recovery of the lost province of +Gordyene, which, having been delivered to the elder Tigranes by Pompey, +had remained in the occupation of the Armenians. Mithridates seems to +have succeeded in his enterprise. When we next obtain a distinct view of +the boundary line which divides Parthia from her neighbors towards the +north and the north-west, which is within five years of the probable +date of Mithridates's accession, we find Gordyene once more a Parthian +province. As the later years of this intermediate lustre are a time +of civil strife, during which territorial gains can scarcely have been +made, we are compelled to refer the conquest to about B.C. 39-57. But +in this case it must have been due to Mithridates III., whose reign is +fixed with much probability to the years B.C. 60-56. + +The credit which Mithridates had acquired by his conduct of the Armenian +war he lost soon afterwards by the severity of his home administration. +There is reason to believe that he drove his brother, Orodes, into +banishment. At any rate, he ruled so harshly and cruelly that within +a few years of his accession the Parthian nobles deposed him, and, +recalling Orodes from his place of exile, set him up as king in his +brother's room. Mithridates was, it would seem, at first allowed to +govern Media as a subject monarch; but after a while his brother grew +jealous of him, and deprived him of this dignity. Unwilling to acquiesce +in his disgrace, Mithridates fled to the Romans, and being favorably +received by Gabinius, then proconsul of Syria, endeavored to obtain +his aid against his countrymen. Gabinius, who was at once weak and +ambitious, lent a ready ear to his entreaties, and was upon the point +of conducting an expedition into Parthia, when he received a still more +tempting invitation from another quarter. Ptolemy Auletes, expelled +from Egypt by his rebellious subjects, asked his aid, and having +recommendations from Pompey, and a fair sum of ready money to disburse, +found little difficulty in persuading the Syrian proconsul to relinquish +his Parthian plans and march the force at his disposal into Egypt. +Mithridates, upon this, withdrew from Syria, and re-entering the +Parthian territory, commenced a civil war against his brother, finding +numerous partisans, especially in the region about Babylon. It may be +suspected that Seleucia, the second city in the Empire, embraced his +cause. Babylon, into which he had thrown himself, sustained a long siege +on his behalf, and only yielded when compelled by famine. Mithridates +might again have become a fugitive; but he was weary of the +disappointments and hardships which are the ordinary lot of a pretender, +and preferred to cast himself on the mercy and affection of his brother. +Accordingly he surrendered himself unconditionally to Orodes; but this +prince, professing to place the claims of patriotism above those of +relationship, caused the traitor who had sought aid from Rome to be +instantly executed. Thus perished Mithridates III. after a reign which +cannot have exceeded five years, in the winter of B.C. 56, or the early +spring of B.C. 55. Orodes, on his death, was accepted as king by the +whole nation. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + + +_Accession of Orodes I. Expedition of Crassus. His fate. Retaliatory +inroad of the Parthians into Syria under Pacorus, the son of Orodes. +Defeat of Pacorus by Cassius. His recall. End of the first War with +Rome._ + + +The complete triumph of Orodes over Mithridates, and his full +establishment in his kingdom, cannot be placed earlier than B.C. 56, and +most probably fell in B.C. 55. In this latter year Crassus obtained the +consulship at Rome, and, being appointed at the same time to the command +of the East, made no secret of his intention to march the Roman legions +across the Euphrates, and engage in hostilities with the great Parthian +kingdom. According to some writers, his views extended even further. He +spoke of the wars which Lucullus had waged against Tigranes and Pompey +against Mithridates of Pontus as mere child's play, and announced his +intention of carrying the Roman arms to Bactria, India, and the Eastern +Ocean. The Parthian king was thus warned betimes of the impending +danger, and enabled to make all such preparations against it as he +deemed necessary. More than a year elapsed between the assignment to +Crassus of Syria as his province, and his first overt act of hostility +against Orodes. + +It cannot be doubted that this breathing-time was well spent by the +Parthian monarch. Besides forming his general plan of campaign at his +leisure, and collecting, arming, and exercising his native forces, +he was enabled to gain over certain chiefs upon his borders, who had +hitherto held a semi-dependent position, and might have been expected +to welcome the Romans. One of these, Abgarus, prince of Osrhoene, or the +tract east of the Euphrates about the city of Edessa, had been received +into the Roman alliance by Pompey, but, with the fickleness common among +Orientals, he now readily changed sides, and undertook to play a double +part for the advantage of the Parthians. Another, Alchaudonius, an Arab +sheikh of these parts, had made his submission to Rome even earlier; but +having become convinced that Parthia was the stronger power of the two, +he also went over to Orodes. The importance of these adhesions would +depend greatly on the line of march which Crassus might determine to +follow in making his attack. Three plans were open to him. He might +either throw himself on the support of Artavasdes, the Armenian monarch, +who had recently succeeded his father Tigranes, and entering Armenia, +take the safe but circuitous route through the mountains into Adiabene, +and so by the left bank of the Tigris to Ctesiphon; or he might, like +the younger Cyrus, follow the course of the Euphrates to the latitude of +Seleucia, and then cross the narrow tract of plain which there separates +the two rivers; or, finally, he might attempt the shortest but most +dangerous line across the Belik and Khabour, and directly through the +Mesopotamian desert. If the Armenian route were preferred, neither +Abgarus nor Alchaudonius would be able to do the Parthians much service; +but if Crassus resolved on following either of the others, their +alliance could not but be most valuable. + +Crassus, however, on reaching his province, seemed in in haste to make +a decision. He must have arrived in Syria tolerably early in the spring +but his operations during the first year of his proconsulship were +unimportant. He seems at once to have made up his mind to attempt +nothing more than a reconnaissance. Crossing the Euphrates at Zeugma, +the modern Bir or Bireh-jik, he proceeded to ravage the open country, +and to receive the submission of the Greek cities, which were numerous +throughout the region between the Euphrates and the Belik. The country +was defended by the Parthian satrap with a small force; but this was +easily defeated, the satrap himself receiving a wound. One Greek city +only, Zenodotium, offered resistance to the invader; its inhabitants, +having requested and received a Roman garrison of one hundred men, +rose upon them and put them barbarously to the sword; whereupon Crassus +besieged and took the place, gave it up to his army to plunder, and +sold the entire population for slaves. He then, as winter drew near, +determined to withdraw into Syria, leaving garrisons in the various +towns. The entire force left behind is estimated at eight thousand men. + +It is probable that Orodes had expected a more determined attack, and +had retained his army near his capital until it should become evident +by which route the enemy would advance against him. Acting on an inner +circle, he could readily have interposed his forces, on whichever +line the assailants threw themselves. But the tardy proceedings of his +antagonist made his caution superfluous. The first campaign was over, +and there had scarcely been a collision between the troops of the two +nations. Parthia had been insulted by a wanton attack, and had lost some +disaffected cities; but no attempt had been made to fulfil the grand +boasts with which the war had been undertaken. + +It may be suspected that the Parthian monarch began now to despise his +enemy. He would compare him with Lucullus and Pompey, and understand +that a Roman army, like any other, was formidable, or the reverse, +according as it was ably or feebly commanded. He would know that Crassus +was a sexagenarian, and may have heard that he had never yet shown +himself a captain or even a soldier. Perhaps he almost doubted whether +the proconsul had any real intention of pressing the contest to a +decision, and might not rather be expected, when he had enriched himself +and his troops with Mesopotamian plunder, to withdraw his garrisons +across the Euphrates. Crassus was at this time showing the worst side +of his character in Syria, despoiling temples of their treasures, and +accepting money in lieu of contingents of troops from the dynasts of +Syria and Palestine. Orodes, under these circumstances, sent an embassy +to him, which was well calculated to stir to action the most sluggish +and poor-spirited of commanders. "If the war," said his envoys, "was +really waged by Rome, it must be fought out to the bitter end. But if, +as they had good reason to believe, Crassus, against the wish of his +country, had attacked Parthia and seized her territory for his own +private gain, Arsaces would be moderate. He would have pity on the +advanced years of the proconsul, and would give the Romans back those +men of theirs, who were not so much keeping watch in Mesopotamia as +having watch kept on them." Crassus, stung with the taunt, exclaimed, +"He would return the ambassadors an answer at Seleucia." Wagises, the +chief ambassador, prepared for some such exhibition of feeling, and, +glad to heap taunt on taunt, replied, striking the palm of one hand with +the fingers' of the other: "Hairs will grow here, Crassus, before you +see Seleucia." + +Still further to quicken the action of the Romans, before the winter +was well over, the offensive was taken against their adherents in +Mesopotamia. The towns which held Roman garrisons were attacked by the +Parthians in force; and, though we do not hear of any being captured, +all of them were menaced, and all suffered considerably. + +If Crassus needed to be stimulated, these stimulants were effective; and +he entered on his second campaign with a full determination to compel +the Parthian monarch to an engagement, and, if possible, to dictate +peace to him at his capital. He had not, however, in his second +campaign, the same freedom with regard to his movements that he had +enjoyed the year previous. The occupation of Western Mesopotamia cramped +his choice. It had, in fact, compelled him before quitting Syria to +decline, definitely and decidedly, the overtures of Artavasdes, who +strongly urged on him to advance by way of Armenia, and promised him +in that case an important addition to his forces. Crassus felt himself +compelled to support his garrisons, and therefore to make Mesopotamia, +and not Armenia, the basis of his operations, He crossed the Euphrates a +second time at the same point as before, with an army composed of 35,000 +heavy infantry, 4,000 light infantry, and 4,000 horse. There was still +open to him a certain choice of routes. The one preferred by his chief +officers was the line of the Euphrates, known as that which the Ten +Thousand had pursued in an expedition that would have been successful +but for the death of its commander. Along this line water would be +plentiful; forage and other supplies might be counted on to a certain +extent; and the advancing army, resting on the river, could not be +surrounded. Another, but one that does not appear to have been suggested +till too late, was that which Alexander had taken against Darius; the +line along the foot of the Mons Masius, by Edessa, and Nisibis, +to Nineveh. Here too waters and supplies would have been readily +procurable, and by clinging to the skirts of the hills the Roman +infantry would have set the Parthian cavalry at defiance. Between these +two extreme courses to the right and to the left were numerous slightly +divergent lines across the Mesopotamian plain, all shorter than either +of the two above-mentioned, and none offering any great advantage over +the remainder. + +It is uncertain what choice the proconsul would have made, had the +decision been left simply to his own judgment. Probably the Romans had a +most dim and indistinct conception of the geographical character of the +Mesopotamian region, and were ignorant of its great difficulties. +They remained also, it must be remembered, up to this time, absolutely +unacquainted with the Parthian tactics and accustomed as they were to +triumph over every enemy against whom they fought, it would scarcely +occur to them that in an open field they could suffer defeat. They were +ready, like Alexander, to encounter any number of Asiatics, and only +asked to be led against the foe as quickly as possible. When, therefore, +Abgarus, the Osrhoene prince, soon after Crassus had crossed the +Euphrates, rode into his camp, and declared that the Parthians did not +intend to make a stand, but were quitting Mesopotamia and flying with +their treasure to the remote regions of Hyrcania and Scythia, leaving +only a rear guard under a couple of generals to cover the retreat, it is +not surprising that the resolution was taken to give up the circuitous +route of the Euphrates, and to march directly across Mesopotamia in the +hope of crushing the covering detachment, and coming upon the flying +multitude encumbered with baggage, which would furnish a rich spoil to +the victors. In after times it was said that C. Cassius Longinus and +some other officers were opposed to this movement, add foresaw its +danger; but it must be questioned whether the whole army did not readily +obey its leader's order, and commence without any forebodings its march +through Upper Mesopotamia. That region has not really the character +which the apologists for Roman disaster in later times gave to it. It +is a region of swelling hills, and somewhat dry gravelly plains. It +possesses several streams and rivers, besides numerous springs. At +intervals of a few miles it was studded with cities and villages; nor +did the desert really begin until the Khabour was crossed. The army of +Crassus had traversed it throughout its whole extent during the summer +of the preceding year, and must have been well acquainted with both its +advantages and drawbacks. But it is time that we should consider what +preparations the Parthian monarch had made against the threatened +attack. He had, as already stated, come to terms with his outlying +vassals, the prince of Osrhoene, and the sheikh of the Scenite Arabs, +and had engaged especially the services of the former against his +assailant. He had further, on considering the various possibilities of +the campaign, come to the conclusion that it would be best to divide +his forces, and, while himself attacking Artavasdes in the mountain +fastnesses of his own country, to commit the task of meeting and coping +with the Romans to a general of approved talents. It was of the greatest +importance to prevent the Armenians from effecting a junction with the +Romans, and strengthening them in that arm in which they were especially +deficient, the cavalry. Perhaps nothing short of an invasion of his +country by the Parthian king in person would have prevented Artavasdes +from detaching a portion of his troops to act in Mesopotamia. And no +doubt it is also true that Orodes had great confidence in his general, +whom he may even have felt to be a better commander than himself. +Surenas, as we must call him, since his name has not been preserved to +us, was in all respects a person of the highest consideration. He was +the second man in the kingdom for birth, wealth, and reputation. In +courage and ability he excelled all his countrymen; and he had the +physical advantages of commanding height and great personal beauty. When +he went to battle, he was accompanied by a train of a thousand camels, +which carried his baggage; and the concubines in attendance on him +required for their conveyance two hundred chariots. A thousand horseman +clad in mail, and a still greater number of light-armed, formed +his bodyguard. At the coronation of a Parthian monarch, it was his +hereditary right to place the diadem on the brow of the new sovereign. +When Orodes was driven into banishment it was he who brought him back to +Parthia in triumph. When Seleucia revolted, it was he who at the assault +first mounted the breach and, striking terror into the defenders, took +the city. Though less than thirty years of age at the time when he was +appointed commander, he was believed to possess, besides these various +qualifications, consummate prudence and sagacity. + +The force which Orodes committed to his brave and skillful lieutenant +consisted entirely of horse. This was not the ordinary character of a +Parthian army, which often comprised four or five times as many infantry +as cavalry. It was, perhaps, rather fortunate accident than profound +calculation that caused the sole employment against the Romans of this +arm. The foot soldiers were needed for the rough warfare of the Armenian +mountains; the horse would, it was known, act with fair effect in the +comparatively open and level Mesopotamia. As the king wanted the footmen +he took them, and left to his general the troops which were not required +for his own operations. + +The Parthian horse, like the Persian, was of two kinds, standing in +strong contrast the one to the other. The bulk of their cavalry was of +the lightest and most agile description. Fleet and active coursers, with +scarcely any caparison but a headstall and a single rein, were mounted +by riders clad only in a tunic and trousers, and armed with nothing +but a strong bow and a quiver full of arrows. A training begun in early +boyhood made the rider almost one with his steed; and he could use his +weapons with equal ease and effect whether his horse was stationary +or at full gallop, and whether he was advancing towards or hurriedly +retreating from his enemy. His supply of missiles was almost +inexhaustible, for when he found his quiver empty, he had only to retire +a short distance and replenish his stock from magazines, borne on +the backs of camels, in the rear. It was his ordinary plan to keep +constantly in motion when in the presence of an enemy, to gallop +backwards and forwards, or round and round his square or column, never +charging it, but at a moderate interval plying it with his keen and +barbed shafts which were driven by a practised hand from a bow of +unusual strength. Clouds of this light cavalry enveloped the advancing +or the retreating foe, and inflicted grievous damage without, for the +most part, suffering anything in return. + +But this was not the whole. In addition to these light troops, a +Parthian army comprised always a body of heavy cavalry, armed on an +entirely different system. The strong horses selected for this service +were clad almost wholly in mail. Their head, neck, chest, even their +sides and flanks, were protected by scale-armor of brass or iron, sewn, +probably, upon leather. Their riders had cuirasses and cuisses of the +same materials, and helmets of burnished iron. For an offensive weapon +they carried a long and strong spear or pike. They formed a serried +line in battle, bearing down with great weight on the enemy whom they +charged, and standing firm as an iron wall against the charges that were +made upon them. A cavalry answering to this in some respects had been +employed by the later Persian monarchs, and was in use also among the +Armenians at this period; but the Parthian pike was apparently more +formidable than the corresponding weapons of those nations, and the +light spear carried at this time by the cavalry of a Roman army was no +match for it. + +The force entrusted to Surenas comprised troops of both these +classes. No estimate is given us of their number, but it was probably +considerable. At any rate it was sufficient to induce him to make a +movement in advance--to cross the Sinjar range and the river Khabour, +and take up his position in the country between that stream and the +Belik--instead of merely seeking to cover the capital. The presence +of the traitor Abgarus in the camp of Crassus was now of the utmost +importance to the Parthian commander. Abgarus, fully trusted, and at the +head of a body of light horse, admirably adapted for outpost service, +was allowed, upon his own request, to scour the country in front of the +advancing Romans, and had thus the means of communicating freely with +the Parthian chief. He kept Surenas informed of all the movements and +intentions of Crassus, while at the same time he suggested to Crassus +such a line of route as suited the views and designs of his adversary. +Our chief authority for the details of the expedition tells us that he +led the Roman troops through an arid and trackless desert, across plains +without tree, or shrub, or even grass, where the soil was composed of a +light shifting sand, which the wind raised into a succession of hillocks +that resembled the waves of an interminable sea. The soldiers, he says, +fainted with the heat and with the drought, while the audacious Osrhoene +scoffed at their complaints and reproaches, asking them whether they +expected to find the border-tract between Arabia and Assyria a country +of cool streams and shady groves, of baths, and hostelries, like their +own delicious Campania. But our knowledge of the geographical character +of the region through which the march lay makes it impossible for us to +accept this account as true. The country between the Euphrates and the +Belik, as already observed, is one of alternate hill and plain, neither +destitute of trees nor ill-provided with water. The march through it +could have presented no great difficulties. All that Abgarus could do to +serve the Parthian cause was, first, to induce Crassus to trust himself +to the open country, without clinging either to a river or to the +mountains, and, secondly, to bring him, after a hasty march, and in the +full heat of the day, into the presence of the enemy. Both these things +he contrived to effect, and Surenas was, no doubt, so far beholden to +him. But the notion that he enticed the Roman army into a trackless +desert, and gave it over, when it was perishing through weariness, +hunger, and thirst, into the hands of its enraged enemy, is in +contradiction with the topographical facts, and is not even maintained +consistently by the classical writers. + +It was probably on the third or fourth day after he had quitted the +Euphrates that Crassus found himself approaching his enemy. After a +hasty and hot march he had approached the banks of the Belik, when his +scouts brought him word that they had fallen in with the Parthian army, +which was advancing in force and seemingly full of confidence. Abgarus +had recently quitted him on the plea of doing him some undefined +service, but really to range himself on the side of his real friends, +the Parthians. His officers now advised Crassus to encamp upon the +river, and defer an engagement till the morrow; but he had no fears; his +son, Publius, who had lately joined him with a body of Gallic horse sent +by Julius Caesar, was anxious for the fray; and accordingly the Roman +commander gave the order to his troops to take some refreshment as they +stood, and then to push forward rapidly. Surenas, on his side, had taken +up a position on wooded and hilly ground, which concealed his numbers, +and had even, we are told, made his troops cover their arms with cloths +and skins, that the glitter might not betray them. But, as the Romans +drew near, all concealment was cast aside; the signal for battle was +given; the clang of the kettledrums arose on every side; the squadrons +came forward in their brilliant array; and it seemed at first as if the +heavy cavalry was about to charge the Roman host, which was formed in a +hollow square with the light-armed in the middle, and with supporters +of horse along the whole line, as well as upon the flanks. But, if this +intention was ever entertained, it was altered almost as soon as formed, +and the better plan was adopted of halting at a convenient distance and +assailing the legionaries with flight after flight of arrows, delivered +without a pause and with extraordinary force. The Roman endeavored to +meet this attack by throwing forward his own skirmishers; but they were +quite unable to cope with the numbers and the superior weapons of the +enemy, who forced them almost immediately to retreat, and take refuge +behind the line of the heavy-armed. These were then once more exposed to +the deadly missiles, which pierced alike through shield and breast-plate +and greaves, and inflicted the most fearful wounds. More than once the +legionaries dashed forward, and sought to close with their assailants, +but in vain. The Parthian squadrons retired as the Roman infantry +advanced, maintaining the distance which they thought best between +themselves and their foe, whom they plied with their shafts as +incessantly while they fell back as when they rode forward. For a while +the Romans entertained the hope that the missiles would at last be all +spent; but when they found that each archer constantly obtained a fresh +supply from the rear, this expectation deserted them. It became evident +to Crassus that some new movement must be attempted; and, as a last +resource, he commanded his son, Publius, whom the Parthians were +threatening to outflank, to take such troops as he thought proper, +and charge. The gallant youth was only too glad to receive the order. +Selecting his Gallic cavalry, who numbered 1000, and adding to them 500 +other horsemen, 500 archers, and about 4000 legionaries, he advanced +at speed against the nearest squadrons of the enemy. The Parthians +pretended to be afraid, and beat a hasty retreat. Publius followed +with all the impetuosity of youth, and was soon out of the sight of his +friends, pressing the flying foe, whom he believed to be panic-stricken. +But when they had drawn him on sufficiently, they suddenly made a +stand, brought their heavy cavalry up against his line, and completely +enveloped him and his detachment with their light-armed. Publius made +a desperate resistance. His Gauls seized the Parthian pikes with their +hands and dragged the encumbered horsemen to the ground; or dismounting, +slipped beneath the horses of their opponents, and stabbing them in the +belly, brought steed and rider down upon themselves. His legionaries +occupied a slight hillock, and endeavored to make a wall of their +shields, but the Parthian archers closed around them, and slew them +almost to a man. Of the whole detachment, nearly six thousand strong, no +more than 500 were taken prisoners, and scarcely one escaped. The young +Crassus might, possibly, had he chosen to make the attempt, have forced +his way through the enemy to Ichnee, a Greek town not far distant; but +he preferred to share the fate of his men. Rather than fall into the +hands of the enemy, he caused his shield-bearer to dispatch him; and his +example was followed by his principal officers. The victors struck off +his head, and elevating it on a pike, returned to resume their attack on +the main body of the Roman army. + +The main body, much relieved by the diminution of the pressure upon +them, had waited patiently for Publius to return in triumph, regarding +the battle as well-nigh over and success as certain. After a time the +prolonged absence of the young captain aroused suspicions, which grew +into alarms when messengers arrived telling of his extreme danger. +Crassus, almost beside himself with anxiety, had given the word to +advance, and the army had moved forward a short distance, when +the shouts of the returning enemy were heard, and the head of the +unfortunate officer was seen displayed aloft, while the Parthian +squadrons, closing in once more, renewed the assault on their remaining +foes with increased vigor. The mailed horsemen approached close to +the legionaries and thrust at them with the long pikes while the +light-armed, galloping across the Roman front, discharged their unerring +arrows over the heads of their own men. The Romans could neither +successfully defend themselves nor effectively retaliate. Still +time brought some relief. Bowstrings broke, spears were blunted or +splintered, arrows began to fail, thews and sinews to relax; and when +night closed in both parties were almost equally glad of the cessation +of arms which the darkness rendered compulsory. + +It was the custom of the Parthians, as of the Persians, to bivouac at a +considerable distance from an enemy. Accordingly, at nightfall they +drew off, having first shouted to the Romans that they would grant the +general one night in which to bewail his son; on the morrow they would +come and take him prisoner, unless he preferred the better course of +surrendering himself to the mercy of Arsaces. A short breathing-space +was thus allowed the Romans, who took advantage of it to retire towards +Carrhae, leaving behind them the greater part of their wounded, to the +number of 4,000. A small body of horse reached Carrhae about midnight, +and gave the commandant such information as led him to put his men under +arms and issue forth to the succor of the proconsul. The Parthians, +though the cries of the wounded made them well aware of the Roman +retreat, adhered to their system of avoiding night combats, and +attempted no pursuit till morning. Even then they allowed themselves to +be delayed by comparatively trivial matters--the capture of the Roman +camp, the massacre of the wounded, and the slaughter of the numerous +stragglers scattered along the line of march--and made no haste to +overtake the retreating army. The bulk of the troops were thus enabled +to effect their retreat in safety to Carrhae, where, having the +protection of walls, they were, at any rate for a time secure. + +It might have been expected that the Romans would here have made a +stand. The siege of a fortified place by cavalry is ridiculous, if we +understand by siege anything more than a very incomplete blockade. And +the Parthians were notoriously inefficient against walls. There was a +chance, moreover, that Artavasdes might have been more successful than +his ally, and, having repulsed the Parthian monarch, might march his +troops to the relief of the Romans. But the soldiers were thoroughly +dispirited, and would not listen to these suggestions. Provisions no +doubt ran short, since, as there had been no expectation of a +disaster, no preparations had been made for standing a siege. The Greek +inhabitants of the place could not be trusted to exhibit fidelity to a +falling cause. Moreover, Armenia was near; and the Parthian system +of abstaining from action during the night seemed to render escape +tolerably easy. It was resolved, therefore, instead of clinging to the +protection of the walls, to issue forth once more, and to endeavor by a +rapid night march to reach the Armenian hills. The various officers seem +to have been allowed to arrange matters for themselves. Cassius took +his way towards the Euphrates, and succeeded in escaping with 500 horse. +Octavius, with a division which is estimated at 5,000 men, reached the +outskirts of the the hills at a place called Sinnaca, and found himself +in comparative security. Crassus, misled by his guides, made but poor +progress during the night; he had, however, arrived within little +more than a mile of Octavius before the enemy, who would not stir till +daybreak, overtook him. Pressed upon by their advancing squandrons, he, +with his small band of 2,000 legionaries and a few horsemen, occupied a +low hillock connected by a ridge of rising ground with the position of +Sinnaca. Here the Parthian host beset him; and he would infallibly have +been slain or captured at once, had not Octavius, deserting his place +of safety, descended to the aid of his commander. The united 7,000 held +their own against the enemy, having the advantage of the ground, and +having perhaps by the experience of some days learnt the weak points of +Parthian warfare. + +Surenas was anxious, above all things, to secure the person of the Roman +commander. In the East an excessive importance is attached to this +proof of success; and there were reasons which made Crassus particularly +obnoxious to his antagonists. He was believed to have originated, and +not merely conducted, the war, incited thereto by simple greed of gold. +He had refused with the utmost haughtiness all discussion of terms, and +had insulted the majesty of the Parthians by the declaration that he +would treat nowhere but at their capital. If he escaped, he would +be bound at some future time to repeat his attempt; if he were made +prisoner, his fate would be a terrible warning to others. But now, as +evening approached, it seemed to the Parthian that the prize which he +so much desired was about to elude his grasp. The highlands of Armenia +would be gained by the fugitives during the night, and further pursuit +of them would be hopeless. It remained that he should effect by craft +what he could no longer hope to gain by the employment of force; and to +this point all his efforts were now directed. He drew off his troops +and left the Romans without further molestation. He allowed some of his +prisoners to escape and rejoin their friends, having first contrived +that they should overhear a conversation among his men, of which the +theme was the Parthian clemency, and the wish of Orodes to come to terms +with the Romans. He then, having allowed time for the report of his +pacific intentions to spread, rode with a few chiefs towards the Roman +camp, carrying his bow unstrung and his right hand stretched out in +token of amity. "Let the Roman General," he said, "come forward with an +equal number of attendants, and confer with me in the open space between +the armies on terms of peace." The aged proconsul was disinclined to +trust these overtures; but his men clamored and threatened, upon which +he yielded, and went down into the plain, accompanied by Octavius and +a few others. Here he was received with apparent honor, and terms were +arranged; but Surenas required that they should at once be reduced to +writing, "since," he said, with pointed allusion to the bad faith of +Pompey, "you Romans are not very apt to remember your engagements." A +movement being requisite for the drawing up of the formal instruments, +Crassus and his officers were induced to mount upon horses furnished by +the Parthians, who had no sooner seated the proconsul on his steed, +than he proceeded to hurry him forward, with the evident intention of +carrying him off to their camp. The Roman officers took the alarm and +resisted. Octavius snatched a sword from a Parthian and killed one of +the grooms who was hurrying Crassus away. A blow from behind stretched +him on the ground lifeless. A general melee followed, and in the +confusion Crassus was killed, whether by one of his own side and with +his own consent, or by the hand of a Parthian is uncertain. The +army, learning the fate of their general, with but few exceptions, +surrendered. Such as sought to escape under cover of the approaching +night were hunted down by the Bedouins who served under the Parthian +standard, and killed almost to a man. Of the entire army which had +crossed the Euphrates, consisting of above 40,000 men, not more than one +fourth returned. One half of the whole number perished. Nearly 10,000 +prisoners were settled by the victors in the fertile oasis of Margiana, +near the northern frontier of the empire, where they intermarried with +native wives, and became submissive Parthian subjects. + +Such was the result of this great expedition, the first attempt of the +grasping and ambitious Romans, not so much to conquer Parthia, as to +strike terror into the heart of her people, and to degrade them to +the condition of obsequious dependants on the will and pleasure of the +"world's lords." The expedition failed so utterly, not from any want +of bravery on the part of the soldiers employed in it, nor from any +absolute superiority of the Parthian over the Roman tactics, but partly +from the incompetence of the commander, partly from the inexperience of +the Romans, up to this date, in the nature of the Parthian warfare and +in the best manner of meeting it. To attack an enemy whose main arm is +the cavalry with a body of foot-soldiers, supported by an insignificant +number of horse, must be at all times rash and dangerous. To direct +such an attack on the more open part of the country, where cavalry could +operate freely, was wantonly to aggravate the peril. After the first +disaster, to quit the protection of walls, when it had been obtained, +was a piece of reckless folly. Had Crassus taken care to obtain the +support of some of the desert tribes, if Armenia could not help him, +and had he then advanced either by the way of the Mons Masius and the +Tigris, or along the line of the Euphrates, the issue of his attack +might have been different. He might have fought his way to Seleucia and +Ctesiphon, as did Trajan, Avidius Cassius, and Septimius Severas, and +might have taken and plundered those cities. He would no doubt have +experienced difficulties in his retreat; but he might have come off no +worse than Trajan, whose Parthian expedition has been generally regarded +as rather augmenting than detracting from his reputation. But an +ignorant and inexperienced commander, venturing on a trial of arms +with an enemy of whom he knew little or nothing, in their own country, +without support or allies, and then neglecting every precaution +suggested by his officers, allowing himself to be deceived by a +pretended friend, and marching straight into a net prepared for him, +naturally suffered defeat. The credit of the Roman arms does not greatly +suffer by the disaster, nor is that of the Parthians greatly enhanced. +The latter showed, as they had shown in their wars against the +Syro-Macedonians, that there somewhat loose and irregular array was +capable of acting with effect against the solid masses and well-ordered +movements of disciplined troops. They acquired by their use of the bow a +fame like that which the English archers obtained for the employment of +the same weapon at Crecy and Agincourt. They forced the arrogant Romans +to respect them, and to allow that there was at least one nation in the +world which could meet them on equal terms and not be worsted in the +encounter. They henceforth obtained recognition from Graeco-Roman +writers--albeit a grudging and covert recognition--as the second Power +in the world, the admitted rival of Rome, the only real counterpoise +upon the earth to the power which ruled from the Euphrates to the +Atlantic Ocean. + +While the general of King Orodes was thus successful against the Romans +in Mesopotamia, the king himself had in Armenia obtained advantages of +almost equal value, though of a different kind. Instead of contending +with Artavasdes, he had come to terms with him, and had concluded a +close alliance, which he had sought to confirm and secure by uniting +his son, Pacorus, in marriage with a sister of the Armenian monarch. A +series of festivities was being held to celebrate this auspicious +event, when news came of Surenas's triumph, and of the fate of Crassus. +According to the barbarous customs of the East, the head and hand of the +slain proconsul accompanied the intelligence. We are told that at +the moment of the messenger's arrival the two sovereigns, with their +attendants, were amusing themselves with a dramatic entertainment. Both +monarchs had a good knowledge of the Greek literature and language, in +which Artavasdes had himself composed historical works and tragedies. +The actors were representing the famous scene in the "Bacchae" of +Euripides, where Agave and the Bacchanals come upon the stage with the +mutilated remains of the murdered Pentheus, when the head of Crassus was +thrown in among them. Instantly the player who personated Agave seized +the bloody trophy, and placing it on his thyrsus instead of the one +he was carrying, paraded it before the delighted spectators, while he +chanted the well-known lines: + + From the mountain to the hall + New-cut tendril, see, we bring-- + Blessed prey! + +The horrible spectacle was one well suited to please an Eastern +audience: it was followed by a proceeding of equal barbarity and still +more thoroughly Oriental. The Parthians, in derision of the motive which +was supposed to have led Crassus to make his attack, had a quantity of +gold melted and poured it into his mouth. + +Meanwhile Surenas was amusing his victorious troops, and seeking to +annoy the disaffected Seleucians, by the performance of a farcical +ceremony. He spread the report that Crassus was not killed but captured; +and, selecting from among the prisoners the Roman most like him in +appearance, he dressed the man in woman's clothes, mounted him upon +a horse, and requiring him to answer to the names of "Crassus" and +"Imperator," conducted him in triumph to the Grecian city. Before him +went, mounted on camels, a band, arrayed as trumpeters and lictors, the +lictors' rods having purses suspended to them, and the axes in their +midst being crowned with the bleeding heads of Romans. In the rear +followed a train of Seloucian music-girls, who sang songs derisive of +the effeminacy and cowardice of the proconsul. After this pretended +parade of his prisoner through the streets of the town, Surenas called +a meeting of the Seleucian senate, and indignantly denounced to them the +indecency of the literature which he had found in the Roman tents. +The charge, it is said, was true; but the Seleucians were not greatly +impressed by the moral lesson read to them, when they remarked the train +of concubines that had accompanied Surenas himself in the field, and +thought of the loose crowd of dancers, singers, and prostitutes, that +was commonly to be seen in the rear of a Parthian army. + +The political consequences of the great triumph which the Parthians had +achieved were less than might have been anticipated. Mesopotamia was, +of course, recovered to its extremest limit, the Euphrates; Armenia +was lost to the Roman alliance, and thrown for the time into complete +dependence upon Parthia. The whole East was, to some extent, excited; +and the Jews, always impatient of a foreign yoke, and recently aggrieved +by the unprovoked spoliation of their Temple by Crassus, flew to arms. +But no general movement of the Oriental races took place. It might have +been expected that the Syrians, Phoenicians, Cilicians, Oappadocians, +Phrygians, and other Asiatic peoples whose proclivities were altogether +Oriental, would have seized the opportunity of rising against their +Western lords and driving the Romans back upon Europe. It might have +been thought that Parthia at least would have assumed the offensive in +force, and have made a determined effort to rid herself of neighbors who +had proved so troublesome. But though the conjuncture of circumstances +was most favorable, the man was wanting. Had Mithridates or Tigranes +been living, or had Surenas been king of Parthia, instead of a mere +general, advantage would probably have been taken of the occasion, +and Rome might have suffered seriously. But Orodes seems to have been +neither ambitious as a prince nor skilful as a commander; he lacked +at any rate the keen and all-embracing glance which could sweep +the political horizon and, comprehending the exact character of the +situation, see at the same time how to make the most of it. He allowed +the opportunity to slip by without putting forth his strength or making +any considerable effort; and the occasion once lost never returned. + +In Parthia itself one immediate result of the expedition seems to have +been the ruin of Surenas. His services to his sovereign had exceeded +the measure which it is safe in the East for a subject to render to the +crown. The jealousy of his royal master was aroused, and he had to pay +the penalty of over-much success with his life. Parthia was thus left +without a general of approved merit, for Sillaces, the second in command +during the war with Crassus, had in no way distinguished himself through +the campaign. This condition of things may account for the feebleness of +the efforts made in B.C. 52 to retaliate on the Romans the damage done +by their invasion. A few weak bands only passed the Euphrates, and began +the work of plunder and ravage, in which they were speedily disturbed +by Cassius, who easily drove them back over the river. The next year, +however, a more determined attempt was made. Orodes sent his son, +Pacorus, the young bridegroom, to win his spurs in Syria, at the head of +a considerable force, and supported by the experience and authority of +an officer of ripe age, named Osaces. The army crossed the Euphrates +unresisted, for Cassius, the governor, had with him only the broken +remains of Crassus's army, consisting of about two legions, and, deeming +himself too weak to meet the enemy in the open field, was content to +defend the towns. The open country was consequently overrun; and a +thrill of mingled alarm and excitement passed through all the Roman +provinces in Asia. The provinces were at the time most inadequately +supplied with Roman troops, through the desire of Csesar and Pompey to +maintain large armies about their own persons. The natives were for the +most part disaffected and inclined to hail the Parthians as brethren +and deliverers. Excepting Deiotarus of Galatia, and Ariobarzanes of +Cappadocia, Rome had, as Cicero (then proconsul of Cilicia) plaintively +declared, "not a friend on the Asiatic continent. And Cappadocia was +miserably weak," and open to attack on the side of Armenia. Had Orodes +and Artavasdes acted in concert, and had the latter, while Orodes sent +his armies into Syria, poured the Armenian forces into Cappadocia and +then into Cilicia (as it was expected that he would do), there would +have been the greatest danger to the Roman possessions. As it was, the +excitement in Asia Minor was extreme. Cicero marched into Cappadocia +with the bulk of the Roman troops, and summoned to his aid Deiotarus +with his Galatians, at the same time writing to the Roman Senate to +implore reinforcements. Cassius shut himself up in Antioch, and allowed +the Parthian cavalry to pass him by, and even to proceed beyond the +bounds of Syria into Cilicia. But the Parthians seem scarcely to have +understood the situation of their adversaries, or to have been aware of +their own advantages. Instead of spreading themselves wide, raising the +natives, and leaving them to blockade the towns, while with their as +yet unconquered squandrons they defied the enemy in the open country, we +find them engaging in the siege and blockade of cities, for which they +were wholly unfit, and confining themselves almost entirely to the +narrow valley of the Orontes. Under these circumstances we are not +surprised to learn that Cassius, having first beat them back from +Antioch, contrived to lead them into an ambush on the banks of the +river, and severely handled their troops, even killing the general +Osaces. The Parthians withdrew from the neighborhood of the Syrian +capital after this defeat, which must have taken place about the end of +September, and soon afterwards went into winter quarters in Oyrrhestica, +or the part of Syria immediately east of Amanus. Here they remained +during the winter months under Pacorus, and it was expected that the war +would break out again with fresh fury in the spring; but Bibulus, +the new proconsul of Syria, conscious of his military deficiencies, +contrived to sow dissensions among the Parthians themselves, and to +turn the thoughts of Pacorus in another direction. He suggested to +Ornodapantes, a Parthian noble, with whom he had managed to open a +correspondence, that Pacorus would be a more worthy occupant of the +Parthian throne than his father, and that he would consult well for his +own interests if he were to proclaim the young prince, and lead the army +of Syria against Orodes. These intrigues seem, to have first caused the +war to languish, and then produced the recall of the expedition. Orodes +summoned Pacorus to return to Parthia before the plot contrived between +him and the Romans was ripe for execution; and Pacorus felt that no +course was open to him but to obey. The Parthian legions recrossed the +Euphrates in July, B.C. 50; and the First Roman War, which had lasted a +little more than four years, terminated without any real recovery by the +Romans of the laurels that they had lost at Carrhae. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + + +_Relations of Orodes with Pompey, and with Brutus and Cassius. Second +War with Rome. Great Parthian Expedition against Syria, Palestine, +and Asia Minor. Defeat of Saxa. Occupation of Antioch and Jerusalem. +Parthians driven out of Syria by Ventidius. Death of Pacorus. Death of +Orodes._ + + +The civil troubles that had seemed to threaten Parthia from the ambition +of the youthful Pacorus passed away without any explosion. The son +showed his obedience by returning home submissively when he might +have flown to arms; and the father accepted the act of obedience as a +sufficient indication that no rebellion had been seriously meant. We +find Pacorus not only allowed to live, but again entrusted a few years +later with high office by the Parthian monarch; and on this occasion we +find him showing no signs of disaffection or discontent. + +Nine years, however, elapsed between the recall of the young prince +and his reappointment to the supreme command against the Romans. Of the +internal condition of Parthia during this interval we have no account. +Apparently, Orodes ruled quietly and peaceably, contenting himself +with the glory which he had gained, and not anxious to tempt fortune by +engaging in any fresh enterprise. It was no doubt a satisfaction to +him to see the arms of the Romans, instead of being directed upon Asia, +employed in intestine strife; and we can well understand that he might +even deem it for his interest to foment and encourage the quarrels +which, at any rate for the time, secured his own empire from attack. It +appears that communications took place in the year B.C. 49 or 48 between +him and Pompey, a request for alliance being made by the latter, and an +answer being sent by Orodes, containing the terms upon which he would +consent to give Pompey effective aid in the war. If the Roman leader +would deliver into his hands the province of Syria and make it wholly +over to the Parthians, Orodes would conclude an alliance with him and +send help; but not otherwise. It is to the credit of Pompey that he +rejected these terms, and declined to secure his own private gain by +depriving his country of a province. Notwithstanding the failure of +these negotiations and the imprisonment of his envoy Hirrus, when a few +months later, having lost the battle of Pharsalia, the unhappy Roman was +in need of a refuge from his great enemy, he is said to have proposed +throwing himself on the friendship, or mercy, of Orodes. He had hopes, +perhaps, of enlisting the Parthian battalions in his cause, and of +recovering power by means of this foreign aid. But his friends combated +his design, and persuaded him that the risk, both to himself and to his +wife, Cornelia, was too great to be compatible with prudence. Pompey +yielded to their representations; and Orodes escaped the difficulty +of having to elect between repulsing a suppliant, and provoking the +hostility of the most powerful chieftain and the greatest general of the +age. + +Caesar quitted the East in B.C. 47 without entering into any +communication with Orodes. He had plenty of work upon his hands; and +whatever designs he may have even then entertained of punishing the +Parthian inroad into Syria, or avenging the defeat of Carrhae, he was +wise enough to keep his projects to himself and to leave Asia without +exasperating by threats or hostile movements the Power on which the +peace of the East principally depended. It was not until he had brought +the African and Spanish wars to an end that he allowed his intention of +leading an expedition against Parthia to be openly talked about. In +B.C. 34, four years after Pharsalia, having put down all his domestic +enemies, and arranged matters, as he thought, satisfactorily at Rome, he +let a decree be passed formally assigning to him "the Parthian War," and +sent the legions across the Adriatic on their way to Asia. What plan of +campaign he may have contemplated is uncertain; but there cannot be +a doubt that an expedition under his auspices would have been a most +serious danger to Parthia, and might have terminated in her subjection. +The military talents of the Great Dictator were of the most splendid +description; his powers of organization and consolidation enormous; +his prudence and caution equal to his ambition and his courage. Once +launched on a career of conquest in the East, it is impossible to say +whither he might not have carried the Roman eagles, or what countries +he might not have added to the Empire. But Parthia was saved from +the imminent peril without any effort of her own. The daggers of "the +Liberators" struck down on the 15th of March, B.C. 44, the only man whom +she had seriously to fear; and with the removal of Julius passed +away even from Roman thought for many a years the design which he had +entertained, and which he alone could have accomplished. + +In the civil war that followed on the murder of Julius the Parthians +are declared to have actually taken a part. It appears that--about +B.C. 46--a small body of Parthian horse-archers had been sent to the +assistance of a certain Bassus, a Roman who amid the troubles of the +times was seeking to obtain for himself something like an independent +principality in Syria. The soldiers of Bassus, after a while (B.C. 43), +went over in a body to Cassius, who was in the East collecting troops +for his great struggle with Antony and Octavian; and thus a handful of +Parthians came into his power. Of this circumstance he determined to +take advantage, in order to obtain, if possible, a considerable body of +troops from Orodes. He presented each of the Parthian soldiers with a +sum of money, and dismissed them all to their homes, at the same +time seizing the opportunity to send some of his own officers, as +ambassadors, to Orodes, with a request for substantial aid. On receiving +this application the Parthian monarch appears to have come to the +conclusion that it was to his interest to comply with it. Whether he +made conditions, or no, is uncertain; but he seems to have sent a pretty +numerous body of horse to the support of the "Liberators" against their +antagonists. Perhaps he trusted to obtain from the gratitude of Cassius +what he had failed to extort from the fears of Pompey. Or, perhaps, he +was only anxious to prolong the period of civil disturbance in the Roman +State, which secured his own territory from attack, and might ultimately +give him an opportunity of helping himself to some portion of the Roman +dominions in Asia. + +The opportunity seemed to him to have arrived in B.C. 40. Philippi +had been fought and lost. The "Liberators" were crushed. The struggle +between the Republicans and the Monarchists had come to an end. But, +instead of being united, the Roman world was more than ever divided; and +the chance of making an actual territorial gain at the expense of the +tryant power appeared fairer than it had ever been before. Three rivals +now held divided sway in the Roman State; each of them jealous of +the other two, and anxious for his own aggrandizement. The two chief +pretenders to the first place were bitterly hostile; and while the one +was detained in Italy by insurrection against his authority, the other +was plunged in luxury and dissipation, enjoying the first delights of a +lawless passion, at the Egyptian capital. The nations of the East were, +moreover, alienated by the recent exactions of the profligate Triumvir, +who, to reward his parasites and favorites, had laid upon them a burden +that they were scarcely able to bear. Further, the Parthians enjoyed at +this time the advantage of having a Roman officer of good position in +their service, whose knowledge of the Roman tactics, and influence in +Roman provinces, might be expected to turn to their advantage. Under +these circumstances, when the spring of the year arrived, Antony being +still in Egypt, and Octavian (as far as was known) occupied in the siege +of Perusia, the Parthian hordes, under Labienus and Pacorus, burst upon +Syria in greater force than on any previous occasion. Overrunning with +their numerous cavalry the country between the Euphrates and Antioch, +and thence the valley of the Orontes, they had (as usual) some +difficulty with the towns. From Apamaea, placed (like Durham) on a rocky +peninsula almost surrounded by the river, they were at first repulsed; +but, having shortly afterwards defeated Decidius Saxa, the governor of +Syria, in the open field, they received the submission of Apamaea and +Antioch, which latter city Saxa abandoned at their approach, flying +precipitately into Cilicia. Encouraged by these successes, Labienus and +Pacorus agreed to divide their troops, and to engage simultaneously in +two great expeditions. Pacorus undertook to carry the Parthian standard +throughout the entire extent of Syria, Phoenicia, and Palestine, while +Labienus determined to invade Asia Minor, and to see if he could not +wrest some of its more fertile regions from the Romans. Both expeditions +were crowned with success. Pacorus reduced all Syria, and all Phoenicia, +except the single city of Tyre, which he was unable to capture for want +of a naval force. He then advanced into Palestine, which he found in +its normal condition of intestine commotion. Hyrcanus and Antigonus, two +princes of the Asmonsean house, were rivals for the Jewish crown; and +the latter, whom Hyrcanus had expelled, was content to make common +cause with the invader, and to be indebted to a rude foreigner for +the possession of the kingdom whereto he aspired. He offered Pacorus a +thousand talents, and five hundred Jewish women, if he would espouse +his cause and seat him upon his uncle's throne. The offer was readily +embraced, and by the irresistible help of the Parthians a revolution +was effected at Jerusalem. Hyrcanus was deposed and mutilated. A new +priest-king was set up in the person of Antigonus, the last Asmonsean +prince, who held the capital for three years--B.C. 40-37--as a Parthian +satrap, the creature and dependant of the great monarchy on the further +side of the Euphrates. Meanwhile in Asia Minor Labienus carried all +before him. Decidius Saxa, having once more (in Cilicia) ventured upon +a battle, was not only defeated, but slain. Pamphylia, Lycia, and Caria +were overrun. Stratonicea was besieged; Mylasa and Alabanda were taken. +According to some writers the Parthians even pillaged Lydia and Ionia, +and were in possession of Asia to the shores of the Hellespont. It may +be said that for a full year Western Asia changed masters; the rule and +authority of Rome disappeared; and the Parthians were recognized as the +dominant power. But the fortune of war now began to turn. In the autumn +of B.C. 39 Antony, having set out from Italy to resume his command in +the East, despatched his lieutenant, Publius Ventidius, into Asia, with +orders to act against Labienus and the triumphant Parthians. Ventidius +landed unexpectedly on the coast of Asia Minor, and so alarmed Labienus, +who had no Parthian troops with him, that the latter fell back hurriedly +towards Cilicia, evacuating all the more western provinces, and at the +same time sending urgent messages to Pacorus to implore succor. Pacorus +sent a body of horse to his aid; but these troops, instead of putting +themselves under his command, acted independently, and, in a rash +attempt to surprise the Roman camp, were defeated by Ventidius, +whereupon they fled hastily into Cilicia, leaving Labienus to his fate. +The self-styled "Imperator," upon this, deserted his men, and sought +safety in flight; but his retreat was soon discovered, and he was +pursued, captured, and put to death. + +The Parthians, meanwhile, alarmed at the turn which affairs had +taken, left Antigonus to maintain their interests in Palestine, and +concentrated themselves in Northern Syria and Commagene, where +they awaited the advance of the Romans. A strong detachment, under +Pharnapates, was appointed to guard the Syrian Gates, or narrow pass +over Mount Amanus, leading from Cilicia into Syria. Here Ventidius +gained another victory. He had sent forward an officer named Pompsedius +Silo with some cavalry to endeavor to seize this post, and Pompaedius +had found himself compelled to an engagement with Pharnapates, in which +he was on the point of suffering defeat, when Ventidius himself, who had +probably feared for his subordinate's safety, appeared on the scene, +and turned the scale in favor of the Romans. The detachment under +Pharnapates was overpowered, and Pharnapates himself was among the +slain. When news of this defeat reached Pacorus, he resolved to retreat, +and withdrew his troops across the Euphrates. This movement he appears +to have executed without being molested by Ventidius, who thus recovered +Syria to the Romans towards the close of B.C. 39, or early in B.C. 38. + +But Pacorus was far from intending to relinquish the contest. He +had made himself popular among the Syrians by his mild and just +administration, and knew that they preferred his government to that of +the Romans. He had many allies among the petty princes and dynasts, who +occupied a semi-independent position on the borders of the Parthian and +Roman empires. Antigonus, whom he had established as king of the Jews, +still maintained himself in Judaea against the efforts of Herod, to whom +Augustus and Antony had assigned the throne. Pacorus therefore arranged +during the remainder of the winter for a fresh invasion of Syria in the +spring, and, taking the field earlier than his adversary expected, made +ready to recross the Euphrates. We are told that if he had crossed at +the usual point, he would have found the Romans unprepared, the legions +being still in their winter quarters, some north and some south of the +range of Taurus. Ventidius, however, contrived by a stratagem to induce +him to effect the passage at a different point, considerably lower +down the stream, and in this way to waste some valuable time, which +he himself employed in collecting his scattered forces. Thus, when the +Parthians appeared on the right bank of the Euphrates, the Roman general +was prepared to engage them, and was not even loath to decide the fate +of the war by a single battle. He had taken care to provide himself with +a strong force of slingers, and had entrenched himself in a position +on high ground at some distance from the river. The Parthians, finding +their passage of the Euphrates unopposed, and, when they fell in with +the enemy, seeing him entrenched, as though resolved to act only on the +defensive, became overbold; they thought the force opposed to them must +be weak or cowardly, and might yield its position without a blow, if +briskly attacked. Accordingly, as on a former occasion, they charged up +the hill on which the Roman camp was placed, hoping to take it by sheer +audacity. But the troops inside were held ready, and at the proper +moment issued forth; the assailants found themselves in their turn +assailed, and, fighting at a disadvantage on the slope, were soon driven +down the declivity. The battle was renewed in plain below, where the +mailed horse of the Parthians made a brave resistance; but the slingers +galled them severely, and in the midst of the struggle it happened that +by ill-fortune Pacorus was slain. The result followed which is almost +invariable with an Oriental army: having lost their leader, the soldiers +everywhere gave way; flight became universal, and the Romans gained a +complete victory. The Parthian army fled in two directions. Part made +for the bridge of boats by which it had crossed the Euphrates, but was +intercepted by the Romans and destroyed. Part turned northwards into +Commagene, and there took refuge with the king, Antiochus, who refused +to surrender them to the demand of Ventidius, and no doubt allowed them +to return to their own country. + +Thus ended the great Parthian invasion of Syria, and with it ended the +prospect of any further spread of the Arsacid dominion towards the +west. When the two great powers, Rome and Parthia, first came into +collision--when the first blow struck by the latter, the destruction of +the army of Crassus, was followed up by the advance of their clouds of +horse into Syria, Palestine, and Asia Minor--when Apamsea, Antioch, and +Jerusalem fell into their hands, when Decidius Saxa was defeated and +slain, Cilicia, Pamphylia, Caria, Lydia, and Ionia occupied--it seemed +as if Rome had found, not so much an equal as a superior; it looked as +if the power heretofore predominant would be compelled to contract +her frontier, and as if Parthia would advance hers to the Egean or the +Mediterranean. The history of the contest between the East and the West, +between Asia and Europe, is a history of reactions. At one time one of +the continents, at another time the other, is in the ascendant. The time +appeared to have come when the Asiatics were once more to recover their +own, and to beat back the European aggressor to his proper shores +and islands. The triumphs achieved by the Seljukian Turks between +the eleventh and the fifteenth centuries would in that case have been +anticipated by above a thousand years through the efforts of a kindred, +and not dissimilar people. But it turned out that the effort made was +premature. While the Parthian warfare was admirably adapted for the +national defence on the broad plains of inner Asia, it was ill +suited for conquest, and, comparatively speaking, ineffective in more +contracted and difficult regions. The Parthian military system had not +the elasticity of the Roman--it did not in the same way adapt itself to +circumstances, or admit of the addition of new arms, or the indefinite +expansion of an old one. However loose and seemingly flexible, it +was rigid in its uniformity; it never altered; it remained under the +thirtieth Arsaces such as it had been under the first, improved in +details, perhaps, but essentially the same system. The Romans, on +the contrary, were ever modifying their system, ever learning new +combinations or new manoeuvres or new modes of warfare from their +enemies. They met the Parthian tactics of loose array, continuous +distant missiles, and almost exclusive employment of cavalry, with +an increase in the number of their own horse, a larger employment of +auxiliary irregulars, and a greater use of the sling. At the same time +they learnt to take full advantage of the Parthian inefficiency against +walls, and to practice against them the arts of pretended retreat and +ambush. The result was, that Parthia found she could make no impression +upon the dominions of Rome, and, having become persuaded of this by the +experience of a decade of years, thenceforth laid aside for ever the +idea of attempting Western conquests. She took up, in fact, from this +time, a new attitude, Hitherto she had been consistently aggressive. She +had labored constantly to extend herself at the expense successively of +the Bactrians, the Scythians, the Syro-Macedonians, and the Armenians. +She had proceeded from one aggression to another, leaving only short +intervals between her wars, and had always been looking out for some +fresh enemy. Henceforth she became, comparatively speaking, pacific. She +was content for the most part, to maintain her limits. She sought no +new foe. Her contest with Rome degenerated into a struggle for influence +over the kingdom of Armenia; and her hopes were limited to the reduction +of that kingdom into a subject position. + +The death of Pacorus is said to have caused Orodes intense grief. For +many days he would neither eat nor speak; then his sorrow took another +turn. He imagined that his son had returned; he thought continually that +he heard or saw him; he could do nothing but repeat his name. Every now +and then, however, he awoke to a sense of the actual fact, and mourned +the death of his favorite with tears. After a while this extreme grief +wore itself out, and the aged king began to direct his attention once +more to public affairs. He grew anxious about the succession. Of the +thirty sons who still remained to him there was not one who had made +himself a name, or was in any way distinguished above the remainder. In +the absence of any personal ground of preference, Orodes--who seems +to have regarded himself as possessing a right to nominate the son who +should succeed him--thought the claims of primogeniture deserved to be +considered, and selected as his successor, Phraa-tes, the eldest of the +thirty. Not content with nominating him, or perhaps doubtful whether the +nomination would be accepted by the Megistanes, he proceeded further to +abdicate in his favor, whereupon Phraates became king. The transaction +proved a most unhappy one. Phraates, jealous of some of his brothers, +who were the sons of a princess married to Orodes, whereas his own +mother was only a concubine, removed them by assassination, and when the +ex-monarch ventured to express disapproval of the act added the crime +of parricide to fratricide by putting to death his aged father. Thus +perished Orodes, after a reign of eighteen years--the most memorable in +the Parthian annals. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + + +_Reign of Phraates IV. His cruelties. Flight of Monceses to Antony. +Antony's great Parthian Expedition, or Invasion of Media Atropatene. Its +Complete Failure. Subsequent Alliance of the Median King with Antony. +War between Parthia and Media. Rebellion raised against Phraates by +Tiridates. Phraates expelled. He recovers his Throne with the help of +the Scythians. His dealings with Augustus. His death and Character._ + + +The shedding of blood is like, "the letting out of water." When it once +begins, none can say where it will stop. The absolute monarch who, for +his own fancied security, commences a system of executions, is led on +step by step to wholesale atrocities from which he would have shrunk +with horror at the outset. Phraates had removed brothers whose superior +advantages of birth made them formidable rivals. He had punished with +death a father who ventured to blame his act, and to forget that by +abdication he had sunk himself to the position of a subject. Could he +have stopped here, it might have seemed that his severities proceeded +not so much from cruelty of disposition as from political necessity; +and historians, always tender in the judgments which they pass on kings +under such circumstances, would probably have condoned or justified his +conduct. But the taste for bloodshed grows with the indulgence of it. +In a short time the young king had killed all his remaining brothers, +although their birth was no better than his own, and there was no valid +ground for his fearing them; and soon afterwards, not content with the +murder of his own relations, he began to vent his fury upon the Parthian +nobles. Many of these suffered death; and such a panic seized the order +that numbers quitted the country, and dispersed in different directions, +content to remain in exile until the danger which threatened them should +have passed by. There, were others, however, who were not so patient. A +body of chiefs had fled to Antony, among whom was a certain Monseses, +a nobleman of the highest rank, who seems to have distinguished himself +previously in the Syrian wars. This person represented to Antony that +Phraates had by his tyrannical and bloody conduct made himself hateful +to his subjects, and that a revolution could easily be effected. If the +Romans would support him, he offered to invade Parthia; and he made +no doubt of wresting the greater portion of it from the hands of the +tyrant, and of being himself accepted as king. In that, case he would +consent to hold his crown of the Romans, who might depend upon his +fidelity and gratitude. Antony is said to have listened to these +overtures, and to have been induced by them to turn his thoughts to +an invasion of the Parthian kingdom. He began to collect troops and +to obtain allies with this object. He entered into negotiations with +Artavasdes, the Armenian king, who seems at this time to have been more +afraid of Rome than of Parthia, and engaged him to take a part in +his projected campaign. He spoke of employing Monseses in a separate +expedition. Under these circumstances Phraates became alarmed. He sent a +message to Monseses with promises of pardon and favor, which that chief +thought worthy of acceptance. Hereupon Monseses represented to Antony +that by a peaceful return he might perhaps do him as much service as by +having recourse to arms; and though Antony was not persuaded, he thought +it prudent to profess himself well satisfied, and to allow Monseses to +quit him. His relations with Parthia, he said, might perhaps be placed +on a proper footing without a war, and he was quite willing to try +negotiation. His ambassadors should accompany Monasses. They would be +instructed to demand nothing of Phraates but the restoration of the +Roman standards taken from Crassus, and the liberation of such of the +captive soldiers as were still living.' + +But Antony had really determined on war. It may be doubted whether it +had required the overtures of Monseses to put a Parthian expedition into +his thoughts. He must have been either more or less than a man if the +successes of his lieutenants had not stirred in his mind some feeling of +jealousy, and some desire to throw their victories into the shade by a +grand and noble achievement. Especially the glory of Ventidius, who had +been allowed the much-coveted honor of a triumph at Rome on account of +his defeats of the Parthians in Cilicia and Syria, must have moved +him to emulation, and have caused him to cast about for some means of +exalting his own military reputation above that of his subordinates. +For this purpose nothing, he must have known, would be so effectual as +a real Parthian success, the inflicting on this hated and dreaded foe +of an unmistakable humiliation, the dictating to them terms of peace on +their own soil after some crushing and overwhelming disaster. And, after +the victories of Ventidius, this did not appear to be so very difficult. +The prestige of the Parthian name was gone. Roman soldiers could be +trusted to meet them without alarm, and to contend with them without +undue excitement or flurry. The weakness, as well as the strength, of +their military system had come to be known; and expedients had been +devised by which its strong points were met and counterbalanced. At the +head of sixteen legions, Antony might well think that he could invade +Parthia successfully, and not only avoid the fate of Crassus, but gather +laurels which might serve him in good stead in his contest with his +great political rival. + +Nor can the Roman general be taxed with undue precipitation or with +attacking in insufficient force. He had begun, as already noticed, with +securing the co-operation of the Armenian king, Artavasdes, who promised +him a contingent of 7000 foot and 6000 horse. His Roman infantry is +estimated at 60,000; besides which he had 10,000 Gallic and Iberian +horse, and 30,000 light armed and cavalry of the Asiatic allies. His own +army thus amounted to 100,000 men; and, with the Armenian contingent, +his entire force would have been 113,000. It seems that it was his +original intention to cross the Euphrates into Mesopotamia, and thus to +advance almost in the footsteps of Crassus but when he reached the banks +of the river (about midsummer B.C. 37) he found such preparations +made to resist him that he abandoned his first design, and, turning +northwards, entered Armenia, determined to take advantage of his +alliance with Artavasdes, and to attack Parthia with Armenia as the +basis of his operations. Artavasdes gladly received him, and persuaded +him, instead of penetrating into Parthia itself, to direct his arms +against the territory of a Parthian subject-ally, the king of Media +Atropatene, whose territories adjoined Armenia on the southeast. +Artavasdes pointed out that the Median monarch was absent from his own +country, having joined his troops to those which Phraates had collected +for the defence of Parthia. His territory therefore would be open to +ravage, and even Praaspa, his capital, might prove an easy prey. The +prospect excited Antony, who at once divided his troops, and having +given orders to Oppius Statianus to follow him leisurely with the more +unwieldy part of the army, the baggage-train, and the siege batteries, +proceeded himself by forced marches to Praaspa with all the calvary and +the infantry of the better class. This town was situated at the distance +of nearly three hundred miles from the Armenian frontier; but the way +to it lay through well-cultivated plains, where food and water were +abundant. Antony performed the march without difficulty and at once +invested the place. The walls were strong, and the defenders numerous, +so that he made little impression; and when the Median king returned, +accompanied by his Parthian suzerain, to the defence of his country, the +capital seemed in so little danger that it was resolved to direct the +first attack on Statianus, who had not yet joined his chief. A most +successful onslaught was made on this officer, who was surprised, +defeated, and slain. Ten thousand Romans fell in the battle, and all the +baggage-wagons and engines of war were taken. A still worse result of +the defeat was the desertion of Aitavasdes, who, regarding the case of +the Romans as desperate, drew off his troops, and left Antony to his own +resources. + +The Roman general now found himself in great difficulties. He had +exhausted the immediate neighborhood of Praaspa, and was obliged to send +his foraging-parties on distant expeditions, where, being beyond the +reach of his protection, they were attacked and cut to pieces by the +enemy. He had lost his siege-train, and found it impossible to construct +another. Such works as he attempted suffered through the sallies of the +besieged: and in some of these his soldiers behaved so ill that he was +forced to punish their cowardice by decimation. His supplies failed, +and he had to feed his troops on barley instead of wheat. Meantime the +autumnal equinox was approaching, and the weather was becoming cold. The +Medes and Parthians, under their respective monarchs, hung about him, +impeded his movements, and cut off his stragglers, but carefully avoided +engaging him in a pitched battle. If he could have forced the city to a +surrender, he would have been in comparative safety, for he might have +gone into winter quarters there and have renewed the war in the ensuing +spring. But all his assaults, with whatever desperation they were made, +failed; and it became necessary to relinquish the siege and retire into +Armenia before the rigors of winter should set in. He could, however, +with difficulty bring himself to make a confession of failure, and +flattered himself for a while that the Parthians would consent to +purchase his retirement by the surrender of the Crassian captives and +standards. Having lost some valuable time in negotiations, at which the +Parthians laughed, at length, when the equinox was passed, he broke up +from before Praaspa, and commenced the work of retreat. There were two +roads by which he might reach the Araxes at the usual point of passage, +One lay towards the left, through a plain and open country, probably +that through which he had come; the other, which was shorter, but more +difficult, lay to the right, leading across a mountain-tract, but one +fairly supplied with water, and in which there were inhabited villages. +Antony was advised that the Parthians had occupied the easier route, +expecting that he would follow it, and intended to overwhelm him with +their cavalry in the plains. He therefore took the road to the +right through a rugged and inclement country--probably that between +Tahkt-i-Suleiman and Tabriz--and, guided by a Mardian who knew the +region well, proceeded to make his way back to the Araxes. His decision +took the Parthians by surprise, and for two days he was unmolested. +But by the third day they had thrown themselves across his path; and +thenceforward, for nineteen consecutive days, they disputed with Antony +every inch of his retreat, and inflicted on him the most serious +damage. The sufferings of the Roman army during this time, says a modern +historian of Rome, were unparalleled in their military annals. The +intense cold, the blinding snow and driving sleet, the want sometimes +of provisions, sometimes of water, the use of poisonous herbs, and the +harassing attacks of the enemy's cavalry and bowmen, which could only be +repelled by maintaining the dense array of the phalanx or the tortoise, +reduced the retreating army by one-third of its numbers. At length, +after a march of 300 Roman, or 277 British, miles, they reached the +river Araxes, probably at the Julfa ferry, and, crossing it, found +themselves in Armenia. But the calamities of the return were not yet +ended. Though it was arranged with Artavasdes that the bulk of the army +should winter in Armenia, yet, before the various detachments could +reach their quarters in different parts of the country, eight thousand +more had perished through the effects of past sufferings or the severity +of the weather. Altogether, out of the hundred thousand men whom Antony +led into Media Atropatene, less than seventy thousand remained to +commence the campaign which was threatened for the ensuing year. Well +may the unfortunate commander have exclaimed as he compared his own +heavy losses with the light ones of Xenophon and his Greeks in these +same regions, "Oh, those Ten Thousand! those Ten Thousand!" + +On the withdrawal of Antony into Armenia a quarrel broke out between +Phraates and his Median vassal. The latter regarded himself as wronged +in the division made of the Roman spoils, and expressed himself with so +much freedom on the subject as to offend his suzerain. He then began +to fear that he had gone too far, and that Phraates would punish him by +depriving him of his sovereignty. Accordingly, he was anxious to obtain +a powerful alliance, and on turning over in his mind all feasible +political combinations it seems to have occurred to him that his late +enemy, Antony, might be disposed to take him under his protection. He +doubtless knew that Artavasdes of Armenia had offended the Roman leader +by deserting him in the hour of his greatest peril, and felt that, if +Antony was intending to revenge himself on the traitor, he would be glad +to have a friend on the Armenian border. He therefore sent an ambassador +of rank to Alexandria, where Antony was passing the winter, and boldly +proposed the alliance. Antony readily accepted it; he was intensely +angered by the conduct of the Armenian monarch, and determined on +punishing his defection; he viewed the Median alliance as of the utmost +importance in connection with the design, which he still entertained, +of invading Parthia itself; and he saw in the powerful descendant of +Atropates a prince whom it would be well worth his while to bind to his +cause indissolubly. He therefore embraced the overtures made to him +with joy, and even rewarded the messenger who had brought them with a +principality. After sundry efforts to entice Artavasdes into his power, +which occupied him during most of B.C. 85, in the spring of B.C. 34 he +suddenly appeared in Armenia. His army, which had remained there from +the previous campaign, held all the more important positions, and, as he +professed the most friendly feelings towards Artavasdes, even proposing +an alliance between their families, that prince, after some hesitation, +at length ventured into his presence. He was immediately seized and put +in chains. Armenia was rapidly overrun. Artaxias, whom the Armenians +made king in the room of his father, was defeated and forced to take +refuge with the Parthians. Antony then arranged a marriage between the +daughter of the Median monarch and his own son by Cleopatra, Alexander, +and, leaving garrisons in Armenia, carried off Artavasdes and a rich +booty into Egypt. + +Phraates, during these transactions, stood wholly upon the defensive. It +may not have been unpleasing to him to see Artavasdes punished. It must +have gratified him to observe how Antony was injuring his own cause by +exasperating the Armenians, and teaching them to hate Rome even more +than they hated Parthia. But while Antony's troops held both Syria and +Armenia, and the alliance between Media Atropatene and Rome continued, +he could not venture to take any aggressive step or do aught but protect +his own frontier. He was obliged even to look on with patience, +when, early in B.C. 33, Antony appeared once more in these parts, and +advancing to the Araxes, had a conference with the Median monarch, +whereat their alliance was confirmed, troops exchanged, part of Armenia +made over to the Median king, and Jotapa, his daughter, given as a bride +to the young Alexander, whom Antony designed to make satrap of the East. +But no sooner had Antony withdrawn into Asia Minor in preparation +for his contest with Octavian than Phraates took the offensive. In +combination with Artaxias, the new Armenian king, he attacked Antony's +ally; but the latter repulsed him by the help of his Roman troops. Soon +afterwards, however, Antony recalled these troops without restoring +to the Median king his own contingent; upon which the two confederates +renewed their attack, and were successful. The Median prince was +defeated and taken prisoner. Artaxias recovered Armenia and massacred +all the Roman garrisons which he found in it. Both countries became once +more wholly independent of Rome, and it is probable that Media returned +to its old allegiance. + +But the successes of Phraates abroad produced ill consequences at +home. Elated by his victories, and regarding his position in Parthia as +thereby secured, he resumed the series of cruelties towards his subjects +which the Roman war had interrupted, and pushed them so far that an +insurrection broke out against his authority (B.C. 33), and he was +compelled to quit the country. The revolt was headed by a certain +Tiridates, who, upon its success, was made king by the insurgents. +Phraates fled into Scythia, and persuaded the Scythians to embrace his +cause. These nomads, nothing loth, took up arms, and without any great +difficulty restored Phraates to the throne from which his people had +expelled him. Tiridates fled at their approach, and, having contrived to +carry off in his flight the youngest son of Phraates, presented himself +before Octavian, who was in Syria at the time on his return from Egypt +(B.C. 30), surrendered the young prince into his hands, and requested +his aid against the tyrant. Octavian accepted the valuable hostage, but +with his usual caution, declined to pledge himself to furnish any help +to the pretender; he might remain, he said, in Syria, if he so wished, +and while he continued under Roman protection, a suitable provision +should be made for his support, but, he must not expect armed resistance +against the Parthian monarch. To that monarch, when some years +afterwards (B.C. 23) he demanded the surrender of his subject and the +restoration of his young son, Octavian answered that he could not give +Tiridates up to him, but he would restore him his son without a ransom. +He should expect, however, that in return for this kindness the Parthian +king would on his part deliver to the Romans the standards taken +from Crassus and Antony, together with all who survived of the Roman +captives. It does not appear that Phraates was much moved by the +Emperor's generosity. He gladly received his son; but he took no steps +towards the restoration of those proofs of Parthian victory which +the Romans were so anxious to recover. It was not until B.C. 20, when +Octavian (now become Augustus) visited the East, and war seemed the +probable alternative if he continued obstinate, that the Parthian +monarch brought himself to relinquish the trophies which were as much +prized by the victors as the vanquished. In extenuation of his act we +must remember that he was unpopular with his subjects, and that Augustus +could at any moment have produced a pretender, who had once occupied, +and with Roman help might easily have mounted for a second time, the +throne of the Arsacidse. + +The remaining years of Phraates--and he reigned for nearly twenty years +after restoring the standards--are almost unbroken by any event of +importance. The result of the twenty years' struggle between Rome and +Parthia had been to impress either nation with a wholesome dread of the +other. Both had triumphed on their own ground; both had failed when they +ventured on sending expeditions into the enemy's territory. Each now +stood on its guard, watching the movements of its adversary across +the Euphrates. Both had become pacific. It is a well-known fact that +Augustus left it as a principle of policy to his successors that the +Roman Empire had reached its proper limits, and could not with advantage +be extended further. This principle, followed with the utmost strictness +by Tiberius, was accepted as a rule by all the earlier Caesars, and +only regarded as admitting of rare and slight exceptions. Trajan was the +first who, a hundred and thirty years after the accession of Augustus, +made light of it and set it at defiance. With him re-awoke the spirit of +conquest, the aspiration after universal dominion. But in the meantime +there was peace--peace indeed not absolutely unbroken, for border wars +occurred, and Rome was tempted sometimes to interfere by arms in the +internal quarrels of her neighbors--but a general state of peace and +amity prevailed--neither state made any grand attack on the other's +dominions--no change occurred in the frontier, no great battle tested +the relative strength of the two peoples. Such rivalry as remained was +exhibited less in arms than in diplomacy and showed itself mainly in +endeavors on either side to obtain a predominant influence in Armenia. +There alone during the century and a half that intervened between Antony +and Trajan did the interests of Rome and Parthia come into collision, +and in connection with this kingdom alone did any struggle between the +two countries continue. + +Phraates, after yielding to Augustus in the matter of the standards and +prisoners, appears for many years to have studiously cultivated his good +graces. In the interval between B.C. 11 and B.C. 7, distrustful of his +subjects, and fearful of their removing him in order to place one of his +sons upon the Parthian throne, he resolved to send these possible rivals +out of the country; and on this occasion he paid Augustus the compliment +of selecting Rome for his children's residence. The youths were four in +number, Vonones, Seraspadanes, Rhodaspes, and Phraates; two of them were +married and had children; they resided at Rome during the remainder of +their father's lifetime, and were treated as became their rank, being +supported at the public charge and in a magnificent manner. The Roman +writers speak of these as "hostages" given by Phraates to the Roman +Emperor; but this was certainly not the intention of the Parthian +monarch; nor could the idea well be entertained by the Romans at the +time of their residence. + +These amicable relations between the two sovereigns would probably have +continued undisturbed till the death of one or the other, had not a +revolution occured in Armenia, which tempted the Parthian king beyond +his powers of resistance. On the death of Artaxias (B.C. 20), Augustus, +who was then in the East, had sent Tiberius into Armenia to arrange +matters, and Tiberius had placed upon the throne a brother of Artaxias, +named Tigranes. Tigranes died in B.C. 6, and the Armenians, without +waiting to know the will of the Roman Emperor, conferred the royal title +on his sons, for whose succession he had before his death paved the +way by associating them with him in the government. Enraged at this +assumption of independence, Augustus sent an expedition into Armenia +(B.C. 5), deposed the sons of Tigranes, and established on the throne a +certain Artavasdes, whose birth and parentage are not known to us. But +the Armenians were not now inclined to submit to foreign dictation; +they rose in revolt against Artavasdes (ab. B.C. 2), defeated his Roman +supporters, and expelled him from the kingdom. Another Tigranes was made +king; and, as it was pretty certain that the Romans would interfere +with this new display of the spirit of independence, the Parthians were +called in to resist the Roman oppressors. Armenia, was, in fact, too +weak to stand alone, and was obliged to lean upon one or other of the +two great empires upon her borders. Her people had no clear political +foresight, and allowed themselves to veer and fluctuate between the two +influences according as the feelings of the hour dictated. Rome had now +angered them beyond their very limited powers of endurance, and they +flew to Parthia for help, just as on other occasions we shall find them +flying to Rome. Phraates could not bring himself to reject the Armenian +overtures. Ever since the time of the second Mithridates it had been a +settled maxim of Parthian policy to make Armenia dependent; and, even +at the cost of a rupture with Rome, it seemed to Phraates that he must +respond to the appeal made to him. The rupture might not come. Augustus +was now aged, and might submit to the affront without resenting it. +He had lately lost the services of his best general, Tiberius, who, +indignant at slights put upon him, had gone into retirement at Rhodes. +He had no one that he could employ but his grandsons, youths who had not +yet fleshed their maiden swords. Phraates probably hoped that Augustus +would draw back before the terrors of a Parthian war under such +circumstances, and would allow without remonstrance the passing of +Armenia into the position of a subject-ally of Parthia. + +But if these were his thoughts, he had miscalculated. Augustus, from the +time that he heard of the Armenian troubles, and of the support given +to them by Parthia, seems never to have wavered in his determination to +vindicate the claims of Rome to paramount influence in Armenia, and to +have only hesitated as to the person whose services he should employ +in the business. He would have been glad to employ Tiberius; but that +morose prince had deserted him and, declining public life, had betaken +himself to Rhodes, where he was living in a self-chosen retirement. +Caius, the eldest of his grandsons, was, in B.C. 2, only eighteen years +of age; and, though the thoughts of Augustus at once turned in this +direction, the extreme youth of the prince caused him to hesitate +somewhat; and the consequence was that Caius did not start for the +East till late in B.C. 1. Meanwhile a change had occured in Parthia. +Phraates, who had filled the throne for above thirty-five years, ceased +to exist, and was succeeded by a young son, Phraataces, who reigned in +conjunction with the queen-mother, Thermusa, or Musa. + +The circumstances which brought about this change were the following. +Phraates IV. had married, late in life, an Italian slave-girl, sent him +as a present by Augustus; and she had borne him a son for whom she was +naturally anxious to secure the succession. According to some, it was +under her influence that the monarch had sent his four elder boys to +Rome, there to receive their education. At any rate, in the absence of +these youths, Phraataces, the child of the slave-girl, became the chief +support of Phraates in the administration of affairs, and obtained a +position in Parthia which led him to regard himself as entitled to the +throne so soon as it should become vacant. Doubtful, however, of his +father's goodwill, or fearful of the rival claims of his brothers, if +he waited till the throne was vacated in the natural course of events, +Phraataces resolved to anticipate the hand of time, and, in conjunction +with his mother, administered poison to the old monarch, from the +effects of which he died. A just Nemesis for once showed itself in that +portion of human affairs which passes before our eyes. Phraates IV., +the parricide and fratricide, was, after a reign of thirty-five years, +himself assassinated (B.C. 2) by a wife whom he loved only too fondly +and a son whom he esteemed and trusted. + +Phraates cannot but be regarded as one of the ablest of the Parthian +monarchs. His conduct of the campaign against Antony--one of the best +soldiers that Rome ever produced--was admirable, and showed him a master +of guerilla warfare. His success in maintaining himself upon the throne +for five and thirty years, in spite of rivals, and notwithstanding the +character which he obtained for cruelty, implies, in such a state as +Parthia, considerable powers of management. His dealings with Augustus +indicate much suppleness and dexterity. If he did not in the course of +his long reign advance the Parthian frontier, at any rate he was not +obliged to retract it. Apparently, he ceded nothing to the Scyths as +the price of their assistance. He maintained the Parthian supremacy +over Northern Media. He lost no inch of territory to the Romans. It was +undoubtedly a prudent step on his part to soothe the irritated vanity +of Rome by a surrender of useless trophies, and scarcely more useful +prisoners; and, we may doubt if this concession was not as effective as +the dread of the Parthian arms in producing that peace between the +two countries which continued unbroken for above ninety years from the +campaign of Antony, and without serious interruption for yet another +half century. If Phraates felt, as he might well feel after the +campaigns of Pacorus, that on the whole Rome was a more powerful state +than Parthia, and that consequently Parthia had nothing to gain but much +to lose in the contest with her western neighbor, he did well to allow +no sentiment of foolish pride to stand in the way of a concession +that made a prolonged peace between the two countries possible. It +is sometimes more honorable to yield to a demand than to meet it with +defiance; and the prince who removed a cause of war arising out of mere +national vanity, while at the same time he maintained in all essential +points the interests and dignity of his kingdom, deserved well of his +subjects, and merits the approval of the historian. As a man, Phraates +has left behind him a bad name: he was cruel, selfish, and ungrateful, a +fratricide and a parricide; but as a king he is worthy of respect, and, +in certain points, of admiration. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + + +_Short reigns of Phraataces, Orodes II., and Vonones I. Accession of +Artabanus III. His relations with Germanicus and Tiberius. His War with +Pharasmanes of Iberia. His First Expulsion from his Kingdom, and return +to it. His peace with Rome. Internal troubles of the Parthian Kingdom. +Second Expulsion and return of Artabanus. His Death._ + + +The accession of Phraataces made no difference in the attitude of +Parthia towards Armenia. The young prince was as anxious as his father +had been to maintain the Parthian claims to that country, and at first +perhaps as inclined to believe that Augustus would not dispute them. +Immediately upon his accession he sent ambassadors to Rome announcing +the fact, apologizing for the circumstances under which it had taken +place, and proposing a renewal of the peace which had subsisted between +Augustus and his father. Apparently, he said nothing about Armenia, but +preferred a demand for the surrender of his four brothers, whom no +doubt he designed to destroy. The answer of Augustus was severe in the +extreme. Addressing Phraataces by his bare name, without adding the +title of king, he required him to lay aside the royal appellation, which +he had arrogantly and without any warrant assumed, and at the same time +to withdraw his forces from Armenia. On the surrender of the Parthian +princes he kept silence, ignoring a demand which he had no intention of +according. It was clearly his design to set up one of the elder brothers +as a rival claimant to Phraataces, or at any rate to alarm him with the +notion that, unless he made concessions, this policy would be adopted. +But Phraataces was not to be frightened by a mere message. He responded +to Augustus after his own fashion, dispatching to him a letter wherein +he took to himself the favorite Parthian title of "king of kings," and +addressed the Roman Emperor simply as "Caesar." The attitude of defiance +would no doubt have been maintained, had Augustus confined himself to +menaces; when, however, it appeared that active measures would be taken, +when Augustus, in B.C. 1, sent his grandson, Caius, to the East with +orders to re-establish the Roman influence in Armenia even at the cost +of a Parthian war, and that prince showed himself in Syria with all the +magnificent surroundings of the Imperial dignity, the Parthian monarch +became alarmed. He had an interview with Caius in the spring of A.D. +1, upon an island in the Euphrates; where the terms of an arrangement +between the two Empires were discussed and settled. The armies of the +two chiefs were drawn up on the opposite banks of the river, facing one +another; and the chiefs themselves, accompanied by an equal number +of attendants, proceeded to deliberate in the sight of both hosts. +Satisfactory pledges having been given by the Parthian monarch, the +prince and king in turn entertained each other on the borders of their +respective dominions; and Caius returned into Syria, having obtained an +engagement from the Parthians to abstain from any further interference +with Armenian affairs. The engagement appears to have been honorably +kept; for when, shortly afterward, fresh complications occurred, and +Caius in endeavoring to settle them received his death-wound before +the walls of an Armenian tower, we do not hear of Parthia as in any way +involved in the unfortunate occurrence. The Romans and their partisans +in the country were left to settle the Armenian succession as they +pleased; and Parthia kept herself wholly aloof from the matters +transacted upon her borders. + +One cause--perhaps the main cause of this abstinence, and of the +engagement to abstain entered into by Phraataces, was doubtless the +unsettled state of things in Parthia itself. The circumstances under +which that prince had made himself king, though not unparalleled in the +Parthian annals, were such as naturally tended towards civil strife, +and as were apt to produce in Parthia internal difficulties, if not +disorders or commotions. Phraataces soon found that he would have a hard +task to establish his rule. The nobles objected to him, not only for the +murder of his father, but his descent from an Italian concubine, and the +incestuous commerce which he was supposed to maintain with her. They had +perhaps grounds for this last charge. At any rate Phraataces provoked +suspicion by the singular favors and honors which he granted to a woman +whose origin was mean and extraction foreign. Not content with private +marks of esteem and love, he departed from the practice of all former +Parthian sovereigns in placing her effigy upon his coins; and he +accompanied this act with fulsome and absurd titles. Musa was styled, +not merely "Queen," but "Heavenly Goddess," as if the realities of slave +origin and concubinage could be covered by the fiction of an apotheosis. +It is not surprising that the proud Parthian nobles were offended by +these proceedings, and determined to rid themselves of a monarch whom +they at once hated and despised. Within a few years of his obtaining +the throne an insurrection broke out against his authority; and after a +brief struggle he was deprived of his crown and put to death. The nobles +then elected an Arsacid, named Orodes, whose residence at the time and +relationship to the former monarchs are uncertain. It seems probable +that, like most princes of the blood royal, he had taken refuge in a +foreign country from the suspicions and dangers that beset all +possible pretenders to the royal dignity in Parthia, and was living in +retirement, unexpectant of any such offer, when a deputation of Parthian +nobles arrived and brought him the intelligence of his election. +It might have been expected that, obtaining the crown under these +circumstances, he would have ruled well; but, according to Josephus (who +is here, unfortunately, our sole authority), he very soon displayed so +much violence and cruelty of disposition that his rule was felt to be +intolerable; and the Parthians, again breaking into insurrection, rid +themselves of him, killing him either at a banquet or on a hunting +excursion. This done, they sent to Rome, and requested Augustus to allow +Vonones, the eldest son of Phraates IV., to return to Parthia in order +that he might receive his father's kingdom. The Emperor complied +readily enough, since he regarded his own dignity as advanced by the +transaction; and the Parthians at first welcomed the object of their +choice with rejoicings. But after a little time their sentiments +altered. The young prince, bred up in Rome, and accustomed to the +refinements of Western civilization, neglected the occupations which +seemed to his subjects alone worthy of a monarch's regard, absented +himself from the hunting-field, took small pleasure in riding, when he +passed through the streets indulged in the foreign luxury of a litter, +shrank with disgust from the rude and coarse feastings which formed a +portion of the national manners. He had, moreover, brought with him from +the place of his exile a number of Greek companions, whom the Parthians +despised and ridiculed; and the favors bestowed on these foreign +interlopers were seen with jealousy and rage. It was in vain that he +endeavored to conciliate his offended subjects by the openness of his +manners and the facility with which he allowed access to his person. In +their prejudiced eyes virtues and graces unknown to the nation hitherto +were not merits but defects, and rather increased, than diminished their +aversion. Having conceived a dislike for the monarch personally, they +began to look back with dissatisfaction on their own act in sending for +him. "Parthia," they said, "had indeed degenerated from her former self +to have requested a king to be sent her who belonged to another world +and had had a hostile civilization ingrained into him." All the glory +gained by destroying Crassus and repulsing Antony was utterly lost and +gone, if the country was to be ruled by Caesar's bond-slave, and the +throne of the Arsacidse to be treated like a Roman province. It would +have been bad enough to have had a prince imposed on them by the will +of a superior, if they had been conquered; it was worse, in all respects +worse, to suffer such an insult, when they had not even had war made +on them. Under the influence of such feelings as these, the Parthians, +after tolerating Vonones for a few years, rose against him (ab. A.D. +16), and summoned Artabanus, an Arsacid who had grown to manhood among +the Dahee of the Caspian region, but was at this time king of Media +Atropatene, to rule over them. + +It was seldom that a crown was declined in the ancient world; and +Artabanus, on receiving the overture, at once expressed his willingness +to accept the proffered dignity. He invaded Parthia at the head of an +army consisting of his own subjects, and engaged Vonones, to whom in his +difficulties the bulk of the Parthian people had rallied. The engagement +resulted in the defeat of the Median monarch, who returned to his own +country, and, having collected a larger army, made a second invasion. +This time he was successful. Vonones fled on horseback to Seleucia with +a small body of followers; while his defeated army, following in his +track, was pressed upon by the victorious Mede, and suffered great +losses. Artabanus, having entered Ctesiphon in triumph, was immediately +proclaimed king. Vonones, escaping from Seleucia, took refuge among +the Armenians; and, as it happened that just at this time the Armenian +throne was vacant, not only was an asylum granted him, but he was made +king of the country. It was impossible that Artabanus should tamely +submit to an arrangement which would have placed his deadly enemy in +a position to cause him constant annoyance. He, therefore, at once +remonstrated, both in Armenia and at Rome. As Rome now claimed the +investiture of the Armenian monarchs, he sent an embassy to Tiberius, +and threatened war if Vonones were acknowledged; while at the same time +he applied to Armenia and required the surrender of the refugee. An +important section of the Armenian nation was inclined to grant his +demand; Tiberius, who would willingly have supported Vonones, drew back +before the Parthian threats; Vonones found himself in imminent danger, +and, under the circumstances, determined on quitting Armenia and +betaking himself to the protection of the Roman governor of Syria. This +was Creticus Silanus, who received him gladly, gave him a guard, and +allowed him the state and title of king. Meanwhile Artabanus laid claim +to Armenia, and suggested as a candidate for the throne one of his own +sons, Orodes. + +Under these circumstances, the Roman Emperor, Tiberius, who had recently +succeeded Augustus, resolved to despatch to the East a personage of +importance, who should command the respect and attention of the Oriental +powers by his dignity, and impose upon them by the pomp and splendor +with which he was surrounded. He selected for this office Germanicus, +his nephew, the eldest son of his deceased brother, Drusus, a prince of +much promise, amiable in his disposition, courteous and affable in his +manners, a good soldier, and a man generally popular. The more to +strike the minds of the Orientals, he gave Germanicus no usual title or +province, but invested him with an extraordinary command over all the +Roman dominions to the east of the Hellespont, thus rendering him a sort +of monarch of Roman Asia. Full powers were granted him for making peace +or war, for levying troops, annexing provinces, appointing subject +kings, and performing other sovereign acts, without referring back to +Rome for instructions. A train of unusual magnificence accompanied him +to his charge, calculated to impress the Orientals with the conviction +that this was no common negotiator. Germanicus arrived in Asia early in +A.D. 18, and applied himself at once to his task. Entering Armenia at +the head of his troops, he proceeded to the capital, Artaxata, and, +having ascertained the wishes of the Armenians themselves, determined +on his course of conduct. To have insisted on the restoration of Vonones +would have been grievously to offend the Armenians who had expelled +him, and at the same time to provoke the Parthians, who could not have +tolerated a pretender in a position of power upon their borders; to +have allowed the pretensions of the Parthian monarch, and accepted the +candidature of his son, Orodes, would have lowered Rome in the opinion +of all the surrounding nations, and been equivalent to an abdication of +all influence in the affairs of Western Asia. Germanicus avoided either +extreme, and found happily a middle course. It happened that there was +a foreign prince settled in Armenia, who having grown up there had +assimilated himself in all respects to the Armenian ideas and habits, +and had thereby won golden opinions from both the nobles and the people. +This was Zeno, the son of Polemo, once king of the curtailed Pontus, +and afterwards of the Lesser Armenia, an outlying Roman dependency. The +Armenians themselves suggested that Zeno should be their monarch; and +Germanicus saw a way out of his difficulties in the suggestion. At the +seat of government, Artaxata, in the presence of a vast multitude of the +people, with the consent and approval of the principal nobles, he placed +with his own hand the diadem on the brow of the favored prince, and +saluted him as king under the new name of "Artaxias." He then returned +into Syria, where he was shortly afterwards visited by ambassadors from +the Parthian monarch. Artabanus reminded him of the peace concluded +between Rome and Parthia in the reign of Augustus, and assumed that +the circumstances of his own appointment to the throne had in no way +interfered with it. He would be glad, he said, to renew with Germanicus +the interchange of friendly assurances which had passed between his +predecessor, Phraataces, and Caius; and to accommodate the Roman +general, he would willingly come to meet him as far as the Euphrates; +meanwhile, until the meeting could take place, he must request that +Vonones should be removed to a greater distance from the Parthian +frontier, and that he should not be allowed to continue the +correspondence in which he was engaged with many of the Parthian nobles +for the purpose of raising fresh troubles. Germanicus replied politely, +but indefinitely, to the proposal of an interview, which he may have +thought unnecessary, and open to misconstruction. To the request for the +removal of Vonones he consented. Vonones was transferred from Syria to +the neighboring province of Cilicia; and the city of Pompeiopolis, built +by the great Pompey on the site of the ancient Soli, was assigned to him +as his residence. With this arrangement the Parthian monarch appears to +have been contented. Vonones on the other hand was so dissatisfied with +the change that in the course of the next year (A.D. 19) he endeavored +to make his escape; his flight was, however, discovered, and, pursuit +being made, he was overtaken and slain on the banks of the Pyramus. Thus +perished ingloriously one of the least blamable and most unfortunate of +the Parthian princes. + +After the death of Germanicus, in A.D. 19, the details of the Parthian +history are for some years unknown to us. It appears that during this +interval Artabanus [PLATE II. Fig. 5.] was engaged in wars with several +of the nations upon his borders, and met with so much success that he +came after a while to desire, rather than fear, a rupture with Rome. He +knew that Tiberius was now an old man, and that he was disinclined to +engage in distant wars; he was aware that Germanicus was dead; and he +was probably not much afraid of L. Vitellius, the governor of Syria, +who had been recently deputed by Tiberius to administer that province. +Accordingly in A.D. 34, the Armenian throne being once more vacant +by the death of Artaxias (Zeno), he suddenly seized the country, and +appointed his eldest son, whom Dio and Tacitus call simply Arsaces, to +be king. At the same time he sent ambassadors to require the restoration +of the treasure which Vonones had carried off from Parthia and had left +behind him in Syria or Cilicia. To this plain and definite demand were +added certain vague threats, or boasts, to the effect that he was +the rightful master of all the territory that had belonged of old to +Macedonia or Persia, and that it was his intention to resume possession +of the provinces, whereto, as the representative of Cyrus and Alexander, +he was entitled. He is said to have even commenced operations against +Cappadocia, which was an actual portion of the Roman Empire, when he +found that Tiberius, so far from resenting the seizure of Armenia, +had sent instructions to Vitellius, that he was to cultivate peaceful +relations with Parthia. Apparently he thought that a good opportunity +had arisen for picking a quarrel with his Western neighbor, and was +determined to take advantage of it. The aged despot, hidden in his +retreat of Capreae, seemed to him a pure object of contempt; and he +entertained the confident hope of defeating his armies and annexing +portions of his territory. + + +[Illustration: PLATE 2.] + + +But Tiberius was under no circumstances a man to be wholly despised. +Simultaneously with the Parthian demands and threats intelligence +reached him that the subjects of Artabanus were greatly dissatisfied +with his rule, and that it would be easy by fomenting the discontent to +bring about a revolution. Some of the nobles even went in person to Rome +(A.D. 35), and suggested that if Phraates, one of the surviving sons of +Phraates IV., were to appear under Roman protection upon the banks of +the Euphrates, an insurrection would immediately break out. Artabanus, +they said, among his other cruelties had put to death almost all the +adult males of the Arsacid family; a successful revolution could not be +hoped for without an Arsacid leader; if Tiberius, however, would +deliver to them the prince for whom they asked, this difficulty would be +removed, and there was then every reason to expect a happy issue to +the rebellion. The Emperor was not hard to persuade; he no doubt argued +that, whatever became of the attempt and those engaged in it, one result +at least was certain--Artabanus would find plenty of work to occupy him +at home, and would desist from his foreign aggressions. He therefore +let Phraates take his departure and proceed to Syria, glad to meet the +danger which had threatened him by craft and policy rather than by force +of arms. + +Artabanus soon became aware of the intrigue. He found that the +chief conspirators in Parthia were a certain Sinnaces, a nobleman +distinguished alike for his high birth and his great riches, and +a eunuch named Abdus, who held a position about the court, and was +otherwise a personage of importance. It would have been easy to seize +these two men, and execute them; but Artabanus was uncertain how far +the conspiracy extended, and thought it most prudent to defer bringing +matters to a crisis. He therefore dissembled, and was content to cause +a delay, first by administering to Abdus a slow poison, and then by +engaging Sinnaces so constantly in affairs of state that he had little +or no time to devote to plotting. Successful thus far by his own cunning +and dexterity, he was further helped by a stroke of good fortune, on +which he could not have calculated. Phraates, who thought that after +forty years of residence in Rome it was necessary to fit himself for +the position of Parthian king by resuming the long-disused habits of his +nation, was carried off, after a short residence in Syria, by a disease +which he was supposed to have contracted through the change in his mode +of life. His death must for the time have paralyzed the conspirators, +and have greatly relieved Artabanus. It was perhaps now, under the +stimulus of a sudden change from feelings of extreme alarm to fancied +security, that he wrote the famous letter to Tiberius, in which he +reproached him for his cruelty, cowardice, and luxuriousness of living, +and recommended him to satisfy the just desires of the subjects who +hated him by an immediate suicide. + +This letter, if genuine, must be pronounced under any circumstances +a folly; and if really sent at this time, it may have had tragical +consequences. It is remarkable that Tiberius, on learning the death of +Phraates, instead of relaxing, intensified his efforts. Not only did he +at once send out to Syria another pretender, Tiridates, a nephew of the +deceased prince, in order to replace him, but he made endeavors, such as +we do not hear of before, to engage other nations in the struggle; and +further, he enlarged the commission of Vitellius, giving him a general +superintendence over the affairs of the East. Thus Artabanus found +himself in greater peril than ever, and if he had really indulged in the +silly effusion ascribed to him was rightly punished. Pharasmanes, king +of Iberia, a portion of the modern Georgia, incited by Tiberius, +took the field (A.D. 35), and proclaimed his intention of placing his +brother, Mithridates, on the Armenian throne. Having by corruption +succeeded in bringing about the murder of Arsaces by his attendants, he +marched into Armenia, and became master of the capital without meeting +any resistance. Artabanus, upon this, sent his son Orodes to maintain +the Parthian cause in the disputed province; but he proved no match for +the Iberian, who was superior in numbers, in the variety of his troops, +and in familiarity with the localities. Pharasmanes had obtained the +assistance of his neighbors, the Albanians, and, opening the passes +of the Caucasus, had admitted through them a number of the Scythic or +Sarmatian hordes, who were always ready, when their swords were hired, +to take a part in the quarrels of the south. Orodes was unable to +procure either mercenaries or allies, and had to contend unassisted +against the three enemies who had joined their forces to oppose him. For +some time he prudently declined an engagement; but it was difficult to +restrain the ardor of his troops, whom the enemy exasperated by their +reproaches. After a while he was compelled to accept the battle which +Pharasmanes incessantly offered. His force consisted entirely of +cavalry, while Pharasmanes had besides his horse a powerful body of +infantry. The battle was nevertheless stoutly contested; and the victory +might have been doubtful, had it not happened that in a hand-to-hand +combat between the two commanders Orodes was struck to the ground by his +antagonist, and thought by most of his own men to be killed. As usual +under such circumstances in the East, a rout followed. If we may believe +Josephus, "many tens of thousands" were slain. Armenia was wholly lost; +and Artabanus found himself left with diminished resources and tarnished +fame to meet the intrigues of his domestic enemies. + +Still, he would not succumb without an effort. In the spring of A.D. +36, having levied the whole force of the Empire, he took the field and +marched northwards, determined, if possible, to revenge himself on +the Iberians and recover his lost province. But his first efforts were +unsuccessful; and before he could renew them Vitellius put himself at +the head of his legions, and marching towards the Euphrates threatened +Mesopotamia with invasion. Placed thus between two fires, the Parthian +monarch felt that he had no choice but to withdraw from Armenia and +return to the defence of his own proper territories, which in his +absence must have lain temptingly open to an enemy. His return caused +Vitellius to change his tactics. Instead of measuring his strength +against that which still remained to Artabanus, he resumed the weapon of +intrigue so dear to his master, and proceeded by a lavish expenditure of +money to excite disaffection once more among the Parthian nobles. This +time conspiracy was successful. The military disasters of the last two +years had alienated from Artabanus the affections of those whom his +previous cruelties had failed to disgust or alarm; and he found himself +without any armed force whereon he could rely, beyond a small body of +foreign guards which he maintained about his person. It seemed to him +that his only safety was in flight; and accordingly he quitted his +capital and removed himself hastily into Hyrcania, which was in the +immediate vicinity of the Scythian Dahse, among whom he had been brought +up. Here the natives were friendly to him, and he lived a retired life," +waiting" (as he said) "until the Parthians, who could judge an absent +prince with equity, though they could not long continue faithful to a +present one, should repent of their behavior to him." + +Upon learning the flight of Artabamis, Vitellius advanced to the banks +of the Euphrates, and introduced Tiridates into his kingdom. Fortunate +omens were said to have accompanied the passage of the river; and these +were followed by adhesions of greater importance. Ornospades, satrap of +Mesopotamia, was the first to join the standard of the pretender with +a large body of horse. He was followed by the conspirator Sinnaces, +his father Abdageses, the keeper of the king's treasures, and other +personages of high position. The Greek cities in Mesopotamia readily +opened their gates to a monarch long domiciled at Rome, from whom they +expected a politeness and refinement that would harmonize better with +their feelings than the manners of the late king, bred up among the +uncivilized Scyths. Parthian towns, like Halus and Artemita, followed +their example. Seleucia, the second city in the Empire, received the new +monarch with an obsequiousness that bordered on adulation. Not content +with paying him all customary royal honors, they appended to their +acclamations disparaging remarks upon his predecessor, whom they +affected to regard as the issue of an adulterous intrigue, and as no +true Arsacid. Tiridates was pleased to reward the unseemly flattery +of these degenerate Greeks by a new arrangement of their constitution. +Hitherto they had lived under the government of a Senate of Three +Hundred members, the wisest and wealthiest of the citizens, a certain +control being, however, secured to the people. Artabanus had recently +modified the constitution in an aristocratic sense; and therefore +Tiridates pursued the contrary course, and established an unbridled +democracy in the place of a mixed government. He then entered Ctesiphon, +the capital, and after waiting some days for certain noblemen, who had +expressed a wish to attend his coronation but continually put off their +coming, he was crowned in the ordinary manner by the Surena of the time +being, in the sight and amid the acclamations of a vast multitude. + +The pretender now regarded his work as completed, and forbore any +further efforts. The example of the Western provinces would, he assumed, +be followed by the Eastern, and the monarch approved by Mesopotamia, +Babylonia, and the capital would carry, as a matter of course, the rest +of the nation. Policy required that the general acquiescence should +not have been taken for granted. Tiridates should have made a military +progress through the East, no less than the West, and have sought out +his rival in the distant Hyrcania, and slain him, or driven him beyond +the borders. Instead of thus occupying himself, he was content to +besiege a stronghold where Artabanus had left his treasure and his +harem. This conduct was imprudent; and the imprudence cost him his +crown. That fickle temper which Artabanus had noted in his countrymen +began to work so soon as the new king was well installed in his office; +the coveted post of chief vizier could but be assigned to one, and the +selection of the fortunate individual was the disappointment of a host +of expectants; nobles absent from the coronation, whether by choice or +necessity, began to be afraid that their absence would cost them dear, +when Tiridates had time to reflect upon it and to listen to their +detractors. The thoughts of the malcontents turned towards their +dethroned monarch; and emissaries were despatched to seek him out, and +put before him the project of a restoration. He was found in Hyrcania, +in a miserable dress and plight, living on the produce of his bow. At +first he suspected the messengers, believing that their intention was to +seize him and deliver him up to Tiridates; but it was not long ere they +persuaded him that, whether their affection for himself were true or +feigned, their enmity to Tiridates was real. They had indeed no worse +charges to bring against this prince than his youth, and the softness +of his Roman breeding; but they were evidently in earnest, and had +committed themselves too deeply to make it possible for them to retract. +Artabanus, therefore, accepted their offers, and having obtained the +services of a body of Dahse and other Scyths, proceeded westward, +retaining the miserable garb and plight in which he had been found, in +order to draw men to his side by pity; and making all haste, in order +that his enemies might have less opportunity to prepare obstructions and +his friends less time to change their minds. He reached the neighborhood +of Ctesiphon while Tiridates was still doubting what he should do, +distracted between the counsels of some who recommended an immediate +engagement with the rebels before they recovered from the fatigues of +their long march or grew accustomed to act together, and of others who +advised a retreat into Mesopotamia, reliance upon the Armenians and +other tribes of the north, and a union with the Roman troops, which +Vitellius, on the first news of what had happened, had thrown across +the Euphrates. The more timid counsel had the support of Abdageses, whom +Tiridates had made his vizier, and therefore naturally prevailed, +the prince himself being moreover of an unwarlike temper. It had, in +appearance, much to recommend it; and if its execution had been in the +hands of Occidentals might have succeeded. But, in the East, the first +movement in retreat is taken as a confession of weakness and almost as +an act of despair: an order to "retire" is regarded as a direction to +fly. No sooner was the Tigris crossed and the march through Mesopotamia +began, than the host of Tiridates melted away like an iceberg in the +Gulf Stream. The tribes of the Desert set the example of flight; and in +a little time almost the whole army had dispersed, drawing off either to +the camp of the enemy or to their homes. Tiridates reached the Euphrates +with a mere handful of followers, and crossing into Syria found himself +once more safe under the protection of the Romans. + +The flight of Tiridates gave Parthia back into the hands of its former +ruler. Artabanus reoccupied the throne, apparently without having to +fight a battle. He seems, however, not to have felt himself strong +enough either to resume his designs upon Armenia, or to retaliate in +any way upon the Romans for their support of Tiridates. Mithridates, +the Iberian, was left in quiet possession of the Armenian kingdom, and +Vitellius found himself unmolested on the Euphrates. Tiberius, however, +was anxious that the war with Parthia should be formally terminated, +and, having failed in his attempts to fill the Parthian throne with a +Roman nominee, was ready to acknowledge Artabanus, and eager to enter +into a treaty with him. He instructed Vitellius to this effect; and that +officer (late in A.D. 36 or early in A.D. 37), having invited Artabanus +to an interview on the Euphrates, persuaded him to terms which were +regarded by the Romans as highly honorable to themselves, though +Artabanus probably did not feel them to be degrading to Parthia. Peace +and amity were re-established between the two nations. Rome, it may be +assumed, undertook to withhold her countenance from all pretenders +to the Parthian throne, and Parthia withdrew her claims upon Armenia. +Artabanus was persuaded to send his son, Darius, with some other +Parthians of rank, to Rome, and was thus regarded by the Romans as +having given hostages for his good behavior. He was also induced to +throw a few grains of frankincense on the sacrificial fire which burnt +in front of the Roman standards and the Imperial images, an act which +was accepted at Rome as one of submission and homage. The terms and +circumstances of the peace did not become known in Italy till Tiberius +had been succeeded by Caligula (March, A.D. 37). When known, they +gave great satisfaction, and were regarded as glorious alike to the +negotiator, Vitellius, and to the prince whom he represented. The false +report was spread that the Parthian monarch had granted to the new +Csesar what his contempt and hatred would have caused him to refuse +to Tiberius; and the inclination of the Romans towards their young +sovereign was intensified by the ascription to him of a diplomatic +triumph which belonged of right to his predecessor. + +Contemporaneously with the troubles which have been above described, +but reaching down, it would seem, a few years beyond them, were other +disturbances of a peculiar character in one of the Western provinces +of the Empire. The Jewish element in the population of Western Asia had +been one of importance from a date anterior to the rise, not only of +the Parthian, but even of the Persian Empire. Dispersed colonies of Jews +were to be found in Babylonia, Armenia, Media, Susiana, Mesopotamia, and +probably in other Parthian provinces. These colonies dated from the time +of Nebuchadnezzar's captivity, and exhibited everywhere the remarkable +tendency of the Jewish race to an increase disproportionate to that of +the population among which they are settled. The Jewish element became +perpetually larger and more important in Babylonia and Mesopotamia, +in spite of the draughts which were made upon it by Seleucus and other +Syrian princes. Under the Parthians, it would seem that the Mesopotamian +Jews enjoyed generally the same sort of toleration, and the same +permission to exercise a species of self-government, which Jews and +Christians enjoy now in many parts of Turkey. They formed a recognized +community, had some cities which were entirely their own, possessed +a common treasury, and from time to time sent up to Jerusalem the +offerings of the people under the protection of a convoy of 30,000 or +40,000 men. The Parthian kings treated them well, and no doubt valued +them as a counterpoise to the disaffected Greeks and Syrians of this +part of their Empire. They had no grievance of which to complain, and it +might have been thought very unlikely that any troubles would arise +in connection with them; but circumstances seemingly trivial threw +the whole community into commotion, and led on to disasters of a very +lamentable character. + +Two young Jews, Asinai and Anilai, brothers, natives of Nearda, the city +in which the treasury of the community was established, upon suffering +some ill-treatment at the hands of the manufacturer who employed them, +gave up their trade, and, withdrawing to a marshy district between two +arms of the Euphrates, made up their minds to live by robbery. A band of +needy youths soon gathered about them, and they became the terror of +the entire neighborhood. They exacted a blackmail from the peaceable +population of shepherds and others who lived near them, made occasional +plundering raids to a distance, and required an acknowledgment +(bakhshish) from travellers. Their doings having become notorious, the +satrap of Babylonia marched against them with an army, intending to +surprise them on the Sabbath, when it was supposed that they would not +fight; but his approach was discovered, it was determined to disregard +the obligation of Sabbatical rest, and the satrap was himself surprised +and completely defeated. Artabanus, having heard of the disaster, made +overtures to the brothers, and, after receiving a visit from them at his +court, assigned to Asinai, the elder of the two, the entire government +of the Babylonian satrapy. The experiment appeared at first to have +completely succeeded. Asinai governed the province with prudence +and zeal, and for fifteen years no complaint was made against his +administration. But at the end of this time the lawless temper, held in +restraint for so long, reasserted itself, not, indeed, in Asinai, but +in his brother. Anilai fell in love with the wife of a Parthian magnate, +commander (apparently) of the Parthian troops stationed in Babylonia, +and, seeing no other way of obtaining his wishes, made war upon the +chieftain and killed him. He then married the object of his affections, +and might perhaps have been content; but the Jews under Asinai's +government remonstrated against the idolatries which the Parthian woman +had introduced into a Jewish household, and prevailed on Asinai to +require that she should be divorced. His compliance with their wishes +proved fatal to him, for the woman, fearing the consequences, contrived +to poison Asinai; and the authority which he had wielded passed into the +hands of Anilai, without (so far as we hear) any fresh appointment from +the Parthian monarch. Anilai had, it appears, no instincts but those +of a freebooter, and he was no sooner settled in the government than he +proceeded to indulge them by attacking the territory of a neighboring +satrap, Mithridates, who was not only a Parthian of high rank, but had +married one of the daughters of Artabanus. Mithridates flew to arms to +defend his province; but Anilai fell upon his encampment in the night, +completely routed his troops, and took Mithridates himself prisoner. +Having subjected him to a gross indignity, he was nevertheless afraid to +put him to death, lest the Parthian king should avenge the slaughter +of his relative on the Jews of Babylon, Mithridates was consequently +released, and returned to his wife, who was so indignant at the insult +whereto he had been subjected that she left him no peace till he +collected a second army and resumed the war. Analai was no ways daunted. +Quitting his stronghold in the marshes, he led his troops a distance +of ten miles through a hot and dry plain to meet the enemy, thus +unnecessarily exhausting them, and exposing them to the attack of their +enemies under the most unfavorable circumstances. He was of course +defeated with loss; but he himself escaped and revenged himself by +carrying fire and sword over the lands of the Babylonians, who had +hitherto lived peaceably under his protection. The Babylonians sent to +Nearda and demanded his surrender; but the Jews of Nearda, even if they +had had the will, had no power to comply. A pretence was then made of +arranging matters by negotiation; but the Babylonians, having in this +way obtained a knowledge of the position which Anilai and his troops +occupied, fell upon them in the night, when they were all either drunk +or asleep, and at one stroke exterminated the whole band. + +Thus far no great calamity had occurred. Two Jewish robber-chiefs had +been elevated into the position of Parthian satraps; and the result had +been, first, fifteen years of peace, and then a short civil war, ending +in the destruction of the surviving chief and the annihilation of the +band of marauders. But the lamentable consequences of the commotion were +now to show themselves. The native Babylonians had always looked with +dislike on the Jewish colony, and occasions of actual collision between +the two bodies had not been wholly wanting. The circumstances of the +existing time seemed to furnish a good excuse for an outbreak; and +scarcely were Anilai and his followers destroyed, when the Jews of +Babylon were set upon by their native fellow-citizens. Unable to make +an effectual resistance, they resolved to retire from the place, and, at +the immense loss which such a migration necessarily costs, they quitted +Babylon and transferred themselves in great numbers to Seleucia. Here +they lived quietly for five years (about A.D. 34-39), but in the sixth +year (A.D. 40) fresh troubles broke out. The remnant of the Jews at +Babylon were assailed, either by their old enemies or by a pestilence, +and took refuge at Seleucia with their brethren. It happened that at +Seleucia there was a feud of long standing between the Syrian population +and the Greeks. The Jews naturally joined the Syrians, who were a +kindred race, and the two together brought the Greeks under; whereupon +these last contrived to come to terms with the Syrians, and persuaded +them to join in an attack on the late allies. Against the combined +Greeks and Syrians the Jews were powerless, and in the massacre which +ensued they lost above 50,000 men. The remnant withdrew to Otesiphon; +but even there the malice of their enemies pursued them, and +the persecution was only brought to an end by their quitting the +metropolitan cities altogether, and withdrawing to the provincial towns +of which they were the sole occupants. + +The narrative of these events derives its interest, not so much from any +sympathy that we can feel with any of the actors in it as from the +light which it throws upon the character of the Parthian rule, and the +condition of the countries under Parthian government. In the details +given we seem once more to trace a near resemblance between the Parthian +system and that of the Turks; we seem to see thrown back into the mirror +of the past an image of those terrible conflicts and disorders which +have passed before our own eyes in Syria and the Lebanon while under +acknowledged Turkish sovereignty. The picture has the same features of +antipathies of race unsoftened by time and contact, of perpetual feud +bursting out into occasional conflict, of undying religious animosities, +of strange combinations, of fearful massacres, and of a government +looking tamely on, and allowing things for the most part to take their +course. We see how utterly the Parthian system failed to blend together +or amalgamate the conquered peoples; and not only so, but how impotent +it was even to effect the first object of a government, the securing of +peace and tranquillity within its borders. If indeed it were necessary +to believe that the picture brought before us represented truthfully the +normal condition of the people and countries with which it is concerned, +we should be forced to conclude that Parthian government was merely +another name for anarchy, and that it was only good fortune that +preserved the empire from falling to pieces at this early date, within +two centuries of its establishment But there is reason to believe +that the reign of Artabanus III. represents, not the normal, but an +exceptional state of things--a state of things which could only arise +in Parthia when the powers of government were relaxed in consequence of +rebellion and civil war. We must remember that Artabanus was actually +twice driven from his kingdom, and that during the greater part of his +reign he lived in perpetual fear of revolt and insurrection. It is +not improbable that the culminating atrocities of the struggle above +described synchronized with the second expulsion of the Parthian +monarch, and are thus not so much a sign of the ordinary weakness of the +Parthian rule as of the terrible strength of the forces which that rule +for the most part kept under control. + +The causes which led to the second expulsion of Artabanus are not +distinctly stated, but they were probably not very different from those +that brought about the first. Artabanus was undoubtedly a harsh +ruler; and those who fell under his displeasure, naturally fearing his +severity, and seeing no way of meeting it but by a revolution, were +driven to adopt extreme measures. Something like a general combination +of the nobles against him seems to have taken place about the year A.D. +40; and it appears that he, on becoming aware of it, determined to quit +the capital and throw himself on the protection of one of the tributary +monarchs. This was Izates, the sovereign of Adiabene, or the tract +between the Zab rivers, who is said to have been a convert to Judaism. +On the flight of Artabanus to Izates it would seem that the Megistanes +formally deposed him, and elected in his place a certain Kinnam, or +Kinnamus, an Arsacid who had been brought up by the king. Izates, when +he interfered on behalf of the deposed monarch, was met by the objection +that the newly-elected prince had rights which could not be set +aside. The difficulty appeared insuperable; but it was overcome by the +voluntary act of Kinnamus, who wrote to Artabanus and offered to retire +in his favor. Hereupon Artabanus returned and remounted his throne, +Kinnamus carrying his magnanimity so far as to strip the diadem from his +own brow and replace it on the head of the old monarch. A condition of +the restoration was a complete amnesty for all political offences, which +was not only promised by Artabanus, but likewise guaranteed by Izates. + +It was very shortly after his second restoration to the throne that +Artabanus died. One further calamity must, however, be noticed as having +fallen within the limits of his reign. The great city of Seleucia, the +second in the Empire, shortly after it had experienced the troubles +above narrated, revolted absolutely from the Parthian power, and +declared itself independent. No account has reached us of the +circumstances which caused this revolt; but it was indicative of +a feeling that Parthia was beginning to decline, and that the +disintegration of the Empire was a thing that might be expected. The +Seleucians had at no time been contented with their position as Parthian +subjects. Whether they supposed that they could stand alone, or whether +they looked to enjoying under Roman protection a greater degree of +independence than had been allowed them by the Parthians, is uncertain. +They revolted however, in A. D. 40, and declared themselves a +self-governing community. It does not appear that the Romans lent them +any assistance, or broke for their sake the peace established with +Parthia in A.D. 37. The Seleucians had to depend upon themselves alone, +and to maintain their rebellion by means of their own resources. No +doubt Artabanus proceeded at once to attack them, but his arms made no +impression. They were successful in defending their independence during +his reign, and for some time afterwards, although compelled in the +end to succumb and resume a subject position under their own masters. +Artabanus seems to have died in August or September A.D. 42, the year +after the death of Caligula. His checkered reign had covered a space +which cannot have fallen much short of thirty years. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + + +_Doubts as to the successor of Artabanus III. First short reign of +Gotarzes. He is expelled and Vardanes made king. Reign of Vardanes. His +ivar with Izates. His Death. Second reign of Gotarzes. His Contest with +his Nephew, Meherdates. His Death. Short and inglorious reign of Vonones +II._ + + +There is considerable doubt as to the immediate successor of Artabanus. +According to Josephus he left his kingdom to his son, Bardanes or +Vardanes, and this prince entered without difficulty and at once upon +the enjoyment of his sovereignty. According to Tacitus, the person who +obtained the throne directly upon the death of Artabanus was his son, +Gotarzes, who was generally accepted for king, and might have reigned +without having his title disputed, had he not given indications of a +harsh and cruel temper. Among other atrocities whereof he was guilty +was the murder of his brother, Artabanus, whom he put to death, together +with his wife and son, apparently upon mere suspicion. This bloody +initiation of his reign spread alarm among the nobles, who thereupon +determined to exert their constitutional privilege of deposing an +obnoxious monarch and supplying his place with a new one. Their choice +fell upon Vardanes, brother of Gotarzes, who was residing in a distant +province, 350 miles from the Court. [PLATE II. Fig. 8.] Having entered +into communications with this prince, they easily induced him to quit +his retirement, and to take up arms against the tyrant. Vardanes was +ambitious, bold and prompt: he had no sooner received the invitation of +the Megistanes than he set out, and, having accomplished his journey to +the Court in the space of two days, found Gotarzes wholly unprepared to +offer resistance. Thus Vardanes became king without fighting a battle. +Gotarzes fled, and escaped into the country of the Dahse, which lay east +of the Caspian Sea, and north of the Parthian province of Hyrcania. Here +he was allowed to reign for some time unmolested by his brother, and to +form plans and make preparations for the recovery of his lost power. + +The statements of Tacitus are so circumstantial, and his authority as +an historian is so great, that we can scarcely hesitate to accept the +history as he delivers it, rather than as it is related by the Jewish +writer. It is, however, remarkable that the series of Parthian coins +presents an appearance of accordance rather with the latter than +the former, since it affords no trace of the supposed first reign of +Gotarzes in A.D. 42, while it shows Vardanes to have held the throne +from Sept. A.D. 43 to at least A.D. 46. Still this does not absolutely +contradict Tacitus. It only proves that the first reign of Gotarzes was +comprised within a few weeks, and that before two months had passed +from the death of Artabanus, the kingdom was established in the hands of +Vardanes. That prince, after the flight of his brother, applied himself +for some time to the reduction of the Seleucians, whose continued +independence in the midst of a Parthian province he regarded as a +disgrace to the Empire. His efforts to take the town failed, however, +of success. Being abundantly provisioned and strongly fortified, it was +well able to stand a siege; and the high spirit of its inhabitants made +them determined to resist to the uttermost. While they still held +out, Vardanes was called away to the East, where his brother had been +gathering strength, and was once more advancing his pretensions. The +Hyrcanians, as well as the Dahse, had embraced his cause, and Parthia +was threatened with dismemberment. Vardanes, having collected his +troops, occupied a position in the plain region of Bactria, and there +prepared to give battle to his brother, who was likewise at the head of +a considerable army. Before, however, an engagement took place, Gotarzes +discovered that there was a design among the nobles on either side to +rid themselves of both the brothers, and to set up a wholly new king. +Apprehensive of the consequences, he communicated his discovery to +Vardanes; and the result was that the two brothers made up their +differences and agreed upon terms of peace. Gotarzes yielded his claim +to the crown, and was assigned a residence in Hyrcania, which was, +probably, made over to his government. Vardanes then returned to the +west, and, resuming the siege of Seleucia, compelled the rebel city to a +surrender in the seventh year after it had revolted (A.D. 46.) + +Successful thus far, and regarding his quarrel with his brother +as finally arranged, Vardanes proceeded to contemplate a military +expedition of the highest importance. The time, he thought, was +favorable for reviving the Parthian claim to Armenia, and disputing +once more with Rome the possession of a paramount influence over +that country. The Roman government of the dependency, since +Artabanus formally relinquished it to them, had been far from proving +satisfactory. Mithridates, their protege, had displeased them, and had +been summoned to Rome by Caligula, who kept him there a prisoner until +his death. Armenia, left without a king, had asserted her independence; +and when, after an absence of several years, Mithridates was authorized +by Claudius to return to his kingdom, the natives resisted him in arms, +and were only brought under his rule by the combined help of the Romans +and the Iberians. Forced upon a reluctant people by foreign arms, +Mithridates felt himself insecure, and this feeling made him rule his +subjects with imprudent severity. Under these circumstances it seemed +to Vardanes that it would not be very difficult to recover Armenia, and +thus gain a signal triumph over the Romans. + +But to engage in so great a matter with a good prospect of success it +was necessary that the war should be approved, not only by himself, +but by his principal feudatories. The most important of these was now +Izates, king of Adiabene and Gordyene who in the last reign had restored +Artabanus to his lost throne. Vardanes, before committing himself by any +overt act, appears to have taken this prince into his counsels, and to +have requested his opinion on affronting the Romans by an interference +with Armenian affairs. Izates strenuously opposed the project. He had a +personal interest in the matter, since he had sent five of his boys to +Rome, to receive there a polite education, and he had also a profound +respect for the Roman power and military system. He endeavored, both by +persuasion and reasoning, to induce Vardanes to abandon his design. His +arguments may have been cogent, but they were not thought by Vardanes +to have much force, and the result of the conference was that the Great +King declared war against his feudatory. + +The war had, apparently, but just begun, when fresh troubles broke out +in the north-east. Gotarzes had never ceased to regret his renunciation +of his claims, and was now, on the invitation of the Parthian nobility, +prepared to came forward again and contest the kingdom with his brother. +Vardanes had to relinquish his attempt to coerce Izates, and to hasten +to Hyrcania in order to engage the troops which Gotarzes had collected +in that distant region. These he met and defeated more than once in the +country between the Caspian and Herat; but the success of his military +operations failed to strengthen his hold upon the affections of his +subjects. Like the generality of the Parthian princes, he showed himself +harsh and cruel in the hour of victory, and in conquering an opposition +roused an opposition that was fiercer and more formidable. A conspiracy +was formed against him shortly after his return from Hyrcania, and he +was assassinated while indulging in the national amusement of the chase. + +The murder of Vardanes was immediately followed by the restoration of +Gotarzes to the throne. There may have been some who doubted his fitness +for the regal office, and inclined to keep the throne vacant till they +could send to Rome and obtain from thence one of the younger and more +civilized Parthian princes. But we may be sure that the general desire +was not for a Romanized sovereign, but for a truly national king, one +born and bred in the country. Gotarzes was proclaimed by common consent, +and without any interval, after the death of Vardanes, and ascended the +Parthian throne before the end of the year A.D. 46. It is not likely +that his rule would have been resisted had he conducted himself well; +but the cruelty of his temper, which had already once cost him his +crown, again displayed itself after his restoration, and to this defect +was added a slothful indulgence yet more distasteful to his subjects. +Some military expeditions which he undertook, moreover, failed of +success, and the crime of defeat caused the cup of his offences to brim +over. The discontented portion of his people, who were a strong party, +sent envoys to the Roman Emperor, Claudius (A.D. 49), and begged that he +would surrender to them Meherdates, the grandson of Phraates IV. and son +of Vonones, who still remained at Rome in a position between that of a +guest and a hostage. "They were not ignorant," they said, "of the treaty +which bound the Romans to Parthia, nor did they ask Claudius to infringe +it." Their desire was not to throw off the authority of the Arsacidse, +but only to exchange one Arsacid for another. The rule of Gotarzes had +became intolerable, alike to the nobility and the common people. He had +murdered all his male relatives, or at least all that were within his +reach--first his brothers, then his near kinsmen, finally even those +whose relationship was remote; nor had he stopped there; he had +proceeded to put to death their young children and their pregnant wives. +He was sluggish in his habits, unfortunate in his wars, and had betaken +himself to cruelty, that men might not despise him for his want of +manliness. The friendship between Rome and Parthia was a public matter; +it bound the Romans to help the nation allied to them--a nation which, +though equal to them in strength, was content on account of its respect +for Rome to yield her precedence. Parthian princes were allowed to be +hostages in foreign lands for the very reason that then it was always +possible, if their own monarch displeased them, for the people to obtain +a king from abroad, brought up under milder influences. + +This harangue was made before the Emperor Claudius and the assembled +Senate, Meherdates himself being also present. Claudius responded to it +favorably. He would follow the example of the Divine Augustus, and allow +the Parthians to take from Rome the monarch whom they requested. +That prince, bred up in the city, had always been remarkable for his +moderation. He would (it was to be hoped) regard himself in his new +position, not as a master of slaves, but as a ruler of citizens. He +would find that clemency and justice were the more appreciated by a +barbarous nation, the less they had had experience of them Meherdates +might accompany the Parthian envoys; and a Roman of rank, Caius Cassius, +the prefect of Syria, should be instructed to receive them on their +arrival in Asia, and to see them safely across the Euphrates. + +The young prince accordingly set out, and reached the city of Zeugma in +safety. Here he was joined, not only by a number of the Parthian nobles, +but also by the reigning king of Osrhoene, who bore the usual name of +Abgarus. The Parthians were anxious that he should advance at his best +speed and by the shortest route on Ctesiphon, and the Roman governor, +Cassius, strongly advised the same course; but Meherdates fell under +the influence of the Osrhoene monarch, who is thought by Tacitus to have +been a false friend, and to have determined from the first to do his +best for Gotarzes. Abgarus induced Meherdates to proceed from Zeugma +to his own capital, Edessa, and there detained him for several days +by means of a series of festivities. He then persuaded him, though the +winter was approaching, to enter Armenia, and to proceed against his +antagonist by the circuitous route of the Upper Tigris, instead of the +more direct one through Mesopotamia. In this way much valuable time +was lost. The rough mountain-routes and snows of Armenia harassed and +fatigued the pretender's troops, while Gotarzes was given an interval +during which to collect a tolerably large body of soldiers. Still, the +delay was not very great. Meherdatos marched probably by Diarbekr, Til, +and Jezireh, or in other words, followed the course of the Tigris, which +he crossed in the neighborhood of Mosul, after taking the small town +which represented the ancient Nineveh. His line of march had now brought +him into Adiabene; and it seemed a good omen for the success of his +cause that Izates, the powerful monarch of that tract, declared in his +favor, and brought a body of troops to his assistance. Gotarzes was in +the neighborhood, but was distrustful of his strength, and desirous of +collecting a larger force before committing himself to the hazard of an +engagement. He had taken up a strong position with the river Corma +in his front, and, remaining on the defensive, contented himself with +trying by his emissaries the fidelity of his rival's troops and allies. +The plan succeeded. After a little time, the army of Meherdates began +to melt away. Izates of Adiabene and Abgarus of Edessa drew off their +contingents, and left the pretender to depend wholly on his Parthian +supporters. Even their fidelity was doubtful, and might have given way +on further trial; Meherdates therefore resolved, before being wholly +deserted, to try the chance of a battle. + +His adversary was now as willing to engage as himself, since he felt +that he was no longer outnumbered. The rivals met, and a fierce and +bloody action was fought between the two armies, no important advantage +being for a long time gained by either. At length Oarrhenes, the chief +general on the side of Meherdates, having routed the troops opposed +to him and pursued them too hotly, was intercepted by the enemy on his +return and either killed or made prisoner. This event proved decisive. +The loss of their leader caused the army of Meherdates to fly; and he +himself, being induced to intrust his safety to a certain Parrhaces, a +dependent of his father's, was betrayed by this miscreant, loaded with +chains, and given up to his rival. Gotarzes now proved less unmerciful +than might have been expected from his general character. Instead of +punishing Meherdates with death, he thought it sufficient to insult him +with the names of "foreigner" and "Roman," and to render it impossible +that he should be again put forward as monarch by subjecting him to +mutilation. The Roman historian supposes that this was done to cast +a slur upon Rome but it was a natural measure of precaution under the +circumstances, and had probably no more recondite motive than compassion +for the youth and inexperience of the pretender. + +Gotarzes, having triumphed over his rival, appears to have resolved on +commemorating his victory in a novel manner. Instead of striking a new +coin, like Vonones, he determined to place his achievement on record by +making it the subject of a rock-tablet, which he caused to be engraved +on the sacred mountain of Baghistan, adorned already with sculptures and +inscriptions by the greatest of the Achaemenian monarchs. The bas-relief +and its inscription have been much damaged, both by the waste of ages +and the rude hand of man; but enough remains to show that the conqueror +was represented as pursuing his enemies in the field, on horseback, +while a winged Victory, flying in the air, was on the point of placing a +diadem on his head. In the Greek legend which accompanied the sculpture +he was termed "Satrap of Satraps"--an equivalent of the ordinary title +"King of Kings"; and his conquered rival was mentioned under the name +of Mithrates, a corrupt form of the more common or Mithridates or +Meherdates. + +Very shortly after his victory Gotarzes died. His last year seems to +have been A.D. 51. According to Tacitus, he died a natural death, from +the effects of disease; but, according to Josephus, he was the victim of +a conspiracy. The authority of Tacitus, here as elsewhere generally, +is to be preferred; and we may regard Gotarzes as ending peacefully his +unquiet reign, which had begun in A.D. 42, immediately after the death +of his father, had been interrupted for four years--from A.D. 42 to +A.D. 46--and had then been renewed and lasted from A.D. 46 to A.D. 51. +Gotarzes was not a prince of any remarkable talents, or of a character +differing in any important respects from the ordinary Parthian type. He +was perhaps even more cruel than the bulk of the Arsacidae, though his +treatment of Meherdates showed that he could be lenient upon occasion. +He was more prudent than daring, more politic than brave, more bent on +maintaining his own position than on advancing the power or dignity +of his country. Parthia owed little or nothing to him. The internal +organization of the country must have suffered from his long wars with +his brother and his nephew; its external reputation was not increased by +one whose foreign expeditions were uniformly unfortunate. + +The successor of Gotarzes was a certain Vonones. His relationship to +previous monarchs is doubtful--and may be suspected to have been remote. +Gotarzes had murdered or mutilated all the Arsacidse on whom he could +lay his hands; and the Parthians had to send to Media upon his disease +in order to obtain a sovereign of the required blood. The coins of +Vonones II. are scarce, and have a peculiar rudeness. The only date +found upon them is one equivalent to A.D. 51; and it would seem that +his entire reign was comprised within the space of a few months. Tacitus +tells us that his rule was brief and inglorious, marked by no important +events, either prosperous or adverse. He was succeeded by his son, +Volagases I., who appears to have ascended the throne before the year +A.D. 51 had expired. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + + +_Reign of Volagases I. His first attempt on Armenia fails. His quarrel +with Izates. Invasion of Parthia Proper by the Dahce and Sacce. Second +attack of Volagases on Armenia. Tiridates established as King. First +expedition of Corbulo. Half submission of Volagases. Revolt of Vardanes. +Second expedition of Corbulo. Armenia given to Tigranes. Revolt of +Hyrcania. Third attack of Volagases on Armenia. Defeat of Paitus, +and re-establishment of Tiridates. Last expedition of Corbulo, and +arrangement of Terms of Peace. Tiridates at Rome. Probable time of the +Death of Volagases._ + + +Vonones the Second left behind him three sons, Volagases, Tiridates, and +Paeorus. It is doubtful which of them was the eldest, but, on the whole, +most probable that that position belonged to Paeorus. We are told that +Volagases obtained the crown by his brothers yielding up their claim to +him, from which we must draw the conclusion that both of them were his +elders. These circumstances of his accession will account for much of +his subsequent conduct. It happened that he was able at once to bestow +a principality upon Paeorus, to whom he felt specially indebted; but in +order adequately to reward his other benefactor, he found it necessary +to conquer a province and then make its government over to him. Hence +his frequent attacks upon Armenia, and his numerous wars with Rome for +its possession, which led ultimately to an arrangement by which the +quiet enjoyment of the Armenian throne was secured to Tiridates. + +The circumstances under which Volagases made his first attack upon +Armenia were the following. Pharasmanes of Iberia, whose brother, +Mithridates, the Romans had (in A.D. 47) replaced upon the Armenian +throne, had a son named Rhadamistus, whose lust of power was so great +that to prevent his making an attempt on his own crown Pharasmanes found +it necessary to divert his thoughts to another quarter. + +Armenia, he suggested, lay near, and was a prize worth winning; +Rhadamistus had only to ingratiate himself with the people, and then +craftily remove his uncle, and he would probably step with ease into +the vacant place. The son took the advice of his father, and in a little +time succeeded in getting Mithridates into his power, when he ruthlessly +put him to death, together with his wife and children. Rhadamistus then, +supported by his father, obtained the object of his ambition, and became +king. It was known, however, that a considerable number of the Armenians +were adverse to a rule which had been brought about by treachery and +murder; and it was suspected that, if an attack were made upon him, +he would not be supported with much zeal by his subjects. This was the +condition of things when Volagases ascended the Parthian throne, and +found himself in want of a principality with which he might reward the +services of Tiridates, his brother. It at once occurred to him that, a +happy chance presented him with an excellent opportunity of acquiring +Armenia, and he accordingly proceeded, in the very year of his +accession, to make an expedition against it. At first he carried all +before him. The Iberian supporters of Rhadamistus fled without risking a +battle; his Armenian subjects resisted weakly; Artaxata and Tigranocerta +opened their gates; and the country generally submitted. Tiridates +enjoyed his kingdom for a few months; but a terrible pestilence, brought +about by a severe winter and a want of proper provisions, decimated the +Parthian force left in garrison; and Volagases found himself obliged, +after a short occupation, to relinquish his conquest. Rhadamistus +returned, and, although the Armenians opposed him in arms, contrived to +re-establish himself. The Parthians did not renew their efforts, and +for three years--from A.D. 51 to A.D. 54--Rhadamistus was left in quiet +possession of the Armenian kingdom.' + +It appears to have been in this interval that the arms of Volagases +were directed against one of his great feudatories, Izatos. As in +Europe during the prevalence of the feudal system, so under the Parthian +government, it was always possible that the sovereign might be forced to +contend with one of the princes who owed him fealty. Volagases seems to +have thought that the position of the Adiabenian monarch was becoming +too independent, and that it was necessary to recall him, by a +sharp mandate, to his proper position of subordinate and tributary. +Accordingly, he sent him a demand that he should surrender the special +privileges which had been conferred upon him by Artabanus III., and +resume the ordinary status of a Parthian feudatory. Izates, who feared +that if he yielded he would find that this demand was only a prelude to +others more intolerable, replied by a positive refusal, and immediately +prepared to resist an invasion. He sent his wives and children to the +strongest fortress within his dominions, collected all the grain that +his subjects possessed into fortified places, and laid waste the whole +of the open country, so that it should afford no sustenance to an +invading army. He then took up a position on the lower Zab, or Caprius, +and stood prepared to resist an attack upon his territory. Volagases +advanced to the opposite bank of the river, and was preparing to invade +Adiabene, when news reached him of an important attack upon his +eastern provinces. A horde of barbarians, consisting of Dahse and other +Scythians, had poured into Parthia Proper, knowing that he was engaged +elsewhere, and threatened to carry fire and sword through the entire +province. The Parthian monarch considered that it was his first duty to +meet these aggressors; and leaving Izates unchastised, he marched away +to the north-east to repel the external enemy. + +Volagases, after defeating this foe, would no doubt have returned to +Adiabene, and resumed the war with Izates, but in his absence that +prince died. Monobazus, his brother, who inherited his crown, could +have no claim to the privileges which had been conferred for personal +services upon Izates; and consequently there was no necessity for the +war to be renewed. The bones of Izates were conveyed to the holy soil +of Palestine and buried in the vicinity of Jerusalem. Monobazus was +accepted by Volagases as his brother's successor without any apparent +reluctance, and proved a faithful tributary, on whom his suzerain could +place complete dependence. + +The quarrel with Izates, and the war with the Dahee and Sacse, may have +occupied the years A.D. 52 and 53. At any rate it was not till A.D. 54, +his fourth year, that Volagases resumed his designs against Armenia. +Rhadamistus, though he had more than once had to fly the country, was +found in possession as king, and for some time he opposed the progress +of the Parthian arms; but, before the year was out, despairing of +success, he again fled, and left Volagases to arrange the affairs of +Armenia at his pleasure. Tiridates was at once established as king, and +Armenia brought into the position of a regular Parthian dependency. +The claims of Rome were ignored. Volagases was probably aware that the +Imperial throne was occupied by a mere youth, not eighteen years old, +one destitute of all warlike tastes, a lover of music and of the arts, +who might be expected to submit to the loss of a remote province without +much difficulty. He therefore acted as if Rome had no rights in this +part of Asia, established his brother at Artaxata, and did not so +much as send an embassy to Nero to excuse or explain his acts. These +proceedings caused much uneasiness in Italy. If Nero himself cannot +be regarded as likely to have felt very keenly the blow struck at the +prestige of the Empire, yet there were those among his advisers who +could well understand and appreciate the situation. The ministers of the +young prince resolved that efforts on the largest scale should be made. +Orders were at once issued for recruiting the Oriental legions, and +moving them nearer to Armenia; preparations were set on foot for +bridging the Euphrates; Antiochus of Commagene, and Herod Agrippa II., +were required to collect troops and hold themselves in readiness to +invade Parthia; the Roman provinces bordering upon Armenia were placed +under new governors; above all, Corbulo, regarded as the best general +of the time, was summoned from Germany, and assigned the provinces of +Cappadocia and Galatia, together with the general superintendence of the +war for retaining possession of Armenia. At the same time instructions +were sent out to Ummidius, proconsul of Syria, requiring him to +co-operate with Corbulo; and arrangements were made to obviate +the clashing of authority which was to be feared between two equal +commanders. In the spring of A.D. 55 the Roman armies were ready to take +the field, and a struggle seemed impending which would recall the times +of Antony and Phraates. + +But, at the moment when expectation was at its height, and the clang +of arms appeared about to resound throughout Western Asia, suddenly a +disposition for peace manifested itself. Both Corbulo and Ummidius +sent embassies to Volagases, exhorting him to make concessions, and +apparently giving him to understand that something less was required of +him than the restoration of Armenia to the Romans. Volagases listened +favorably to the overtures, and agreed to put into the hands of the +Roman commanders the most distinguished members of the royal family as +hostages. At the same time he withdrew his troops from Armenia; which +the Romans, however, did not occupy, and which continued, as it would +seem, to be governed by Tiridates. The motive of the Parthian king in +acting as he did is obvious. A revolt against his authority had broken +out in Parthia, headed by his son, Vardanes; and, until this internal +trouble should be suppressed, he could not engage with advantage in a +foreign war. [PLATE III. Fig. 1.] The reasons which actuated the Roman +generals are far more obscure. It is difficult to understand their +omission to press upon Volagases in his difficulties, or their readiness +to accept the persons of a few hostages, however high their rank, as an +equivalent for the Roman claim to a province. Perhaps the jealousy which +subsequently showed itself in regard to the custody of the hostages may +have previously existed between the two commanders, and they may have +each consented to a peace disadvantageous to Rome through fear of the +other's obtaining the chief laurels if war were entered on. + + +[Illustration: PLATE 3.] + + +The struggle for power between Volagases and his son Vardanes seems to +have lasted for three years--from A.D. 55 to A.D. 58. Its details are +unknown to us; but Volagases must have been successful; and we may +assume that the pretender, of whom we hear no more, was put to death. +No sooner was the contest terminated than Volagases, feeling that he was +now free to act, took a high tone in his communications with Corbulo +and Ummidius, and declared that not only must his brother, Tiridates, be +left in the undisturbed possession of Armenia but it must be distinctly +understood that he held it as a Parthian, and not as a Roman, feudatory. +At the same time Tiridates began to exercise his authority over the +Armenians with severity, and especially to persecute those whom he +suspected of inclining towards the Romans. Oorbulo appears to have felt +that it was necessary to atone for his three years of inaction by at +length prosecuting the war in earnest. He tightened the discipline of +the legions, while he recruited them to their full strength, made fresh +friends among the hardy races of the neighborhood, renewed the Roman +alliance with Pharasmanes of Iberia, urged Antiochus of Commagene to +cross the Armenian frontier, and taking the field himself, carried fire +and sword over a large portion of the Armenian territory. Volagases +sent a contingent of troops to the assistance of his feudatory, but was +unable to proceed to his relief in person, owing to the occurrence of a +revolt in Hyrcania, which broke out, fortunately for the Romans, in the +very year that the rebellion of Vardanes was suppressed. Under these +circumstances it is not surprising that Tiridates had recourse to +treachery, or that on his treachery failing he continually lost +ground, and was at last compelled to evacuate the country and yield the +possession of it to the Romans. It is more remarkable that he prolonged +his resistance into the third year than that he was unable to continue +the straggle to a later date. He lost his capital, Artaxata, in A.D. 58, +and Tigranocerta, the second city of Armenia, in A.D. 60. After this +he made one further effort from the side of Media, but the attempt was +unavailing; and on suffering a fresh defeat he withdrew altogether from +the struggle, whereupon Armenia reverted to the Romans. They entrusted +the government to a certain Tigranes, a grandson of Archelaus, king of +Cappadocia, but at the same time greatly diminished the extent of the +kingdom by granting portions of it to neighboring princes. Pharasmanes +of Iberia, Polemo of Pontus, Aristobulus of the Lesser Armenia, and +Antiochus of Commagene, received an augmentation of their territories +at the expense of the rebel state, which had shown itself incapable of +appreciating the blessings of Roman rule and had manifested a decided +preference for the Parthians. + +But the fate of Armenia, and the position which she was to hold in +respect of the two great rivals, Rome and Parthia, were not yet decided. +Hitherto Volagases, engaged in a contest with the Hyrcanians and with +other neighboring nations, whereto the flames of war had spread, had +found himself unable to take any personal part in the struggle in which +his brother and vassal had been engaged in the west. Now matters in +Hyrcania admitted of arrangement, and he was at liberty to give his +main attention to Armenian affairs. His presence in the West had become +absolutely necessary. Not only was Armenia lost to him, but it had been +made a centre from which his other provinces in this quarter might +be attacked and harassed. Tigranes, proud of his newly-won crown, and +anxious to show himself worthy of it, made constant incursions into +Adiabene, ravaging and harrying the fertile country far and wide. +Monobazus, unable to resist him in the field, was beginning to +contemplate the transfer of his allegiance to Rome, as the only means +of escaping from the evils of a perpetual border war. Tiridates, +discontented with the position whereto he found himself reduced, and +angry that his brother had not given him more effective support, was +loud in his complaints, and openly taxed Volagases with an inertness +that bordered on cowardice. Public opinion was inclined to accept and +approve the charge; and in Parthia public opinion could not be safely +contemned. Volagases found it necessary to win back his subjects' +good-will by calling a council of the nobility, and making them a formal +address: "Parthians," he said, "when I obtained the first place among +you by my brothers ceding their claims, I endeavored to substitute for +the old system of fraternal hatred and contention a new one of domestic +affection and agreement; my brother Pacorus received Media from my hands +at once; Tiridates, whom you see now before you, I inducted shortly +afterwards into the sovereignty of Armenia, a dignity reckoned the third +in the Parthian kingdom. Thus I put my family matters on a peaceful and +satisfactory footing. But these arrangements are now disturbed by the +Romans, who have never hitherto broken their treaties with us to their +profit, and who will now find that they have done so to their ruin. I +will not deny that hitherto I have preferred to maintain my right to the +territories, which have come to me from my ancestors, by fair dealing +rather than by shedding of blood--by negotiation rather than by arms; +if, however, I have erred in this and have been weak to delay so long, I +will now correct my fault by showing the more zeal. You at any rate +have lost nothing by my abstinence; your strength is intact, your glory +undiminished; you have added, moreover, to your reputation for valor the +credit of moderation--a virtue which not even the highest among men can +afford to despise, and which the Gods view with special favor." Having +concluded his speech, he placed a diadem on the brow of Tiridates, +proclaiming by this significant act his determination to restore him to +the Armenian throne. At the same time he ordered Monseses, a Parthian +general, and Monobazus, the Adiabenian monarch, to take the field and +enter Armenia, while he himself with the main strength of the empire +advanced towards the Euphrates and threatened Syria with invasion. + +The results of the campaign which followed (A.D. 62) scarcely answered +to this magnificent opening. Monseses indeed, in conjunction with +Monobazus, invaded Armenia, and, advancing to Tigranocerta, besieged +Tigranes in that city, which, upon the destruction of Artaxata by +Corbulo, had become the seat of government. Volagases himself proceeded +as far as Nisibis, whence he could threaten at the same time Armenia +and Syria. The Parthian arms proved, however, powerless to effect +any serious impression upon Tigranocerta; and Volagases, being met at +Nisibis by envoys from Corbulo, who threatened an invasion of Parthia +in retaliation of the Parthian attack upon Armenia, consented to +an arrangement. A plague of locusts had spread itself over Upper +Mesopotamia, and the consequent scarcity of forage completely paralyzed +a force which consisted almost entirely of cavalry. Volagases was +glad under the circumstances to delay the conflict which had seemed +impending, and readily agreed that his troops should suspend the siege +of Tigranocerta and withdraw from Armenia on condition that the Roman +should at the same time evacuate the province. He would send, he said, +ambassadors to Rome who should arrange with Nero the footing upon which +Armenia was to be placed. Meanwhile, until the embassy returned, there +should be peace--the Armenians should be left to themselves--neither +Rome nor Parthia should maintain a soldier within the limits of the +province, and any collision between the armies of the two countries +should be avoided. + +A pause, apparently of some months' duration, followed. Towards the +close of autumn, however, a new general came upon the scene; and a new +factor was introduced into the political and military combinations of +the period. L. Caesennius Paetus, a favorite of the Roman Emperor, but a +man of no capacity, was appointed by Nero to take the main direction of +affairs in Armenia, while Corbulo confined himself to the care of Syria, +his special province. Corbulo had requested a coadjutor, probably not +so much from an opinion that the war would be better conducted by two +commanders than by one, as from fear of provoking the jealousy of Nero, +if he continued any longer to administer the whole of the East. On +the arrival of Paetus, who brought one legion with him, an equitable +division of the Roman forces was made between the generals. Each had +three legions; and while Corbulo retained the Syrian auxiliaries, those +of Pontus, Galatia, and Cappadocia were attached to the army of Paetus. +But no friendly feeling united the leaders. Corbulo was jealous of the +rival whom he knew to have been sent out as a check upon him rather than +as a help; and Paetus was inclined to despise the slow and temporizing +policy of the elder chief. The war, according to his views, required to +be carried on with more dash and vigor than had hitherto appeared in +its conduct--cities should be stormed, he said--the whole country +plundered--severe examples made of the guilty. The object of the war +also should be changed--instead of setting up shadowy kings, his own aim +would be to reduce Armenia into the form of a province. + +The truce established in the early summer, when Volagases sent his +envoys to Nero, expired in the autumn, on their return without a +definite reply; and the Roman commanders at once took the offensive and +entered upon an autumn campaign, the second within the space of a year. +Corbulo crossed the Euphrates in the face of a large Parthian army, +which he forced to retire from the eastern bank of the river by means +of military engines worked from ships anchored in mid-stream. He +then advanced and occupied a strong position in the hills at a little +distance from the river, where he caused his legions to construct an +entrenched camp. Paetus, on his part, entered Armenia from Cappadocia +with two legions, and, passing the Taurus range, ravaged a large +extent of country; winter, however, approaching, and the enemy nowhere +appearing in force, he led back his troops across the mountains, and, +regarding the campaign as finished, wrote a despatch to Nero boasting +of his successes, sent one of his three legions to winter in Pontus, and +placed the other two in quarters between the Taurus and the Euphrates, +at the same time granting furloughs to as many of the soldiers as chose +to apply for them. A large number took advantage of his liberality, +preferring no doubt the pleasures and amusements of the Syrian and +Cappadocian cities to the hardships of a winter in the Armenian +highlands. While matters were in this position Paetus suddenly heard +that Volagases was advancing against him. As once before at an important +crisis, so now with the prospect of Armenia as the prize of victory, the +Parthians defied the severities of winter and commenced a campaign when +their enemy regarded the season for war as over. In this crisis Paetus +exhibited an entire unfitness for command. First, he resolved to remain +on the defensive in his camp; then, affecting to despise the protection +of ramparts and ditches, he gave the order to advance and meet the +enemy; finally, after losing a few scouts whom he had sent forward, he +hastily retreated and resumed his old position, but at the same time +unwisely detached three thousand of his best foot to block the pass of +Taurus, through which Volagases was advancing. After some hesitation +he was induced to make Corbulo acquainted with his position; but +the message which he sent merely stated that he was expecting to be +attacked. Corbulo was in no hurry to proceed to his relief, preferring +to appear upon the scene at the last moment, when he would be hailed as +a savior. + +Volagases, meanwhile, continued his march. The small force left by +Paetus to block his progress was easily overpowered, and for the most +part destroyed. The castle of Arsamosata, where Paetus had placed his +wife and child, and the fortified camp of the legions, were besieged. +The Romans were challenged to a battle, but dared not show themselves +outside their entrenchments. Having no confidence in their leader, the +legionaries despaired and began openly to talk of a surrender. As the +danger drew nearer, fresh messengers had been despatched to Corbulo, and +he had been implored to come at his best speed in order to save the poor +remnant of a defeated army. That commander was on his march, by way +of Commagene and Cappadocia; it could not be very long before he would +arrive; and the supplies in the camp of Paetus were sufficient to have +enabled him to hold out for weeks and months. But an unworthy terror had +seized both Paetus and his soldiers. Instead of holding out to the last, +the alarmed chief proposed negotiations, and the result was that he +consented to capitulate. His troops were to be allowed to quit their +entrenchments and withdraw from the country, but were to surrender their +strongholds and their stores. Armenia was to be completely evacuated +by the Romans; and a truce was to be observed and Armenia not again +invaded, until a fresh embassy, which Volagases proposed to send to +Rome, returned. Moreover, a bridge was to be made by the Romans over the +Arsanias, a tributary of the Euphrates, which, as it was of no immediate +service to the Parthians, could only be intended as a monument of the +Roman defeat. Paetus assented to these terms, and they were carried out; +not, however, without some further ignominy to the Romans. The Parthians +entered the Roman entrenchments before the legionaries had left them, +and laid their hands on anything which they recognized as Armenian +spoil. They even seized the soldiers' clothes and arms, which were +relinquished to them without a struggle, lest resistance should provoke +an outbreak. Paetus, once more at liberty; proceeded with unseemly haste +to the Euphrates, deserting his wounded and his stragglers, whom he left +to the tender mercies of the Armenians. At the Euphrates he effected a +junction with Corbulo, who was but three days' march distant when Paetus +so gracefully capitulated. + +The chiefs, when they met, exchanged no cordial greeting. Corbulo +complained that he had been induced to make a useless journey, and +to weary his troops to no purpose, since without any aid from him the +legions might have escaped from their difficulties by simply waiting +until the Parthians had exhausted their stores, when they must have +retired. Paetus, anxious to obliterate the memory of his failure, +proposed that the combined armies should at once enter Armenia and +overrun it, since Volagases and his Parthians had withdrawn. Corbulo +replied coldly--that "he had no such orders from the Emperor. He had +quitted his province to rescue the threatened legions from their peril; +now that the peril was past, he must return to Syria, since it was quite +uncertain what the enemy might next attempt. It would be hard work for +his infantry, tired with the long marches it had made, to keep pace with +the Parthian cavalry, which was fresh and would pass rapidly through the +plains." The generals upon this parted. Paetus wintered in Cappadocia; +Corbulo returned into Syria, where a demand reached him from Volagases +that he would evacuate Mesopotamia. He agreed to do so on the condition +that Armenia should be evacuated by the Parthians. To this Volagases +consented; since he had re-established Tiridates as king, and the +Armenians might be trusted, if left to themselves, to prefer Parthian to +Roman ascendancy. + +There was now, again, a pause in the war for some months. The envoys +sent by Volagases after the capitulation of Paetus reached Rome at the +commencement of spring (A.D. 63), and were there at once admitted to +an audience. They proposed peace on the terms that Tiridates should be +recognized as king of Armenia, but that he should go either to Rome, +or to the head-quarters of the Roman legions in the East, in order to +receive investiture, either from the Emperor or his representative. It +was with some difficulty that Nero was brought to believe in the success +of Volagases, so entirely had he trusted the despatches of Paetus, which +represented the Romans as triumphant. When the state of affairs was +fully understood from the letters of Corbulo and the accounts given by +a Roman officer who had accompanied the Parthian envoys, there was +no doubt or hesitation as to the course which should be pursued. +The Parthian proposals must be rejected. Rome must not make peace +immediately upon a disaster, or until she had retrieved her reputation +and shown her power by again taking the offensive. Paetus was at once +recalled, and the whole direction of the war given to Corbulo, who +was intrusted with a wide-spreading and extraordinary authority. The +Parthian envoys were dismissed, but with gifts, which seemed to show +that it was not so much their proposals as the circumstances under which +they had been made that were unpalatable. Another legion was sent to +the East; and the semi-independent princes and dynasts were exhorted to +support Corbulo with zeal. That commander used his extraordinary powers +to draw together, not so much a very large force, as one that could be +thoroughly trusted; and, collecting his troops at Melitene (Malatiyeh), +made his arrangements for a fresh invasion. + +Penetrating into Armenia by the road formerly followed by Lucullus, +Corbulo, with three legions, and probably the usual proportion of +allies--an army of about 80,000 men--advanced against the combined +Armenians and Parthians under Tiridates and Volagases, freely offering +battle, and at the same time taking vengeance, as he proceeded, on the +Armenian nobles who had been especially active in opposing Tigranes, +the late Roman puppet-king. His march led him near the spot where the +capitulation of Paetus had occurred in the preceding winter; and it was +while he was in this neighborhood that envoys from the enemy met him +with proposals for an accommodation. Corbulo, who had never shown +himself anxious to push matters to an extremity, readily accepted the +overtures. The site of the camp of Paetus was chosen for the place of +meeting; and there, accompanied by twenty horsemen each, Tiridates and +the Roman general held an interview. The terms proposed and agreed upon +were the same that Nero had rejected; and thus the Parthians could not +but be satisfied, since they obtained all for which they had asked. +Corbulo, on the other hand, was content to have made the arrangement +on Armenian soil, while he was at the head of an intact and unblemished +army, and held possession of an Armenian district; so that the terms +could not seem to have been extorted by fear, but rather to have been +allowed as equitable. He also secured the immediate performance of a +ceremony at which Tiridates divested himself of the regal ensigns and +placed them at the foot of the statue of Nero; and he took security +for the performance of the promise that Tiridates should go to Rome and +receive his crown from the hands of Nero, by requiring and obtaining +one of his daughters as a hostage. In return, he readily undertook that +Tiridates should be treated with all proper honor during his stay at +Rome, and on his journeys to and from Italy, assuring Volagases, who was +anxious on these points, that Rome regarded only the substance, and made +no account of the mere show and trappings of power. + +The arrangement thus made was honestly executed. After a delay of about +two years, for which it is difficult to account, Tiridates set out +upon his journey. He was accompanied by his wife, by a number of noble +youths, among whom were sons of Volagases and of Monobazus, and by an +escort of three thousand Parthian cavalry. The long cavalcade passed, +like a magnificent triumphal procession, through two thirds of the +Empire, and was everywhere warmly welcomed and sumptuously entertained. +Each city which lay upon its route was decorated to receive it; and +the loud acclaims of the multitudes expressed their satisfaction at the +novel spectacle. The riders made the whole journey, except the passage +of the Hellespont, by land, proceeding through Thrace and Illyricum +to the head of the Adriatic, and then descending the peninsula. Their +entertainment was furnished at the expense of the state, and is said +to have cost the treasury 800,000 sesterces (about L6250.) a day this +outlay was continued for nine months, and must have amounted in +the aggregate to above a million and a half of our money. The first +interview of the Parthian prince with his nominal sovereign was at +Naples, where Nero happened to be staying. According to the ordinary +etiquette of the Roman court, Tiridates was requested to lay aside his +sword before approaching the Emperor; but this he declined to do; and +the difficulty seemed serious until a compromise was suggested, and +he was allowed to approach wearing his weapon, after it had first been +carefully fastened to the scabbard by nails. He then drew near, bent +one knee to the ground, interlaced his hands, and made obeisance, at the +same time saluting the Emperor as his "lord." + +The ceremony of the investiture was performed afterwards at Rome. On +the night preceding, the whole city was illuminated and decorated +with garlands; the Forum, as morning approached, was filled with "the +people," arranged in their several tribes, clothed in white robes and +bearing boughs of laurel; the Praetorians, in their splendid arms, were +drawn up in two lines from the further extremity of the Forum to the +Rostra, to maintain the avenue of approach clear; all the roofs of the +buildings on every side were thronged with crowds of spectators; at +break of day Nero arrived in the attire appropriated to triumphs, +accompanied by the members of the Senate and his body-guard, and took +his seat on the Rostra in a curule chair. Tiridates and his suite were +then introduced between the two long lines of soldiers; and the prince, +advancing to the Rostra, made an oration, which (as reported by Dio) was +of a sufficiently abject character. Nero responded proudly; and then +the Armenian prince, ascending the Rostra by a way constructed for the +purpose, and sitting at the feet of the Roman Emperor, received from his +hand, after his speech had been interpreted to the assembled Romans, the +coveted diadem, the symbol of Oriental sovereignty. + +After a stay of some weeks, or possibly months, at Rome, during which he +was entertained by Nero with extreme magnificence, Tiridates returned, +across the Adriatic and through Greece and Asia Minor, to his own land. +The circumstances of his journey and his reception involved a concession +to Rome of all that could be desired in the way of formal and verbal +acknowledgment. The substantial advantage, however, remained with +the Parthians. The Romans, both in the East and at the capital, were +flattered by a show of submission; but the Orientals must have concluded +that the long struggle had terminated in an acknowledgment by Rome of +Parthia as the stronger power. Ever since the time of Lucullus, Armenia +had been the object of contention between the two states, both of +which had sought, as occasion served, to place upon the throne its own +nominees. Recently the rival powers had at one and the same time brought +forward rival claimants; and the very tangible issue had been raised, +Was Tigranes or Tiridates to be king? When the claims of Tigranes were +finally, with the consent of Rome, set aside, and those of Tiridates +allowed, the real point in dispute was yielded by the Romans. A +Parthian, the actual brother of the reigning Parthian king, was +permitted to rule the country which Rome had long deemed her own. It +could not be doubted that he would rule it in accordance with Parthian +interests. His Roman investiture was a form which he had been forced to +go through; what effect could it have on him in the future, except to +create a feeling of soreness? The arms of Volagases had been the real +force which had placed him upon the throne; and to those arms he must +have looked to support him in case of an emergency. Thus Armenia was +in point of fact relinquished to Parthia at the very time when it was +nominally replaced under the sovereignty of the Romans. + +There is much doubt as to the time at which Volagases I. ceased to +reign. The classical writers give no indication of the death of any +Parthian king between the year A.D. 51, when they record the demise of +Vonones II., and about the year A.D. 90, when they speak of a certain +Pacorus as occupying the throne. Moreover, during this interval, +whenever they have occasion to mention the reigning Parthian monarch, +they always give him the name of Volagases. Hence it has been customary +among writers on Parthian history to assign to Volagases I. the entire +period between A.D. 51 and A.D. 90--a space of thirty-nine years. +Recently, however, the study of the Parthian coins has shown absolutely +that Pacorus began to reign at least as early as A.D. 78, while it has +raised a suspicion that the space between A.D. 51 and A.D. 78 was shared +between two kings, one of whom reigned from A.D. 51 to about A.D. 62, +and the other from about A.D. 62 to A.D. 78. It has been proposed +to call these kings respectively Volagases I. and Artabanus IV. or +Volagases I. and Volagases II., and Parthian history has been written +on this basis; but it is confessed that the entire absence of any +intimation by the classical writers that there was any change of +monarch in this space, or that the Volagases of whom they speak as a +contemporary of Vespasian was any other than the adversary of Corbulo, +is a very great difficulty in the way of this view being accepted; and +it is suggested that the two kings which the coins indicate may have +been contemporary monarchs reigning in different parts of Parthia. To +such a theory there can be no objection. The Parthian coins distinctly +show the existence under the later Arsacidae of numerous pretenders, or +rivals to the true monarch, of whom we have no other trace. In the time +of Volagases I. there was (we know) a revolt in Hyrcania, which was +certainly not suppressed as late as A.D. 75. The king who has been +called Artabanus IV. or Volagases II. may have maintained himself +in this region, while Volagases I. continued to rule in the Western +provinces and to be the only monarch known to the Romans and the Jews. +If this be the true account of the matter, we may regard Volagases I. as +having most probably reigned from A.D. 51 to about A.D. 78--a space of +twenty-seven years. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + + +_Results of the Establishment of Tiridates in Armenia. Long period of +Peace between Parthia and Rome. Obscurity of Parthian History at this +time. Relations of Volagases I. with Vespasian. Invasion of Western Asia +by Alani. Death of Volagases I. and Character of his Reign. Accession +and Long Reign of Pacorus. Relations of Pacorus with Decebalus of Dacia. +Internal Condition of Parthia during his Reign. Death of Pacorus and +Accession of Chosroes._ + + +The establishment of Tiridates as king of Armenia, with the joint +consent of Volagases and Nero, inaugurated a period of peace between +the two Empires of Rome and Parthia, which exceeded half a century. This +result was no doubt a fortunate one for the inhabitants of Western Asia; +but it places the modern historian of the Parthians at a disadvantage. +Hitherto the classical writers, in relating the wars of the +Syro-Macedonians and the Romans, have furnished materials for Parthian +history, which, if not as complete as we might wish, have been at any +rate fairly copious and satisfactory. Now, for the space of half a +century, we are left without anything like a consecutive narrative, and +are thrown upon scattered and isolated notices, which can form only +a most incomplete and disjointed narrative. The reign of Volagases I. +appears to have continued for about twelve years after the visit of +Tiridates to Rome; and no more than three or four events are known as +having fallen into this interval. Our knowledge of the reign of Pacorus +is yet more scanty. But as the business of the workman is simply to make +the best use that he can of his materials, such a sketch of this dark +period as the notices which have come down to us allow will now be +attempted. + +When the troubles which followed upon the death of Nero shook the Roman +world, and after the violent ends of Galba and Otho, the governor of +Judaea, Vespasian, resolved to become a candidate for the imperial power +(A.D. 69), Volagases was at once informed by envoys of the event, and +was exhorted to maintain towards the new monarch the same peaceful +attitude which he had now for seven years observed towards his +predecessors. Volagases not only complied with the request, out sent +ambassadors in return to Vespasian, while he was still at Alexandria +(A.D. 70), and offered to put at his disposal a body of forty thousand +Parthian cavalry. The circumstances of his position allowed Vespasian to +decline this magnificent proposal, and to escape the odium which +would have attached to the employment of foreign troops against his +countrymen. His generals in Italy had by this time carried all before +them; and he was able, after thanking the Parthian monarch, to inform +him that peace was restored to the Roman world, and that he had +therefore no need of auxiliaries. In the same friendly spirit in which +he had made this offer, Volagases, in the next year (A.D. 71), sent +envoys to Titus at Zeugma, who presented to him the Parthian king's +congratulations on his victorious conclusion of the Jewish war, and +begged his acceptance of a crown of gold. The polite attention was +courteously received; and before allowing them to return to their master +the young prince hospitably entertained the Parthian messengers at a +banquet. + +Soon after this, circumstances occurred in the border state of Commagene +which threatened a rupture of the friendly relations that had hitherto +subsisted between Volagases and Vespasian. Caesennius Paetus, proconsul +of Syria, the unsuccessful general in the late Armenian war, informed +Vespasian, early in A.D. 72, that he had discovered a plot, by which +Commagene, one of the Roman subject kingdoms, was to be detached from +the Roman alliance, and made over to the Parthians. Antiochus, the aged +monarch, and his son Epiphanes were, according to Paetus, both concerned +in the treason; and the arrangement with the Parthians was, he said, +actually concluded. It would be well to nip the evil in the bud. If the +transfer of territory once took place, a most serious disturbance of the +Roman power would follow. Commagene lay west of the Euphrates; and +its capital city, Samosata (the modern Sumeisat), commanded one of the +points where the great river was most easily crossed; so that, if the +Parthians held it, they would have a ready access at all times to the +Roman provinces of Cappadocia, Cilicia, and Syria, with a perfectly safe +retreat. These arguments had weight with Vespasian, who seems to have +had entire confidence in Paetus, and induced him to give the proconsul +full liberty to act as he thought best. Thus empowered, Paetus at once +invaded Commagene in force, and meeting at first with no resistance +(for the Commagenians were either innocent or unprepared), succeeded in +occupying Samosata by a _coup de main_. The aged king wished to yield +everything without a blow; but his two sons, Epiphanes and Callinicus, +were not to be restrained. They took arms, and, at the head of such a +force as they could hastily muster, met Paetus in the field, and +fought a battle with him which lasted the whole day, and ended without +advantage to either side. But the decision of Antiochus was not to be +shaken; he refused to countenance his sons' resistance, and, quitting +Commagene, passed with his wife and daughters into the Roman province +of Cilicia, where he took up his abode at Tarsus. The spirit of the +Commagenians could not hold out against this defection; the force +collected began to disperse; and the young princes found themselves +forced to fly, and to seek a refuge in Parthia, which they reached +with only ten horsemen. Volagases received them with the courtesy and +hospitality due to their royal rank; but as he had given them no help +in the struggle, so now he made no effort to reinstate them. All the +exertion to which he could be brought was to write a letter on their +behalf to Vespasian, in which he probably declared them guiltless of the +charges that had been brought against them by Paetus. Vespasian, at any +rate, seems to have become convinced of their innocence; for though +he allowed Commagene to remain a Roman province, he permitted the two +princes with their father to reside at Rome, assigned the ex-monarch an +ample revenue, and gave the family an honorable status. + +It was probably not more than two or three years after the events above +narrated, that Volagases found himself in circumstances which impelled +him to send a petition to the Roman Emperor for help. The Alani, +a Scythian people, who had once dwelt near the Tanais and the Lake +Mseotis, or Sea of Azof, but who must now have lived further to the +East, had determined on a great predatory invasion of the countries west +of the Caspian Gates, and having made alliance with the Hyrcanians, who +were in possession of that important pass, had poured into Media through +it, driven King Pacorus to the mountains, and overrun the whole of +the open country. From hence they had passed on into Armenia, defeated +Tiridates, in a battle, and almost succeeded in capturing him by means +of a lasso. Volagases, whose subject-kings were thus rudely treated, +and who might naturally expect his own proper territories to be next +attacked, sent in this emergency a request to Vespasian for aid. He +asked moreover that the forces put at his disposal should be placed +under the command of either Titus or Domitian, probably not so much from +any value that he set on their military talents as from a conviction +that if a member of the Imperial family was sent, the force which +accompanied him would be considerable. We are told that the question, +whether help be given or no, was seriously discussed at Rome, and that +Domitian was exceedingly anxious that the troops should go, and begged +that he might be their commander. But Vespasian was disinclined for any +expenditure of which he did not recognize the necessity, and disliked +all perilous adventure. His own refusal of extraneous support, +when offered by his rival, rendered it impossible for him to reject +Volagases's request without incurring the charge of ingratitude. The +Parthians were therefore left to their own resources; and the result +seems to have been that the invaders, after ravaging and harrying Media +and Armenia at their pleasure, carried off a vast number of prisoners +and an enormous booty into their own country. Soon after this, Volagases +must have died. The coins of his successor commence in June, A.D. 78, +and thus he cannot have outlived by more than three years the irruption +of the Alani. If he died, as is most probable, in the spring of A.D. 78, +his reign would have covered the space of twenty-seven years. It was an +eventful one for Parthia. It brought the second period of struggle with +the Romans to an end by compromise which gave to Rome the shadow and +to Parthia the substance of victory. And it saw the first completed +disintegration of the Empire in the successful revolt of Hyrcania--an +event of evil portent. Volagases was undoubtedly a monarch of +considerable ability. He conducted with combined prudence and firmness +the several campaigns against Corbulo; he proved himself far superior +to Paetus; exposed to attacks in various quarters from many different +enemies, he repulsed all foreign invaders and, as against them, +maintained intact the ancient dominions of the Arsacidae. He practically +added Arminia to the Empire. Everywhere success attended him, except +against a domestic foe. Hyrcania seceded during his reign, and it may +be doubted whether Parthia ever afterwards recovered it. An example was +thus set of successful Arian revolt against the hitherto irresistible +Turanians, which may have tended in no slight degree to produce the +insurrection which eventually subverted the Parthian Empire. + +The successor of Volagases I. was Pacorus, whom most writers on Parthian +history have regarded as his son. There is, however, no evidence of this +relationship; and the chief reason for regarding Pacorus as belonging +even to the same branch of the Arsacidse with Volagases I. is his youth +at his accession, indicated by the beardless head upon his early coins, +which is no doubt in favor of his having been a near relation of the +preceding king. PLATE III., Fig 1. The Parthian coins show that his +reign continued at least till A.D. 93; it may have lasted considerably +longer, for the earliest date on any coin of Chosroes is AEr. Seleuc. +421, or A.D. 110. The accession of Chosroes has been conjecturally +assigned to A.D. 108, which would allow to Pacorus the long reign of +thirty years. Of this interval it can only be said that, so far as our +knowledge goes, it was almost wholly uneventful. We know absolutely +nothing of this Pacorus except that he gave encouragement to a person +who pretended to be Nero; that he enlarged and beautified Otesiphon; +that he held friendly communications with Decebalus, the great Dacian +chief, who was successively the adversary of Domitian and Trajan; and +that he sold the sovereignty of Osrhoene at a high price to the Edessene +prince who was cotemporary with him. The Pseudo-Nero in question appears +to have taken refuge with the Parthians in the year A.D. 89, and to have +been demanded as an impostor by Domitian. Pacorus was at first inclined +to protect and to even assist him, but after a while was induced to give +him up, probably by a threat of hostilities. The communication with +the Dacian chief was most likely earlier. The Dacians, in one of +those incursions into Maesia which they made during the first years of +Domitian, took captive a certain Callidromus, a Greek, if we may judge +by his name, slave to a Roman of some rank, named Liberius Maximus. This +prisoner Decebalus (we are told) sent as a present to Pacorus, in whose +service and favor he remained for a number of years. This circumstance, +insignificant enough in itself, acquires an interest from the indication +which it gives of intercommunication between the enemies of Rome, even +when they were separated by vast spaces, and might have been thought +to have been wholly ignorant of each other's existence. Decebalus can +scarcely have been drawn to Pacorus by any other attraction than that +which always subsists between enemies of any great dominant power. He +must have looked to the Parthian monarch as a friend who might make a +diversion on his behalf upon occasion; and that monarch, by accepting +his gift, must be considered to have shown a willingness to accept this +kind of relation. + +The sale of the Osrhoene territory to Abgarus by Pacorus was not a fact +of much consequence. It may indicate an exhaustion of his treasury, +resulting from the expenditure of vast sums on the enlargement and +adornment of the capital, but otherwise it has no bearing on the general +condition of the Empire. Perhaps the Parthian feudatories generally paid +a price for their investiture. If they did not, and the case of Abgarus +was peculiar, still it does not appear that his purchase at all altered +his position as a Parthian subject. It was not until they transferred +their allegiance to Rome that the Osrhoene princes struck coins, or +otherwise assumed the status of kings. Up to the time of M. Aurelius +they continued just as much subject to Parthia as before, and were far +from acquiring a position of independence. + +There is reason to believe that the reign of Pacorus was a good deal +disturbed by internal contentions. We hear of an Artabanus as king of +Parthia in A.D. 79; and the Parthian coins of about this period present +us with two very marked types of head, both of them quite unlike that +of Pacorus, which must be those of monarchs who either contended with +Pacorus for the crown, or ruled contemporaneously with him over other +portions of the Parthian Empire. [PLATE III., Fig. 2.] Again, towards +the close of Pacorus's reign, and early in that of his recognized +successor, Chosroes, a monarch called Mithridates is shown by the coins +to have borne sway for at least six years--from A.D. 107 to 113. This +monarch commenced the practice of placing a Semitic legend upon his +coins, which would seem to imply that he ruled in the western rather +than the eastern provinces. The probability appears, on the whole, to +be that the disintegration which has been already noticed as having +commenced under Volagases I. was upon the increase. Three or four +monarchs were ruling together in different portions of the Parthian +world, each claiming to be the true Arsaces, and using the full titles +of Parthian sovereignty upon his coins. The Romans knew but little of +these divisions and contentions, their dealings being only with the +Arsacid who reigned at Ctesiphon and bore sway over Mesopotamia and +Adiabene. + +Pacorus must have died about A.D. 108, or a little later. He left behind +him two sons, Exedares and Parthamasiris, but neither of these two +princes was allowed to succeed him. The Parthian Megistanes assigned the +crown to Chosroes, the brother of their late monarch, perhaps regarding +Exedares and Parthamasiris as too young to administer the government of +Parthia satisfactorily. If they knew, as perhaps they did, that the +long period of peace with Rome was coming to an end, and that they might +expect shortly to be once more attacked by their old enemy, they might +well desire to have upon the throne a prince of ripe years and approved +judgment. A raw youth would certainly have been unfit to cope with the +age, the experience, and the military genius of Trajan. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + + +_Reign of Chosroes. General condition of Oriental Affairs gives a handle +to Trajan. Trajan's Schemes of Conquest. Embassy of Chosroes to Trajan +fails. Great Expedition of Trajan. Campaign of A. D. 115. Campaign of +A.D. 116. Death of Trajan, and relinquishment of his Parthian Conquests +by Hadrian. Interview of Chosroes with Hadrian. Its Consequences. Death +of Chosroes and Accession of Volagases II._ + + +The general state of Oriental affairs at the accession of Chosroes seems +to have been the following. Upon the demise of Tiridates (about A.D. +100) Pacorus had established upon the Armenian throne one of his sons, +named Exedares, or Axidares, and this prince had thenceforth reigned as +king of Armenia without making any application to Rome for investiture, +or acknowledging in any way the right of the Romans to interfere with +the Armenian succession. Trajan, sufficiently occupied in the West, had +borne this insult. When, however, in A.D. 114, the subjugation of Dacia +was completed, and the Roman Emperor found his hands free, he resolved +to turn his arms towards Asia, and to make the Armenian difficulty +a pretext for a great military expedition, designed to establish +unmistakably the supremacy of Rome throughout the East. The condition +of the East at once called for the attention of Rome, and was +eminently favorable for the extension of her influence at this period. +Disintegrating forces were everywhere at work, tending to produce a +confusion and anarchy which invited the interposition of a great power, +and rendered resistance to such a power difficult. Christianity, which +was daily spreading itself more and more widely, acted as a dissolvent +upon the previously-existing forms of society, loosening the old ties, +dividing man from man by an irreconcilable division, and not giving much +indication as yet of its power to combine and unite. Judaism, embittered +by persecution, had from a nationality become a conspiracy; and the +disaffected adherents of the Mosaic system, dispersed through all the +countries of the East, formed an explosive element in the population +which involved the constant danger of a catastrophe. The Parthian +political system was also, as already remarked, giving symptoms of +breaking up. Those bonds which for two centuries and a half had sufficed +to hold together a heterogeneous kingdom extending from the Euphrates +to the Indus, and from the Oxus to the Southern Ocean, were beginning +to grow weak, and the Parthian Empire appeared to be falling to pieces. +There seemed to be at once a call and an opportunity for a fresh +arrangement of the East, for the introduction of a unifying power, such +as Rome recognized in her own administrative system, which should compel +the crumbling atoms of the Oriental world once more into cohesion. + +To this call Trajan responded. His vast ambition had been whetted, +rather than satiated, by the conquest of a barbarous nation, and a +single, not very valuable, province. In the East he might hope to add to +the Roman State half a dozen countries of world-wide repute, the seats +of ancient empires, the old homes of Asiatic civilization, countries +associated with the immortal names of Sennacherib and Sardanapalus, +Cyrus, Darius, and Alexander. The career of Alexander had an attraction +for him, which he was fain to confess; and he pleased himself by +imitating, though he could not hope at his age to equal it. His Eastern +expedition was conceived very much in the same spirit as that of +Crassus; but he possessed the military ability in which the Triumvir +was deficient, and the enemy whom he had to attack was grown less +formidable. + +Trajan commenced his Eastern expedition in A.D. 114, seven years after +the close of the Dacian War. He was met at Athens in the autumn of +that year by envoys from Chosroes, who brought him presents, and made +representations which, it was hoped, would induce him to consent to +peace. Chosroes stated that he had deposed his nephew, Exedares, the +Armenian prince whose conduct had been offensive to Rome; and proposed +that, as the Armenian throne was thereby vacant, it should be filled by +the appointment of Parthamasiris, Exedares's brother. This prince would +be willing, he said, to receive investiture at the hands of Rome; and he +requested that Trajan would transmit to him the symbol of sovereignty. +The accommodation suggested would have re-established the relations of +the two countries towards Armenia on the basis on which they had been +placed by the agreement between Volagases and Nero. It would have +saved the credit of Rome, while it secured to Parthia the substantial +advantage of retaining Armenia under her authority and protection. +Trajan might well have consented to it, had his sole object been to +reclaim the rights or to vindicate the honor of his country. But he had +distinctly made up his mind to aim, not at the re-establishment of any +former condition of things, but at the placing of matters in the East on +an entirely new footing. He therefore gave the ambassadors of Chosroes +a cold reception, declined the gifts offered him, and replied to the +proposals of accommodation that the friendship of kings was to be +measured by deeds rather than by words--he would therefore say nothing, +but when he reached Syria would act in a becoming manner. The envoys +of the Parthian monarch were obliged to return with this unsatisfactory +answer; and Chosroes had to wait and see what interpretation it would +receive from the course of events. + +During the later months of autumn, Trajan advanced from Athens to +Antioch. At that luxurious capital, he mustered his forces and prepared +for the campaign of the ensuing year. Abgarus, the Osrhoene prince who +had lately purchased his sovereignty from Pacorus, sent an embassy +to him in the course of the winter, with presents and an offer of +friendship. Parthamasiris also entered into communications with him, +first assuming the royal title, and then, when his letter received no +answer, dropping it, and addressing the Roman Emperor as a mere private +person. Upon this act of self-humiliation, negotiations were commenced. +Parthamasiris was encouraged to present himself at the Roman camp, and +was given to understand that he would there receive from Trajan, +as Tiridates had received from Nero, the emblem of sovereignty and +permission to rule Armenia. The military preparations were, however, +continued. Vigorous measures were taken to restore the discipline of the +Syrian legions, which had suffered through the long tranquillity of the +East and the enervating influence of the climate. With the spring Trajan +commenced his march. Ascending the Euphrates, to Samosata, and receiving +as he advanced the submission of various semi-independent dynasts and +princes, he took possession of Satala and Elegeia, Armenian cities on +or near the Euphrates, and establishing himself at the last-named place, +waited for the arrival of Parthamasiris. That prince shortly rode into +the Roman camp, attended by a small retinue; and a meeting was arranged, +at which the Parthian, in the sight of the whole Roman army, took the +diadem from his brows and laid it at the feet of the Roman Emperor, +expecting to have it at once restored to him. But Trajan had determined +otherwise. He made no movement; and the army, prepared no doubt for the +occasion, shouted with all their might, saluting him anew as Imperator, +and congratulating him on his "bloodless victory." Parthamasiris felt +that he had fallen into a trap, and would gladly have turned and fled; +but he found himself surrounded by the Roman troops and virtually a +prisoner. Upon this he demanded a private audience, and was conducted to +the Emperor's tent, where he made proposals which were coldly rejected, +and he was given to understand that he must regard his crown as +forfeited. It was further required of him that, to prevent false rumors, +he should present himself a second time at the Emperor's tribunal, +prefer his requests openly, and hear the Imperial decision. The Parthian +consented. With a boldness worthy of his high descent, he affirmed that +he had neither been defeated nor made prisoner, but had come of his +own free will to hold a conference with the Roman chief, in the full +expectation of receiving from him, as Tiridates had received from Nero, +the crown of Armenia, confident, moreover, that in any case he would +"suffer no wrong, but be allowed to depart in safety." Trajan answered +that he did not intend to give the crown of Armenia to any one--the +country belonged to the Romans, and should have a Roman governor. As +for Parthamasiris, he was free to go whithersoever he pleased, and his +Parthian attendants might accompany him. The Armenians, however, must +remain. They were Roman subjects, and owed no allegiance to Parthia. + +The tale thus told, with no appearance of shame, by the Roman historian, +Dio Cassius, is sufficiently disgraceful to Trajan, but it does not +reveal to us the entire baseness of his conduct. We learn from other +writers, two of them contemporary with the events, that the pompous +dismissal of Parthamasiris, with leave to go wherever he chose, was +a mere pretence. Trajan had come to the conclusion, if not before +the interview, at any rate in the course of it, that the youth was +dangerous, and could not be allowed to live. He therefore sent troops to +arrest him as he rode off from the camp, and when he offered resistance +caused him to be set upon and slain. This conduct he afterwards strove +to justify by accusing the young prince of having violated the agreement +made at the interview; but even the debased moral sense of his age was +revolted by this act, and declared the grounds whereon he excused it +insufficient. Good faith and honor had been sacrificed (it was said) +to expediency--the reputation of Rome had been tarnished--it would have +been better, even if Parthamasiris were guilty, to have let him escape, +than to have punished him at the cost of a public scandal. So strongly +was the disgrace felt that some (it seems) endeavored to exonerate +Trajan from the responsibility of having contrived the deed, and to +throw the blame of it on Exedares, the ex-king of Armenia and brother of +Parthamasiris. But Trajan had not sunk so low as to shift his fault on +another. He declared openly that the act was his own, and that Exedares +had had no part in it. + +The death of Parthamasiris was followed by the complete submission of +Armenia. Chosroes made no attempt to avenge the murder of his nephew, or +to contest with Trajan the possession of the long-disputed territory. +A little doubt seems for a short time to have been entertained by the +Romans as to its disposal. The right of Exedares to be reinstated in +his former kingdom was declared by some to be clear; and it was probably +urged that the injuries which he had suffered at the hands of Chosroes +would make him a sure Roman ally. But these arguments had no weight with +Trajan. He had resolved upon his course. An end should be put, at once +and forever, to the perpetual intrigues and troubles inseparable from +such relations as had hitherto subsisted between Rome and the Armenian +kingdom. The Greater and the Lesser Armenia should be annexed to the +Empire, and should form a single Roman province. This settled, attention +was turned to the neighboring countries. Alliance was made with +Anchialus, king of the Heniochi and Macheloni, and presents were sent +to him in return for those which his envoys had brought to Trajan. A +new king was given to the Albanians. Friendly relations were established +with the chiefs of the Iberi, Sauro-matse, Golchi, and even with the +tribes settled on the Cimmerian Bosphorus. The nations of these parts +were taught that Rome was the power which the inhabitants even of +the remote East and North had most to fear; and a wholesome awe was +instilled into them which would, it was hoped, conduce to the general +tranquillity of the Empire. + +But the objects thus accomplished, considerable as they were, did +not seem to the indefatigable Emperor sufficient for one year. Having +settled the affairs of the North-east, and left garrisons in the chief +Armenian strongholds, Trajan marched southwards to Edessa, the capital +of the province of Gsrhoene, and there received the humble submission +of Abgarus, who had hitherto wavered between the two contending powers. +Manisares, a satrap of these parts, who had a quarrel of his own with +Chosroes, also embraced his cause, while other chiefs wavered in their +allegiance to Parthia, but feared to trust the invader. Hostilities +were commenced by attacks in two directions--southward against the tract +known as Anthemusia, between the Euphrates and the Khabour; and eastward +against Batnas, Nisibis, and the mountain region known as Gordyene, +or the Mons Masius. Success attended both these movements; and, before +winter set in, the Romans had made themselves masters of the whole of +Upper Mesopotamia, and had even pushed southwards as far as Singara, a +town on the skirts of the modern Sinjar mountain-range. Mesopotarnia +was at once, like Armenia, "reduced into the form of a Roman province." +Medals were issued representing the conqueror with these subject +countries at his foot and the obsequious Senate conferred the title of +"Parthicus" upon the Imperator, who had thus robbed the Parthians of two +provinces. + +According to some, the headquarters of Trajan during the ensuing winter +were at Nisibis or Edessa, but the nexus of the narrative in Dio seems +rather to require, and the other ancient notices to allow, the belief +that he returned to Syria and wintered at Antioch, leaving his generals +in possession of the conquered regions, with orders to make every +preparation for the campaign of the next year. Among other instructions +which they received was the command to build a large fleet at Nisibis, +where good timber was abundant, and to prepare for its transport to the +Tigris, at the point where that stream quits the mountains and enters on +the open country. Meanwhile, in the month of December, the magnificent +Syrian capital, where Trajan had his headquarters, was visited by a +calamity of a most appalling character. An earthquake, of a violence and +duration unexampled in ancient times, destroyed the greater part of its +edifices, and buried in their ruins vast multitudes of the inhabitants +and of the strangers that had flocked into the town in consequence of +the Imperial presence. Many Romans of the highest rank perished, and +among them M. Virgilianus Pedo, one of the consuls for the year. The +Emperor himself was in danger, and only escaped by creeping through +a window of the house in which he resided; nor was his person quite +unscathed. Some falling fragments struck him; but fortunately the +injuries that he received were slight, and had no permanent consequence. +The bulk of the surviving inhabitants, finding themselves houseless, or +afraid to enter their houses if they still stood, bivouacked during the +height of the winter in the open air, in the Circus, and elsewhere about +the city. The terror which legitimately followed from the actual perils +was heightened by imaginary fears. It was thought that the Mons Casius, +which towers above Antioch to the south-west, was about to be shattered +by the violence of the shocks, and to precipitate itself upon the ruined +town. + +Nor were the horrors of the catastrophe confined to Antioch. The +earthquake was one of a series which carried destruction and devastation +through the greater part of the East. In the Roman province of Asia, +four cities were completely destroyed--Eleia, Myrina, Pitane, and Cyme. +In Greece two towns were reduced to ruins, namely, Opus in Locris, and +Oritus. In Galatia three cities, unnamed, suffered the same fate. It +seemed as if Providence had determined that the new glories which Rome +was gaining by the triumphs of her arms should be obscured by calamities +of a kind that no human power could avert or control, and that despite +the efforts of Trajan to make his reign a time of success and splendor, +it should go down to posterity as one of gloom, suffering, and disaster. + +Trajan, however, did not allow himself to be diverted from the objects +that he had set before him by such trifling matters as the sufferings of +a certain number of provincial towns. With the approach of spring (A.D. +116) he was up and doing. His officers had obeyed his orders, and a +fleet had been built at Nisibis during the winter amply sufficient for +the purpose for which it was wanted. The ships were so constructed that +they could be easily taken to pieces and put together again. Trajan had +them conveyed on wagons to the Tigris at Jezireh, and there proceeded +to make preparations for passing the river and attacking Adiabene. +By embarking on board some of his ships companies of heavy-armed +and archers, who protected his working parties, and at the same time +threatening with other ships to cross at many different points, he was +able, though with much difficulty, to bridge the stream in the face of +a powerful body of the enemy, and to land his troops safely on the +opposite bank. This done, his work was more than half accomplished. +Chosroes remained aloof from the war, either husbanding his resources, +or perhaps occupied by civil feuds, and left the defence of his outlying +provinces to their respective governors. Mobarsapes, the Adiabenian +monarch, had set his hopes on keeping the invader out of his kingdom by +defending the line of the Tigris, and when that was forced he seems +to have despaired, and to have made no further effort. His towns and +strongholds were taken one after another, without their offering any +serious resistance. Nineveh, Arbela, and Gaugamala fell into the enemy's +hands. Adenystrse, a place of great strength, was captured by a small +knot of Roman prisoners, who, when they found their friends near, rose +upon the garrison, killed the commandant, and opened the gates to their +countrymen. In a short time the whole tract between the Tigris and the +Zagros mountains was overrun; resistance ceased; and the invader was +able to proceed to further conquests. + +It might have been expected that an advance would have at once been +directed on Ctesiphon, the Parthian capital; but Trajan, for some reason +which is not made clear to us, determined otherwise. He repassed the +Tigris into Mesopotamia, took Hatra (now el-Hadhr), at that time one of +the most considerable places in those parts, and then, crossing to the +Euphrates, descended its course to Hit and Babylon. No resistance was +offered him, and he became master of the mighty Babylon without a blow. +Seleucia seems also to have submitted; and it remained only to attack +and take the capital in order to have complete possession of the entire +region watered by the two great rivers. For this purpose a fleet was +again necessary, and, as the ships used on the upper Tigris had, it +would seem, been abandoned, Trajan conveyed a flotilla, which had +descended the Euphrates, across Mesopotamia on rollers, and launching it +upon the Tigris, proceeded to the attack of the great metropolis. Here +again the resistance that he encountered was trivial. Like Babylon and +Seleucia, Ctesiphon at once opened its gates. The monarch had departed +with his family and his chief treasures,6 and had placed a vast space +between himself and his antagonist. He was prepared to contend with +his Roman foe, not in battle array, but by means of distance, natural +obstacles, and guerilla warfare. He had evidently determined neither +to risk a battle nor stand a siege. As Trajan advanced, he retreated, +seeming to yield all, but no doubt intending, if it should be necessary, +to turn to bay at last, and in the meantime diligently fomenting that +spirit of discontent and disaffection which was shortly to render the +further advance of the Imperial troops impossible. + +But, for the moment, all appeared to go well with the invaders. The +surrender of Ctesiphon brought with it the submission of the whole +region on the lower courses of the great rivers, and gave the conqueror +access to the waters of a new sea. Trajan may be excused if he overrated +his successes, regarded himself as another Alexander, and deemed that +the great monarchy, so long the rival of Rome, was now at last swept +away, and that the entire East was on the point of being absorbed into +the Roman Empire. The capture by his lieutenants of the golden throne +of the Parthian kings may well have seemed to him emblematic of this +change; and the flight of Chosroes into the remote and barbarous regions +of the far East may have helped to lull his adversary into a feeling of +complete security. Such a feeling is implied in the pleasure voyage of +the conqueror down the Tigris to the Persian Gulf, in his embarkation +on the waters of the Southern Sea, in the inquiries which he instituted +with respect to Indian affairs, and in the regret to which he gave +utterance, that his advanced years prevented him from making India +the term of his labors. No shadow of his coming troubles seems to have +flitted before the eyes of the Emperor during the weeks that he was thus +occupied--weeks which he passed in self-complacent contemplation of the +past and dreams of an impossible future. + +Suddenly, tidings of a most alarming kind dispelled his pleasing +visions, and roused him to renewed exertions. Revolt, he found, had +broken out everywhere in his rear. At Seleucia, at Hatra, at Nisibis, +at Edessa, the natives had flown to arms; his entire line of retreat was +beset by foes, and he ran a risk of having his return cut off, and +of perishing in the land which he had invaded. Trajan had hastily to +retrace his stops, and to send his generals in all directions to check +the spread of insurrection. Seleucia was recovered by Erucius Clarus +and Julius Alexander, who punished its rebellion by delivering it to the +flames. Lucius Quietus retook Nisibis, and plundered and burnt Edessa. +Maximus, on the contrary, was defeated and slain by the rebels, who +completely destroyed the Roman army under his orders. Trajan, perceiving +how slight his hold was upon the conquered populations, felt compelled +to change his policy, and, as the only mode of pacifying, even +temporarily, the growing discontent, instead of making Lower Mesopotamia +into a Roman province, as he had made Armenia, Upper Mesopotamia, and +Adiabene (or Assyria), he proceeded with much pomp and display to set +up a native king. The prince selected was a certain Parthamaspates, a +member of the royal family of the Arsacidse, who had previously sided +with Rome against the reigning monarch. In a plain near Ctesiphon, +where he had had his tribunal erected, Trajan, after a speech wherein he +extolled the greatness of his own exploits, presented to the assembled +Romans and natives this youth as King of Parthia, and with his own hand +placed the diadem upon his brow. + +Under cover of the popularity acquired by this act the aged Emperor now +commenced his retreat. The line of the Tigris was no doubt open to him, +and along this he might have marched in peace to Upper Mesopotamia or +Armenia; but either he preferred the direct route to Syria by way +of Hatra and Singara, or the insult offered to the Roman name by +the independent attitude which the people of the former place still +maintained induced him to diverge from the general line of his course, +and to enter the desert in order to chastise their presumption. Hatra +was a small town, but strongly fortified. The inhabitants at this time +belonged to that Arabian immigration which was always more and more +encroaching upon Mesopotamia. They were Parthian subjects, but appear +to have had their own native kings. On the approach of Trajan, +nothing daunted, they closed their gates, and prepared themselves for +resistance. Though he battered down a portion of the wall, they repulsed +all the attempts of his soldiers to enter through the breach, and when +he himself came near to reconnoitre, they drove him off with their +arrows. His troops suffered from the heat, from the want of provisions +and fodder, from the swarms of flies which disputed with them every +morsel of their food and every drop of their drink, and finally from +violent hail and thunderstorms. Trajan was forced to withdraw after a +time without effecting anything, and to own himself baffled and defeated +by the garrison of a petty fortress. + +The year, A.D. 116, seems to have closed with this memorable failure. +In the following spring, Chosroes, learning the retreat of the Romans, +returned to Ctesiphqn, expelled Parthamaspates, who retired into Roman +territory, and re-established his authority in Susiana and Southern +Mesopotamia. The Romans, however, still held Assyria (Adiabene) and +Upper Mesopotamia, as well as Armenia, and had the strength of the +Empire been exerted to maintain these possessions, they might have +continued in all probability to be Roman provinces, despite any efforts +that Parthia could have made to recover them. But in August, A.D. 117, +Trajan died; and his successor, Hadrian, was deeply impressed with the +opinion that Trajan's conquests had been impolitic, and that it was +unsafe for Rome to attempt under the circumstances of the time any +extension of the Eastern frontier. The first act of Hadrian was to +relinquish the three provinces which Trajan's Parthian war had added to +the Empire, and to withdraw the legions within the Euphrates. Assyria +and Mesopotamia were at once reoccupied by the Parthians. Armenia +appears to have been made over by Hadrian to Parthamaspates, and to have +thus returned to its former condition of a semi-independent kingdom, +leaning alternately on Rome and Parthia. It has been asserted that +Osrhoene was placed likewise upon the same footing; but the numismatic +evidence adduced in favor of this view is weak; and upon the whole +it appears most probable that, like the other Mesopotamian countries, +Osrhoene again fell under the dominion of the Arsacidae. Rome therefore +gained nothing by the great exertions which she had made, unless it were +a partial recovery of her lost influence in Armenia, and a knowledge of +the growing weakness of her Eastern rival--a knowledge which, though it +produced no immediate fruit, was of importance, and was borne in mind +when, after another half-century of peace, the relations of the two +empires became once more unsatisfactory. + +The voluntary withdrawal of Hadrian from Assyria and Mesopotamia placed +him on amicable terms with Parthia during the whole of his reign. +Chosroes and his successor could not but feel themselves under +obligations to the monarch who, without being forced to it by a defeat, +had restored to Parthia the most valuable of her provinces. On one +occasion alone do we hear of any, even threatened, interruption of +the friendly relations subsisting between the two powers; and then the +misunderstanding, whatever it may have been, was easily rectified and +peace maintained. Hadrian, in A.D. 122, had an interview with Chosroes +on his eastern frontier, and by personal explanations and assurances +averted, we are told, an impending outbreak. Not long afterwards +(A.D. 130, probably) he returned to Chosroes the daughter who had been +captured by Trajan, and at the same time promised the restoration of +the golden throne, on which the Parthians appear to have set a special +value. + +It must have been soon after he received back his daughter that Chosroes +died. His latest coins bear a date equivalent to A.D. 128; and the Roman +historians give Volagases II. as king of Parthia in A.D. 133. It +has been generally supposed that this prince was Chosroes' son, and +succeeded him in the natural course; but the evidence of the Parthian +coins is strong against these suppositions. According to them, Volagases +had been a pretender to the Parthian throne as early as A.D. 78, and had +struck coins both in that year and the following one, about the date of +the accession of Pacorus. His attempt had, however, at that time failed, +and for forty-one years he kept his pretensions in abeyance; but about +A.D. 119 or 120 he appears to have again come forward, and to have +disputed the crown with Chosroes, or reigned contemporaneously with +him over some portion of the Parthian kingdom, till about A.D. 130, +when--probably on the death of Chosroes--he was acknowledged as sole +king by the entire nation. Such is the evidence of the coins, which in +this case are very peculiar, and bear the name of Volagases from first +to last. It seems to follow from them that Chosroes was succeeded, not +by a son, but by a rival, an old claimant of the crown, who cannot have +been much younger than Chosroes himself. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + + +_Reign of Volagases II. Invasion of the Alani. Communications between +Volagases and Antoninus Pius. Death of Volagases II. and Accession of +Volagases III. Aggressive War of Volagases III. on Rome. Campaign of +A.D. 162. Verus sent to the East. Sequel of the War. Losses suffered by +Parthia. Death of Volagases III._ + + +Volagases II. appears to have occupied the Parthian throne, after the +death of Chosroes, for the space of nineteen years. His reign has a +general character of tranquillity, which agrees well with the advanced +period of life at which, according to the coins, he first became +actual king of Parthia. It was disturbed by only one actual outbreak of +hostilities, an occasion upon which Volagases stood upon the defensive; +and on one other occasion was for a brief period threatened with +disturbance. Otherwise it seems to have been wholly peaceful. So far +as appears, no pretenders troubled it. The coins show, for the years +between A.D. 130 and A.D. 149, the head of but one monarch, a head of a +marked type, which is impossible to be mistaken. [PLATE III., Fig. 4.] + +The occasion upon which actual hostilities disturbed the repose of +Volagases was in A.D. 133, when, by the intrigues of Pharasmanes, +king of the Iberians, a great horde of Alani from the tract beyond the +Caucasus was induced to pour itself through the passes of that mountain +chain upon the territories of both the Parthians and the Romans +Pharasmanes had previously shown contempt for the power of Rome by +refusing to pay court to Hadrian, when, in A.D. 130, he invited the +monarchs of Western Asia generally to a conference. He had also, it +would seem, been insulted by Hadrian, who, when Pharasmanes sent him a +number of cloaks made of cloth-of-gold, employed them in the adornment +of three hundred convicts condemned to furnish sport to the Romans in +the amphitheatre. What quarrel he had with the Parthians we are not +told; but it is related that at his instigation the savage Alani, +introduced within the mountain barrier, poured at one and the same time +into Media Atropatene, which was a dependency of Parthia; into +Armenia, which was under Parthamaspates; and into the Roman province of +Cappadocia. Volagases sent an embassy to Rome complaining of the conduct +of Pharasmanes, who appears to have been regarded as ruling under Roman +protection; and that prince was summoned to Rome in order to answer for +his conduct. But the Alanian inroad had to be dealt with at once. +The Roman governor of Cappadocia, who was Arrian, the historian of +Alexander, by a mere display of force drove the barbarians from his +province. Volagases showed a tamer spirit; he was content to follow an +example, often set in the East, and already in one instance imitated by +Rome, but never adopted by any nation as a settled policy without fatal +consequences, and to buy at a high price the retreat of the invaders. + +It was to have been expected that Rome would have punished severely the +guilt of Pharasmanes in exposing the Empire and its allies to horrors +such as always accompany the inroads of a barbarous people. But though +the Iberian monarch was compelled to travel to Rome and make his +appearance before the Emperor's tribunal, yet Hadrian, so far from +punishing him, was induced to load him with benefits and honors. He +permitted him to sacrifice in the Capitol, placed his equestrian statue +in the temple of Bellona, and granted him an augmentation of territory. +Volagases can scarcely have been pleased at these results of his +complaints; he bore them, however, without murmuring, and, when (in A.D. +138) Hadrian died and was succeeded by his adopted son, T. Aurelius, +better known as Antoninus Pius, Volagases sent to Rome an embassy of +congratulation, and presented the new monarch with a crown of gold. + +It was probably at this same time that he ventured to make an unpleasant +demand. Hadrian had promised that the golden throne which Trajan had +captured, in his expedition, and by which the Parthians set so much +store, should be surrendered to them; but this promise he had failed to +perform. Volagases appears to have thought that his successor might +be more facile, and accordingly instructed his envoys to re-open the +subject, to remind Antoninus of the pledged faith of his adopted father, +and to make a formal request for the delivery of the valued relic. +Antoninus, however, proved as obdurate as Hadrian. He was not to be +persuaded by any argument to give back the trophy; and the envoys had +to return with the report that their representations upon the point had +been in vain, and had wholly failed to move the new Emperor. + +The history of Volagases II. ends with this transaction. No events are +assignable to the last ten years of his reign, which was probably a +season of profound repose, in the East as it was in the West--a period +having (as our greatest historian observes of it) "the rare advantage +of furnishing very few materials for history," which is, indeed (as +he says), "little more than the register of the crimes, follies, and +misfortunes of mankind." The influence of Rome extended beyond his +borders. As in modern times it has become a proverb that when a +particular European nation is satisfied the peace of the world is +assured, so in the days whereof we are treating it would seem that +Rome had only to desire repose, for the surrounding nations to find +themselves tranquil. The inference appears to be that not only were the +wars which occurred between Rome and her neighbors for the most +part stirred up by herself, but that even the civil commotions which +disturbed States upon her borders had very generally their origin in +Roman intrigues, which, skilfully concealed from view, nevertheless +directed the course of affairs in surrounding States, and roused in +them, when Rome thought her interests required it, civil differences, +disorders, and contentions. + +The successor of Volagasos II. was Volagases III., who was most probably +his son, although of this there is no direct evidence. The Parthian +coins show that Volagases III. ascended the throne in A.D. 148 or 149, +and reigned till A.D. 190 or 191--a space of forty-two years. We may +assume that he was a tolerably young man at his accession, though the +effigy upon his earliest coins is well bearded, and that he was somewhat +tired of the long inactivity which had characterized the period of his +father's rule. He seems very early to have meditated a war with Rome, +and to have taken certain steps which betrayed his intentions; but, upon +their coming to the knowledge of Antoninus, and that prince writing to +him on the subject, Volagases altered his plans, and resolved to wait, +at any rate, until a change of Emperor at Rome should give him a +chance of taking the enemy at a disadvantage. Thus it was not till A.D. +161--twelve years after his accession--that his original design was +carried out, and the flames of war were once more lighted in the East to +the ruin and desolation of the fairest portion of Western Asia. + +The good Antoninus was succeeded in the spring of A.D. 161 by his +adopted son, Marcus Aurelius, who at once associated with him in the +government the other adopted son of Antoninus, Lucius Verus. Upon this, +thinking that the opportunity for which he had been so long waiting had +at last arrived, Volagases marched his troops suddenly into Armenia, +expelled Sosemus, the king protected by the Romans, and established in +his place a certain Tigranes, a scion of the old royal stock, whom the +Armenians regarded as their rightful monarch. News of this bold +stroke soon reached the governors of the adjacent Roman provinces, +and Severianus, prefect of Cappadocia, a Gaul by birth, incited by +the predictions of a pseudo-prophet of those parts, named Alexander, +proceeded at the head of a legion into the adjoining kingdom, in the +hope of crushing the nascent insurrection and punishing at once the +Armenian rebels and their Parthian supporters. Scarcely, however, had +he crossed the Euphrates, when he found himself confronted by an +overwhelming force, commanded by a Parthian called Chosroes, and was +compelled to throw himself into the city of Elegeia, where he was +immediately surrounded and besieged. Various tales were told of his +conduct under these circumstances, and of the fate which overtook him +the most probable account being that after holding out for three days +he and his troops were assailed on all sides, and, after a brave +resistance, were shot down almost to a man. The Parthians then crossed +the Euphrates, and carried fire and sword through Syria. Attidius +Cornelianus, the proconsul, having ventured to oppose them, was +repulsed. Vague thoughts of flying to arms and shaking off the Roman +yoke possessed the minds of the Syrians, and threatened to lead to some +overt act. The Parthians passed through Syria into Palestine, and almost +the whole East seemed to lie open to their incursions. When these facts +were reported at Rome, it was resolved to send Lucius Verus to the East. +He was of an age to undergo the hardships of campaigning, and therefore +better fitted than Marcus Aurelius to undertake the conduct of a great +war. But, as his military talent was distrusted, it was considered +necessary to place at his disposal a number of the best Roman generals +of the time, whose services he might use while he claimed as his own +their successes. Statius Priscus, Avidius Cassius, and Martius Verus, +were the most important of these officers; and it was by them, and not +by Verus himself, that the military operations were, in fact, conducted. +It was not till late in the year A.D. 162 that Verus, having with +reluctance torn himself from Italy, appeared, with his lieutenants, +upon the scene in Syria, and, after vainly offering them terms of +peace, commenced hostilities against the triumphant Parthians. The young +Emperor did not adventure his own person in the field, but stationed +himself at Antioch, where he could enjoy the pleasures and amusements of +a luxurious capital, while he committed to his lieutenants the task of +recovering Syria and Armenia, and of chastising the invaders. Avidius +Cassius, to whom the Syrian legions were entrusted, had a hard task to +bring them into proper discipline after their long period of inaction, +but succeeded after a while by the use of almost unexampled severities. +Attacked by Volagases within the limits of his province, he made a +successful defence, and in a short time was able to take the offensive, +to defeat Volagases in a great battle near Europus, and (A.D. 163) to +drive the Parthians across the Euphrates. The Armenian war was at the +same time being pressed by Statius Priscus, who advanced without a check +from the frontier to the capital, Artaxata, which he took and (as it +seems) destroyed. He then built a new city, which he strongly garrisoned +with Roman troops, and sent intelligence of his successes to Rome, +whither Soaemus, the expelled monarch, had betaken himself. Soasmus was +upon this replaced on the Armenian throne, the task of settling him in +the government being deputed to a certain Thucydides, by whose efforts, +together with those of Martius Verus, all opposition to the restored +monarch was suppressed, and the entire country tranquillized. + +Rome had thus in the space of two years recovered her losses, and shown +Parthia that she was still well able to maintain the position in Western +Asia which she had acquired by the victories of Trajan. But such a +measure of success did not content the ambitious generals into whose +hands the incompetence of Verus had thrown the real direction of the +war. Military distinction at this time offered to a Roman a path to the +very highest honors, each successful general becoming at once by force +of his position a candidate for the Imperial dignity. Of the various +able officers employed under Verus, the most distinguished and the most +ambitious was Cassius--a chief who ultimately raised the standard of +revolt against Aurelius, and lost his life in consequence. Cassius, +after he had succeeded in clearing Syria of the invaders, was made +by Aurelius a sort of generalissimo; and being thus free to act as he +chose, determined to carry the war into the enemy's country, and to +try if he could not rival, or outdo, the exploits of Trajan fifty years +previously. Though we have no continuous narrative of his expedition, we +may trace its course with tolerable accuracy in the various fragmentary +writings which bear upon the history of the time--from Zeugma, when +he crossed the Euphrates into Mesopotamia, to Nicephorium, near the +junction of the Belik with the Euphrates; and thence down the course of +the stream to Sura (Sippara?) and Babylon. At Sura a battle was fought, +in which the Romans were victorious; and then the final efforts were +made, which covered Cassius with glory. The great city of Seleucia, +upon the Tigris, which had a population of 400,000 souls, was besieged, +taken, and burnt, to punish an alleged treason of the inhabitants. +Ctesiphon, upon the opposite side of the stream, was occupied, and the +summer palace of Volagases there situated was levelled with the ground. +The various temples were plundered; secret places, where it was thought +treasure might be hid, were examined, and a rich booty was carried off +by the invaders. The Parthians, worsted in every encounter, ceased to +resist; and all the conquests made by Trajan were recovered. Nor was +this all. The Roman general, after conquering the Mesopotamian plain, +advanced into the Zagros mountains, and occupied, at any rate, a portion +of Media, thereby entitling his Imperial masters to add to the titles +of "Armeniacus," and "Parthicus," which they had already assumed, the +further and wholly novel title of "Medicus." + +But Rome was not to escape the Nemesis which is wont to pursue the +over-fortunate. During the stay of the army in Babylonia a disease +was contracted of a strange and terrible character, whereto the +superstitious fears of the soldiers assigned a supernatural origin. The +pestilence, they said, had crept forth from a subterranean cell in the +temple of Comsean Apollo at Seleucia, which those who were plundering +the town rashly opened in the hope of its containing treasure, but which +held nothing except this fearful scourge, placed there in primeval times +by the spells of the Chaldaeans. Such a belief, however fanciful, was +calculated to increase the destructive-power of the malady, and so to +multiply its victims. Vast numbers of the soldiers perished, we are +told, from its effects during the march homeward; their sufferings being +further aggravated by the failure of supplies, which was such that; many +died of famine. The stricken army, upon entering the Roman territory, +communicated the infection to the inhabitants, and the return of Verus +and his troops to Rome was a march of Death through the provinces. The +pestilence raged with special force throughout Italy, and spread as far +as the Rhine and the Atlantic Ocean. According to one writer more than +one half of the entire population, and almost the whole Roman army, was +carried off by it. + +But though Rome suffered in consequence of the war, its general result +was undoubtedly disadvantageous to the Parthians. The expedition +of Cassius was the first invasion of Parthia in which Rome had +been altogether triumphant. Trajan's campaign had brought about the +submission of Armenia to the Romans; but it did not permanently deprive +Parthia of any portion of her actual territory. And the successes of +the Emperor in his advance were almost balanced by the disasters which +accompanied his retreat--disasters so serious as to cause a general +belief that Hadrian's concessions sprang more from prudence than from +generosity. The war of Verus produced the actual cession to Rome of a +Parthian province, which continued thenceforth for centuries to be an +integral portion of the Roman Empire. Western Mesopotamia, or the tract +between the Euphrates and the Khabour, passed under the dominion of Rome +at this time; and, though not reduced to the condition of a province, +was none the less lost to Parthia, and absorbed by Rome into her +territory. Parthia, moreover, was penetrated by the Roman arms more +deeply at this time than she had ever been previously, and was made to +feel, as she had never felt before, that in contending with Rome she was +fighting a losing battle. It added to the disgrace of her defeats, and +to her own sense of their decisive character, that they were inflicted +by a mere general, a man of no very great eminence, and one who was far +from possessing the free command of those immense resources which Rome +had at her disposal. + +Parthia had now, in fact, entered upon the third stage of her decline. +The first was reached when she ceased to be an aggressive and was +content to become a stationary power; the second set in when she began +to lose territory by the revolt of her own subjects; the third--which +commences at this point--is marked by her inability to protect herself +from the attacks of a foreign assailant. The causes of her decline were +various. Luxury had no doubt done its ordinary work upon the conquerors +of rich and highly-civilized regions, softening down their original +ferocity, and rendering them at once less robust in frame and less bold +and venturesome in character. + +The natural law of exhaustion, which sooner or later affects all +races of any distinction, may also not improbably have come into play, +rendering the Parthians of the age of Verus very degenerate descendants +of those who displayed such brilliant qualities when they contended with +Crassus and Mark Antony. Loyalty towards the monarch, and the absolute +devotion of every energy to his service, which characterized, the +earlier times, dwindled and disappeared as the succession became +more and more disputed, and the kings less worthy of their subjects' +admiration. The strength needed against foreign enemies was, moreover, +frequently expended in civil broils; the spirit of patriotism declined; +and tameness under insult and indignity took the place of that fierce +pride and fiery self-assertion which had once characterized the people. + +The war with Rome terminated in the year A.D. 165. Volagases survived +its close for at least twenty-five years; but he did not venture at any +time to renew the struggle, or to make any effort for the recovery of +his lost territory. Once only does he appear to have contemplated an +outbreak. When, about the year A.D. 174 or 175, Aurelius being occupied +in the west with repelling the attacks of the wild tribes upon the +Danube, Avidius Cassius assumed the purple in Syria, and a civil war +seemed to be imminent, Volagases appears to have shown an intention of +once more taking arms and trying his fortune. A Parthian war was at this +time expected to break out by the Romans. But the crisis passed without +an actual explosion. The promptness of Aurelius, who, on hearing the +news, at once quitted the Danube and marched into Syria, together with +the rapid collapse of the Cassian revolt, rendered it imprudent for +Volagases to persist in his project. He therefore laid aside all thought +of renewing hostilities with Rome; and, on the arrival of Aurelius +in Syria, sent ambassadors to him with friendly assurances, who were +received favorably by the philosophic Emperor. + +Four years after this Marcus Aurelius died, and was succeeded in the +purple by his youthful son, Lucius Aurelius Commodus. It might have been +expected that the accession of this weak and inexperienced prince would +have induced Volagases to resume his warlike projects, and attempt the +recovery of Mesopotamia. But the scanty history of the time which +has come down to us shows no trace of his having entertained any such +design. He had probably reached the age at which repose becomes a +distinct object of desire, and is infinitely preferred to active +exertion. At any rate, it is clear that he made no effort. The reign +of Gommodus was from first to last untroubled by Oriental disturbance. +Volgases III. was for ten years contemporary with this mean and +unwarlike prince; but Rome was allowed to retain her Parthian conquests +unmolested. At length, in A.D. 190 or 191, Volagases died,56 and the +destinies of Parthia passed into the hands of a new monarch. + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + + +_Accession of Volagases IV. His Alliance sought by Pescennius Niger, +Part taken by Parthia in the Contest between Niger and Severus, +Mesopotamia revolts from Rome. First Eastern Expedition of Severus. Its +Results. Second Expedition. Successes of Severus. His Failure at Hatra. +General Results of the War. Death of Volagases IV._ + + +On the death of Volagases III., in A.D. 190 or 191, the Parthian crown +fell to another prince of the same name, who was probably the eldest son +of the late monarch. This prince was scarcely settled upon the throne +when the whole of Western Asia was violently disturbed by the commotions +which shook the Roman Empire after the murder of Commodus. The +virtuous Pertinax was allowed to reign but three months (A.D. 193, +January--March). His successor was scarcely proclaimed when in three +different quarters the legionaries rose in arms, and, saluting their +commanders as "Emperors," invested them with the purple. Clodius +Albinus, in Britain; Severus, in Pannonia; and Pescennius Niger, in +Syria, at one and the same time claimed the place which the wretched +Julianus had bought, and prepared themselves to maintain their rights +against all who should impugn them. It seems that, on the first +proclamation of Niger, and before it had become evident that he would +have to establish his authority by force of arms, either the Parthian +monarch, or at any rate princes who were among his dependants, sent +to congratulate the new Emperor on his accession and to offer him +contingents of troops, if he required them. These spontaneous proposals +were at the first politely declined, since Niger expected to find +himself accepted joyfully as sovereign, and did not look to have +to engage in war. When, however, the news reached him that he had +formidable competitors, and that Severus, acknowledged Emperor at Rome, +was about to set out for the East, at the head of vast forces, he saw +that it would be necessary for him, if he were to make head against his +powerful rival, to draw together troops from all quarters. Accordingly, +towards the close of A.D. 193, he sent envoys to the princes beyond the +Euphrates, and especially to the kings of Parthia, Armenia, and Hatra, +entreating them to send their troops at once to his aid. Volagases, +under these circumstances, appears to have hesitated. He sent an answer +that he would issue orders to his satraps for the collection of a force, +but made no haste to redeem his promise, and in fact refrained from +despatching any body of distinctly Parthian troops to the assistance of +Niger in the impending struggle. + +While, however, thus abstaining from direct interference in the contest +between the two Roman pretenders, Volagases appears to have allowed one +of his dependent monarchs to mix himself up in the quarrel. Hatra, at +this time the capital of an Arabian community, and the chief city of +central Mesopotamia (or the tract between the Sinjar and the Babylonian +alluvium), was a dependency of Parthia, and though, like so many other +Parthian dependencies, it possessed its native kings, cannot have been +in a position to engage in a great war without permission from the +Court of Ctesiphon. When, therefore, we find that Barsemius, the King +of Hatra, not only received the envoys of Niger favorably, but actually +sent to his aid a body of archers, we must understand that Volagases +sanctioned the measure. Probably he thought it prudent to secure the +friendship of the pretender whom he expected to be successful, but +sought to effect this in the way that would compromise him least if the +result of the struggle should be other than he looked for. The sending +of his own troops to the camp of Niger would have committed him +irretrievably; but the actions of a vassal monarch might with some +plausibility be disclaimed. + +As the struggle between the two pretenders progressed in the early +months of A.D. 194, the nations beyond the Euphrates grew bolder, +and allowed themselves to indulge their natural feelings of hostility +towards the Romans. The newly subjected Mesopotamians flew to arms, +massacred most of the Roman detachments stationed about their country, +and laid siege to Nisibis, which since the cession Rome had made her +head-quarters. The natives of the region were assisted by their kindred +races across the Tigris, particularly by the people of Adiabene, who, +like the Arabs of Hatra, were Parthian vassals. Severus had no sooner +overcome his rival and slain him, than he hastened eastward with the +object of relieving the troops shut up in Nisibis, and of chastising the +rebels and their abettors. It was in vain that the Mesopotamians sought +to disarm his resentment by declaring that they had taken up arms in his +cause, and had been only anxious to distress and injure the partisans of +his antagonist. Though they sent ambassadors to him with presents, and +offered to make restitution of the Roman spoil still in their hands, +and of the Roman prisoners, it was observed that they said nothing about +restoring the strongholds which they had taken, or resuming the position +of Roman tributaries. On the contrary, they required that all Roman +soldiers still in their country should be withdrawn from it, and that +their independence should henceforth be respected. As Severus was not +inclined to surrender Roman territory without a contest, war was at once +declared. His immediate adversaries were of no great account, being, as +they were, the petty kings of Osrhoene, Adiabene, and Hatra; but behind +them loomed the massive form of the Parthian State, which was attacked +through them, and could not be indifferent to their fortunes. + +In the spring of A.D. 195, Severus, at the head of his troops, crossed +the Euphrates in person, and taking up his own quarters at Nisibis, +which the Mesopotamians had been unable to capture, proceeded to employ +his generals in the reduction of the rebels and the castigation of +their aiders and abettors. Though his men suffered considerably from the +scarcity and badness of the water, yet he seems to have found no great +difficulty in reducing Mesopotamia once more into subjection. Having +brought it completely under, and formally made Nisibis the capital, at +the same time raising it to the dignified position of a Roman colony, +he caused his troops to cross the Tigris into Adiabene, and, though +the inhabitants offered a stout resistance, succeeded in making himself +master of the country. The Parthian monarch seems to have made no effort +to prevent the occupation of this province. He stood probably on the +defensive, expecting to be attacked, in or near his capital. But Severus +could not afford to remain in these remote regions. He had still a rival +in the West in the person of Clodius Albinus, who might be expected to +descend upon Italy, if it were left exposed to his attacks much longer. +He therefore quitted the East early in A.D. 196, and returned to Rome +with all speed, leaving Parthia very insufficiently chastised, and his +new conquests very incompletely settled. + +Scarcely was he gone when the war broke out with greater violence than +ever. Volagases took the offensive, recovered Adiabene, and crossing the +Tigris into Mesopotamia, swept the Romans from the open country. +Nisibis alone, which two years before had defied all the efforts of the +Mesopotamians, held out against him, and even this stronghold was +within a little of being taken. According to one writer, the triumphant +Parthians even crossed the Euphrates, and once more spread themselves +over the fertile plains of Syria. Severus was forced in A.D. 197 to make +a second Eastern expedition to recover his lost glory and justify the +titles which he had taken. On his first arrival in Syria, he contented +himself with expelling the Parthians from the province, nor was it till +late in the year, that, having first made ample preparation, he crossed +the Euphrates into Mesopotamia. + +The success of any expedition against Parthia depended greatly on the +dispositions of the semi-dependent princes, who possessed territories +bordering upon those of the two great empires. Among these the most +important were at this time the kings of Armenia and Osrhoene. Armenia +had at the period of Niger's attempt been solicited by his emissaries; +but its monarch had then refused to take any part in the civil conflict. +Subsequently, however, he in some way offended Severus who, when he +reached the East, regarded Armenia as a hostile State requiring instant +subjugation. It seems to have been in the summer of A.D. 197, soon after +his first arrival in Syria, that Severus despatched a force against the +Armenian prince, who was named (like the Parthian monarch of the time) +Volagases. That prince mustered his troops and met the invaders at the +frontier of his kingdom. A battle seemed imminent; but ere the fortune +of war was tried the Armenian made an application for a truce, which +was granted by the Roman leaders. A breathing-space being thus gained, +Volagases sent ambassadors with presents and hostages to the Roman +emperor in Syria, professed to be animated by friendly feelings towards +Rome, and entreated Severus to allow him terms of peace. Severus +permitted himself to be persuaded; a formal treaty was made, and the +Armenian prince even received an enlargement of his previous territory +at the hands of his mollified suzerain. + +The Osrhoenian monarch, who bore the usual name of Abgarus, made a more +complete and absolute submission. He came in person into the emperor's +camp, accompanied by a numerous body of archers, and bringing with +him his sons as hostages. Severus must have hailed with especial +satisfaction the adhesion of this chieftain, which secured him the +undisturbed possession of Western Mesopotamia as far as the junction of +the Khabour with the Euphrates. It was his design to proceed himself by +the Euphrates route, while he sent detachments under other leaders +to ravage Eastern Mesopotamia and Adiabene, which had evidently +been re-occupied by the Parthians. To secure his army from want, he +determined, like Trajan, to build a fleet of ships in Upper Mesopotamia, +where suitable timber abounded, and to march his army down the left +bank of the Euphrates into Babylonia, while his transports, laden with +stores, descended the course of the river. In this way he reached +the neighborhood of Ctesiphon without suffering any loss, and easily +captured the two great cities of Babylon and Seleucia, which on his +approach were evacuated by their garrisons. He then proceeded to the +attack of Ctesiphon itself, passing his ships probably through one of +the canals which united the Tigris with the Euphrates, or else (like +Trajan) conveying them on rollers across the neck of land which +separates the two rivers. + +Volagases had taken up his own position at Ctesiphon, bent on defending +his capital. It is possible that the approach of Severus by the line of +march which he pursued was unexpected, and that the sudden presence of +the Romans before the walls of Ctesiphon came upon the Parthian +monarch as a surprise. He seems, at any rate, to have made but a poor +resistance. It may be gathered, indeed, from one author that he met the +invaders in the open field, and fought a battle in defence of Ctesiphon +before allowing himself to be shut up within its walls. But after the +city was once invested it appears to have been quickly taken. We hear of +no such resistance as that which was soon afterwards offered by Hatra. +The soldiers of Severus succeeded in storming Ctesiphon on the first +assault; the Parthian monarch betook himself to flight, accompanied by +a few horsemen; and the seat of empire thus fell easily--a second +time within the space of eighty-two years--into the hands of a foreign +invader. The treatment of the city was such as we might expect from +the ordinary character of Roman warfare. A general massacre of the +male population was made. The soldiers wore allowed to plunder both the +public and the private buildings at their pleasure. The precious metals +accumulated in the royal treasury were seized, and the chief ornaments +of the palace were taken and carried off. Nor did blood and plunder +content the victors. After slaughtering the adult males they made +prize of the women and children, who were torn from their homes without +compunction and led into captivity, to the number of a hundred thousand. + +Notwithstanding the precautions which he had taken, Severus appears +to have become straitened for supplies about the time that he captured +Ctesiphon. His soldiers were compelled for some days to exist on roots, +which produced a dangerous dysentery. He found himself unable to pursue +Volagases, and recognized the necessity of retreating before disaster +overtook him. He could not, however, return by the route of the +Euphrates, since his army had upon its advance completely exhausted the +resources of the Euphrates region. The line of the Tigris was therefore +preferred for the retreat; and while the ships with difficulty made +their way up the course of the stream, the army pursued its march upon +the banks, without, so far as appears, any molestation. It happened, +however, that the route selected led Severus near to the small state of +Hatra, which had given him special offence by supporting the cause +of his rival, Niger; and it seemed to him of importance that the +inhabitants should receive condign punishment for this act of audacity. +He may also have hoped to eclipse the fame of Trajan by the capture of a +town which had successfully resisted that hero. He therefore stopped +his march in order to lay siege to the place, which he attacked with +military engines, and with all the other offensive means known at the +time to the Romans. His first attempt was, however, easily repulsed. +The walls of the town were strong, its defenders brave and full of +enterprise. They burnt the siege-machines brought against them, and +committed great havoc among the soldiers. Under these circumstances +disorders broke out among the besiegers; mutinous words were heard; +and the emperor thought himself compelled to have recourse to severe +measures of repression. Having put to death two of his chief officers, +and then found it necessary to deny that he had given orders for the +execution of one of them, he broke up from before the place and removed +his camp to a distance. + +He had not, however, as yet relinquished the hope of bringing his +enterprise to a successful issue. In the security of his distant camp +he constructed fresh engines in increased numbers, collected an abundant +supply of provisions, and made every preparation for renewing the siege +with effect at no remote period. The treasures stored up in the +city were reported to be great, especially those which the piety of +successive generations had accumulated in the Temple of the Sun. This +rich booty appealed forcibly to the cupidity of the emperor, while his +honor seemed to require that he should not suffer a comparatively +petty town to defy his arms with impunity. He, therefore, after a short +absence retraced his steps, and appeared a second time before Hatrawith +a stronger siege-train and a better appointed army than before. But the +Hatreni met his attack with a resolution equal to his own. They were +excellent archers; they possessed a powerful force of cavalry; they knew +their walls to be strong; and they were masters of a peculiar kind +of fire, which was calculated to terrify and alarm, if not greatly to +injure, an enemy unacquainted with its qualities. Severus once more +lost almost all his machines; the Hatrene cavalry severely handled his +foragers; his men for a long time made but little impression upon the +walls, while they suffered grievously from the enemy's slingers and +archers, from his warlike engines, and especially, we are told, from +the fiery darts which were rained upon them incessantly. However, after +enduring these various calamities for a length of time, the perseverance +of the Romans was rewarded by the formation of a practicable breach +in the outer wall; and the soldiers demanded to be led to the assault, +confident in their power to force an entrance and carry the place. But +the emperor resisted their inclination. He did not wish that the city +should be stormed, since in that case it must have been given up to +indiscriminate pillage, and the treasures which he coveted would have +become the prey of the soldiery. The Hatreni, he thought, would make +their submission, if he only gave them a little time, now that they +must see further resistance to be hopeless. He waited therefore a day, +expecting an offer of surrender. But the Hatreni made no sign, and in +the night restored their wall where it had been broken down. + +Severus then made up his mind to sacrifice the treasures on which his +heart had been set, and, albeit with reluctance, gave the word for the +assault. But now the legionaries refused. They had been forbidden to +attack when success was certain and the danger trivial--they were +now required to imperil their lives while the result could not but be +doubtful. Perhaps they divined the emperor's motive in withholding them +from the assault, and resented it; at any rate they openly declined to +execute his orders. After a vain attempt to force an entrance by means +of his Asiatic allies, Severus desisted from his undertaking. The summer +was far advanced the heat was great; disease had broken out among his +troops; above all, they had become demoralized, and their obedience +could no longer be depended on. Severus broke up from before Hatra a +second time, after having besieged it for twenty days, and returned--by +what route we are not told--into Syria. + +Nothing is more surprising in the history of this campaign than the +inaction and apparent apathy of the Parthians. Volagases, after quitting +his capital, seems to have made no effort at all to hamper or harass +his adversary. The prolonged resistance of Hatra, the sufferings of the +Romans, their increasing difficulties with respect to provisions, +the injurious effect of the summer heats upon their unacclimatized +constitutions, would have been irresistible temptations to a prince of +any spirit or energy, inducing him to advance as the Romans retired, +to hang upon their rear, to cut off their supplies, and to render their +retreat difficult, if not disastrous. Volagases appears to have +remained wholly inert and passive. His conduct is only explicable by the +consideration of the rapid decline which Parthia was now undergoing, of +the general decay of patriotic spirit, and the sea of difficulties into +which a monarch was plunged who had to retreat before an invader. + +The expedition of Severus was on the whole glorious for Rome, and +disastrous for Parthia, though the glory of the victor was tarnished +at the close by his failure before Hatra. It cost Parthia a second +province. The Roman emperor not only recovered his previous position in +Mesopotamia, but overstepping the Tigris, established the Roman +dominion firmly in the fertile tract between that stream and the Zagros +mountain-range. The title of "Adiabenicus" became no empty boast. +Adiabene, or the tract between the Zab rivers--probably including at +this time the entire low region at the foot of Zagros from the eastern +Khabour on the north to the Adhem towards the south--passed under +the dominion of Rome, the monarch of the country, hitherto a Parthian +vassal, becoming her tributary. Thus the imperial standards were planted +permanently at a distance less than a degree from the Parthian +capital, which, with the great cities of Seleucia and Babylon in its +neighborhood, was exposed to be captured almost at any moment by a +sudden and rapid inroad. + +Volagases survived his defeat by Severus about ten or eleven years. +For this space Parthian history is once more a blank, our authorities +containing no notice that directly touches Parthia during the period in +question. The stay of Severus in the East during the years A.D. 200 and +201, would seem to indicate that the condition of the Oriental provinces +was unsettled and required the presence of the Imperator. But we hear +of no effort made by Parthia at this time to recover her losses--of +no further collision between her troops and those of Rome; and we may +assume therefore that peace was preserved, and that the Parthian monarch +acquiesced, however unwillingly, in the curtailment of his territory. +Probably internal, no less than external, difficulties pressed upon him. +The diminution of Parthian prestige which had been brought about by the +successive victories of Trajan, Avidius Cassius, and Severus must have +loosened the ties which bound to Parthia the several vassal kingdoms. +Her suzerainty had been accepted as that of the Asiatic nation most +competent to make head against European intruders, and secure the native +races in continued independence of a wholly alien power. It may well +have appeared at this time to the various vassal states that the +Parthian vigor had become _effete_, that the qualities which had +advanced the race to the leadership of Western Asia were gone, and that +unless some new power could be raised up to act energetically against +Rome, the West would obtain complete dominion over the East, and Asia +be absorbed into Europe. Thoughts of this kind, fermenting among the +subject populations, would produce a general debility, a want both of +power and of inclination to make any combined effort, a desire to wait +until an opportunity of acting with effect should offer. Hence probably +the deadness and apathy which characterize this period, and which seem +at first sight so astonishing. Distrust of their actual leader paralyzed +the nations of Western Asia, and they did not as yet see their way +clearly towards placing themselves under any other guidance. + +Volagases IV. reigned till A.D. 208-9, dying thus about two years before +his great adversary, who expired at York, February 4, A.D. 211. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + + +_Struggle between the two Sons of Volagases IV., Volagases V. +and Artabanus. Continued Sovereignty of both Princes. Ambition of +Caracallus. His Proceedings in the East. His Resolve to quarrel +with Parthia. First Proposal made by him to Artabanus. Perplexity +of Artabanus. Caracallus invades Parthia. His Successes, and Death. +Macrinus, defeated by Artabanus, consents to Terms of Peace. Revolt of +the Persians under Artaxerxes. Prolonged Struggle. Death of Artabanus, +and Downfall of the Parthian Empire._ + + +On the death of Volagases IV., the Parthian crown was disputed between +his two sons, Artabanus and Volagases. According to the classical +writers, the contest resulted in favor of the former, whom they regard +as undisputed sovereign of the Parthians, at any rate from the year +A.D. 216. It appears, however, from the Parthian coins, that both the +brothers claimed and exercised sovereignty during the entire term +of seventeen or eighteen years which intervened between the death of +Volagases IV. and the revolt of the Persians. Artabanus must beyond all +doubt have acquired the sole rule in the western portions of the empire, +since (from A.D. 216 to A.D. 226) he was the only monarch known to the +Romans. But Volagases may at the same time have been recognized in the +more eastern provinces, and may have maintained himself in power in +those remote regions without interfering with his brother's dominion in +the West. Still this division of the empire must naturally have tended +to weaken it; and the position of Volagases has to be taken into account +in estimating the difficulties under which the last monarch of the +Arsacid series found himself placed--difficulties to which, after a +struggle, he was at last forced to succumb. Domestic dissension, wars +with a powerful neighbor (Rome), and internal disaffection and rebellion +formed a combination, against which the last Parthian monarch, albeit a +man of considerable energy, strove in vain. But he strove bravely; and +the closing scenes of the empire, in which he bore the chief part, are +not unworthy of its best and palmiest days. + +An actual civil war appears to have raged between the two brothers for +some years. Caracallus, who in A.D. 211 succeeded his father, Severus, +as Emperor of Rome, congratulated the Senate in A.D. 212 on the strife +still going on in Parthia, which could not fail (he said) to inflict +serious injury on that hostile state. The balance of advantage seems at +first to have inclined towards Volagases, whom Caracallus acknowledged +as monarch of Parthia in the year A.D. 215. But soon after this the +fortune of war must have turned; for subsequently to the year A.D. 215, +we hear nothing more of Volagases, but find Caracallus negotiating with +Artabanus instead, and treating with him as undisputed monarch of the +entire Parthian empire. That this was not his real position, appears +from the coins; but the classical evidence may be accepted as showing +that from the year A.D. 216, Volagases ceased to have much power, +sinking from the rank of a rival monarch into that of a mere pretender, +who may have caused some trouble to the established sovereign, but did +not inspire serious alarm. + +Artabanus, having succeeded in reducing his brother to this condition, +and obtained a general acknowledgment of his claims, found himself +almost immediately in circumstances of much difficulty. From the moment +of his accession, Caracallus had exhibited an inordinate ambition; and +this ambition had early taken the shape of a special desire for the +glory of Oriental conquests. The weak and dissolute son of Severus +fancied himself, and called himself, a second Alexander; and thus he was +in honor bound to imitate that hero's marvellous exploits. The extension +of the Roman territory towards the East became very soon his great +object, and he shrank from no steps, however base and dishonorable, +which promised to conduce towards the accomplishment of his wishes. As +early as A.D. 212 he summoned Abgarus, the tributary king of Osrhoene, +into his presence, and when he unsuspectingly complied, seized him, +threw him into prison, and declaring his territories forfeited, +reduced them into the form of a Roman province. Successful in this bold +proceeding, he attempted to deal with Armenia in the same way; but, +though the monarch fell foolishly into the trap set for him, the nation +was not so easily managed. The Armenians flew to arms on learning +the imprisonment of their king and royal family; and when, three year +afterwards (A.D. 215), Caracallus sent a Roman army under Theocritus, +one of his favorites, to chastise them, they inflicted a severe defeat +on their assailant. But the desire of Caracallus to effect Oriental +conquests was increased, rather than diminished, by this occurrence. He +had sought a quarrel with Parthia as early as A.D. 214, when he demanded +of Volagases the surrender of two refugees of distinction. The rupture, +which he courted, was deferred by the discreditable compliance of the +Great King with his requisition. + +Volagases surrendered the two unfortunates; and the Roman Emperor was +compelled to declare himself satisfied with the concession. But a year +had not elapsed before he had devised a new plan of attack and proceeded +to put it in execution. + +Volagases V. was about this time compelled to yield the western capital +to his brother; and Artabanus IV. became the representative of Parthian +power in the eyes of the Romans. Caracallus in the summer of A.D. +215, having transferred his residence from Nicomedia to Antioch, sent +ambassadors from the last-named place to Artabanus, who were to present +the Parthian monarch with presents of unusual magnificence, and to make +him an unheard-of proposition. "The Roman Emperor," said the despatch +with which they were intrusted, "could not fitly wed the daughter of a +subject or accept the position of son-in-law to a private person. No +one could be a suitable wife to him who was not a princess." He therefore +asked the Parthian monarch for the hand of his daughter. Rome and +Parthia divided between them the sovereignty of the world; united, as +they would be by this marriage, no longer recognizing any boundary as +separating them, they would constitute a power that could not but be +irresistible. It would be easy for them to reduce under their sway all +the barbarous races on the skirts of their empires, and to hold them in +subjection by a flexible system of administration and government. The +Roman infantry was the best in the world, and in steady hand-to-hand +fighting must be allowed to be unrivalled. The Parthians surpassed all +nations in the number of their cavalry and in the excellency of their +archers. If these advantages, instead of being separated, were combined, +and the various elements on which success in war depends were thus +brought into harmonious union, there could be no difficulty in +establishing and maintaining a universal monarchy. Were that done, +the Parthian spices and rare stuffs, as also the Roman metals and +manufactures, would no longer need to be imported secretly and in small +quantities by merchants, but, as the two countries would form together +but one nation and one state, there would be a free interchange among +all the citizens of their various products and commodities. + +The recital of this despatch threw the Parthian monarch into extreme +perplexity. He did not believe that the proposals made to him were +serious, or intended to have an honorable issue. The project broached +appeared to him altogether extravagant, and such as no one in his senses +could entertain for a moment. Yet he was anxious not to offend the +master of two-and-thirty legions, nor even to give him a pretext for +a rupture of amicable relations. Accordingly he temporized, contenting +himself with setting forth some objections to the request of Caracallus, +and asking to be excused compliance with it. "Such a union, as +Caracallus proposed, could scarcely," he said, "prove a happy one. The +wife and husband, differing in language, habits, and mode of life, +could not but become estranged from one another. There was no lack of +patricians at Rome, possessing daughters with whom the emperor might +wed as suitably as the Parthian kings did with the females of their own +royal house. It was not fit that either family should sully its blood by +mixture with the other." + +There is some doubt whether Caracallus construed this response as an +absolute refusal, and thereupon undertook his expedition, or whether he +regarded it as inviting further negotiation, and sent a second embassy, +whose arguments and persuasions induced Artabanus to consent to the +proposed alliance. The contemporary historian, Dio, states positively +that Artabanus refused to give his daughter to the Roman monarch, and +that Caracallus undertook his expedition to avenge this insult; but +Herodian, another contemporary, declares exactly the reverse. According +to him, the Roman Emperor, on receiving the reply of Artabanus, sent a +new embassy to urge his suit, and to protest with oaths that he was +in earnest and had the most friendly intentions. Artabanus upon this +yielded, addressed Caracallus as his son-in-law, and invited him to come +and fetch home his bride. Herodian describes with much minuteness, +and with a good deal of picturesque effect, the stately march of the +Imperial prince through the Parthian territory, the magnificent welcome +which he received, and the peaceful meeting of the two kings in the +plain before Ctesiphon, which was suddenly interrupted by the meditated +treason of the crafty Roman. Taken at disadvantage, the Parthian +monarch with difficulty escaped, while his soldiers and other subjects, +incapable of making any resistance, were slaughtered like sheep by their +assailants, who then plundered and ravaged the Parthian territory at +their will, and returned laden with spoil into Mesopotamia. In general, +Dio is a more trustworthy authority than Herodian, and most moderns have +therefore preferred his version of the story. But it may be questioned +whether in this particular case the truth has not been best preserved +by the historian on whom under ordinary circumstances we place less +dependence. If so disgraceful an outrage as that described by Herodian +was, indeed, committed by the head of the Roman State on a foreign +potentate, Dio, as a great State official, would naturally be anxious +to gloss it over. There are, moreover, internal difficulties in his +narrative; and on more than one point of importance he contradicts not +only Herodian, but also Spartianus. It is therefore not improbable that +Herodian has given with most truth the general outline of the expedition +of Caracallus, though, with that love of effect which characterizes him, +he may have unduly embellished the narrative. + +The advance of Caracallus was, if Spartianus is to be believed, through +Babylonia. The return may have been (as Dio seems to indicate that it +was) by the way of the Tigris, through Adiabene and Upper Mesopotamia. +It was doubtless on the return that Caracallus committed a second and +wholly wanton outrage upon the feelings of his adversary, by violating +the sanctity of the Parthian royal sepulchres, and dispersing their +contents to the four winds. These tombs were situated at Arbela, in +Adiabene, a place which seems to have been always regarded as in some +sort a City of the Dead. The useless insult and impiety were worthy of +one who, like Caracallus, was "equally devoid of judgment and humanity," +and who has been pronounced by the most unimpassioned of historians +to have been "the common enemy of mankind." A severe reckoning was +afterwards exacted for the indignity, which was felt by the Parthians +with all the keenness wherewith Orientals are wont to regard any +infringement of the sanctity of the grave. + +Caracallus appears to have passed the winter at Edessa, amusing himself +with hunting and charioteering after the fatigues of his campaign. In +the spring he threatened another advance into Parthian territory, and +threw the Medes and Parthians into great alarm. He had not, however, the +opportunity of renewing his attack. On April 8, A.D. 217, having quitted +Edessa with a small retinue for the purpose of visiting a famous temple +of the Moon-God near Carrhaa, he was surprised and murdered on the way +by Julius Martialis, one of his guards. His successor, Macrinus, though +a Praetorian prefect, was no soldier, and would willingly have retired +at once from the war. But the passions of the Parthians had been roused. +Artahanus possessed the energy and spirit which most of the recent +monarchs had lacked; and though defeated when taken at disadvantage, and +unable for some months to obtain any revenge, had employed the winter +in the collection of a vast army, and was determined to exact a heavy +retribution for the treacherous massacre of Ctesiphon and the wanton +impiety of Arbela. He had already taken the field and conducted his +troops to the neighborhood of the Roman frontier when Caracallus lost +his life. Macrinus was scarcely acknowledged emperor when he found that +the Parthians were close at hand, that the frontier was crossed, and +that unless a treaty could be concluded he must risk a battle. + +Under these circumstances the unwarlike emperor hurriedly, sent +ambassadors to the Parthian camp, with an offer to restore all the +prisoners made in the late campaign as the price of peace. Artabanus +unhesitatingly rejected the overture, but at the same time informed his +adversary of the terms on which he was willing to treat. Macrinus, he +said, must not only restore the prisoners, but must also consent to +rebuild all the towns and castles which Caracallus had laid in ruins, +must make compensation for the injury done to the tombs of the kings, +and further must cede Mesopotamia to the Parthians. It was impossible +for a Roman Emperor to consent to such demands without first trying the +fortune of war, and Macrinus accordingly made up his mind to fight a +battle. The Parthian prince had by this time advanced as far as Nisibis, +and it was in the neighborhood of that city that the great struggle took +place. + +The battle of Nisibis, which terminated the long contest between Rome +and Parthia, was the fiercest and best-contested which was ever fought +between the rival powers. It lasted for the space of three days. The +army of Artabanus was numerous and well-appointed: like almost every +Parthian force, it was strong in cavalry and archers; and it had +moreover a novel addition of considerable importance, consisting of +a corps of picked soldiers, clad in complete armor, and carrying long +spears or lances, who were mounted on camels. The Roman legionaries +were supported by numerous light-armed troops, and a powerful body of +Mauritanian cavalry. According to Dio, the first engagement was brought +on accidentally by a contest which arose among the soldiers for the +possession of a watering-place. Herodian tells us that it commenced with +a fierce assault of the Parthian cavalry, who charged the Romans with +loud shouts, and poured into their ranks flight after flight of arrows. +A long struggle followed. The Romans suffered greatly from the bows of +the horse-archers, and from the lances of the corps mounted on camels; +and though, when they could reach their enemy, they had always the +superiority in close combat, yet after a while their losses from the +cavalry and camels forced them to retreat. As they retired they strewed +the ground with spiked balls and other contrivances for injuring the +feet of animals; and this stratagem was so far successful that +the pursuers soon found themselves in difficulties, and the armies +respectively retired, without any decisive result, to their camps. + +The next day there was again a combat from morning to night, of which +we have no description, but which equally terminated without any clear +advantage to either side. The fight was then renewed for the third time +on the third day, with the difference that the Parthians now directed +all their efforts towards surrounding the enemy, and thus capturing +their entire force. As they greatly outnumbered the Romans, these last +found themselves compelled to extend their line unduly, in order to meet +the Parthian tactics; and the weakness of the extended line seems to +have given the Parthians an opportunity of throwing it into confusion, +and thus causing the Roman defeat. Macrinus took to flight among the +first; and his hasty retreat discouraged his troops, who soon afterwards +acknowledged themselves beaten, and retired within the lines of their +camp. Both armies had suffered severely. Herodian describes the heaps +of dead as piled to such a height that the manoeuvres of the troops were +impeded by them, and at last the two contending hosts could scarcely +see one another! Both armies, therefore, desired peace. The soldiers +of Macrinus, who had never had much confidence in their leader, were +demoralized by ill success, and showed themselves inclined to throw off +the restraints of discipline. Those of Artabanus, a militia rather than +a standing force, were unaccustomed to sustained efforts; and having +been now for some months in the field, had grown weary, and wished to +return home. Macrinus under these circumstances re-opened negotiations +with his adversary. He was prepared to concede something more than he +had proposed originally, and he had reason to believe that the Parthian +monarch, having found the Roman resistance so stubborn, would be content +to insist on less. The event justified his expectations. Artabanus +relinquished his demand for the cession of Mesopotamia, and accepted a +pecuniary compensation for his wrongs. Besides restoring the captives +and the booty carried off by Caracallus in his raid, Macrinus had to pay +a sum exceeding a million and a half of our money. Rome thus concluded +her transactions with Parthia, after nearly three centuries of struggle, +by ignominiously purchasing a peace. + +It might have been expected that the glory of this achievement would +have brought the troubles of Artabanus to a close; and if they did not +cause the pretender who still disputed his possession of the throne to +submit, would at any rate have put an end to any disaffection on the +part of the subject nations that the previous ill-success of Parthia in +her Roman wars might have provoked. But in the histories of nations and +empires we constantly find that noble and gallant efforts to retrieve +disaster and prevent the ruin consequent upon it come too late. When +matters have gathered to a head, when steps that commit important +persons have been taken, when classes or races have been encouraged to +cherish hopes, when plans have been formed and advanced to a certain +point, the course of action that has been contemplated and arranged for +cannot suddenly be given up. The cause of discontent is removed, but the +effects remain. Affections have been alienated, and the alienation still +continues. A certain additional resentment is even felt at the tardy +repentance, or revival, which seems to cheat the discontented of that +general sympathy whereof without it they would have been secure. In +default of their original grievance, it is easy for them to discover +minor ones, to exaggerate these into importance, and to find in them +a sufficient reason for persistence in the intended course. Hence +revolutions often take place just when the necessity for them seems +to be past, and kingdoms perish at a time when they have begun to show +themselves deserving of a longer term of life. + +It is impossible at the present day to form any trustworthy estimate +of the real value of those grounds of complaint which the Persians, in +common doubtless with other subject races, thought that they had against +the Parthian rule. We can well understand that the supremacy of any +dominant race is irksome to the aliens who have to submit to it; +but such information as we possess fails to show us either anything +seriously oppressive in the general system of the Parthian government, +or any special grievance whereof the Persians had to complain. The +Parthians were tolerant; they did not interfere with the religious +prejudices of their subjects, or attempt to enforce uniformity of creed +or worship. Their military system did not press over-heavily on the +subject peoples, nor is there any reason to believe that the scale of +their taxation was excessive. Such tyranny as is charged upon certain +Parthian monarchs is not of a kind that would have been sensibly felt +by the conquered nations, for it was exercised upon none who were not +Parthians. If we endeavor to form a distinct notion of the grievances +under which the Persians suffered, they seem to have amounted to no more +than this: 1. That high offices, whether military or civil, were for the +most part confined to those of Parthian blood, and not thrown open to +Parthian subjects generally; 2. That the priests of the Persian religion +were not held in any special honor, but placed merely on a par with the +religious ministers of the other subject races; 3. That no advantage in +any respect was allowed to the Persians over the rest of the conquered +peoples, notwithstanding that they had for so many years exercised +supremacy over Western Asia, and given to the list of Asiatic worthies +such names as those of Cyrus and Darius Hystaspis. It must, however, +be confessed that the account which has come down to us of the times +in question is exceedingly meagre and incomplete; that we cannot say +whether the Persians had not also other grounds of complaint besides +those that are known to us; and, more especially, that we have no means +of determining what the actual pressure of the grievances complained +of was, or whether it did not reach to that degree of severity which +moderns mostly hold to justify disaffection and rebellion. On the whole, +perhaps, our conclusion must be, that the best justification of the +outbreak is to be found in its success. The Parthians had no right to +their position but such as arose out of the law of the stronger-- + + The ancient rule, the good old plan, + That those shall take who have the power, + And those shall keep who can-- + +when the time came that they had lost this pre-eminence, superiority +in strength having passed from them to a nation hitherto counted among +their subjects, it was natural and right that the seat of authority +should shift with the shift in the balance of power, and that the +leadership of the Persians should be once more recognized. + +If the motives which actuated the nation of the Persians in rising +against their masters are thus obscure and difficult to be estimated, +still less can we form any decided judgment upon those which caused +their leader, Artaxerxes, to attempt his perilous enterprise. Could we +trust implicitly the statement of Agathias, that Artaxerxes was himself +a Magus, initiated in the deepest mysteries of the Order, we should have +grounds for considering that religious zeal was, at any rate, a leading +motive of his conduct. It is certain that among the principal changes +consequent upon his success was a religious revolution--the substitution +for Parthian tolerance of all faiths and worships, of a rigidly enforced +uniformity in religion, the establishment of the Magi in power, and the +bloody persecution of all such as declined obedience to the precepts of +Zoroaster. But the conjecture has been made, and cannot be refuted, +that the proceedings of Artaxerxes in this matter should be ascribed to +policy rather than to bigotry, and in that case we could not regard him, +as originally inspired by a religious sentiment. Perhaps it is best to +suppose that, like most founders of empires, he was mainly prompted +by ambition; that he saw in the distracted state of Parthia and in +the awakening of hope among the subject races, an occasion of which +he determined to avail himself as far as he could, and that he +was gradually led on to enlarge his views and to effect the great +revolution, which he brought about, by the force of circumstances, the +wishes of others, and the occurrence of opportunities which at first he +neither foresaw nor desired. + +It has been observed, that Parthia was, during the whole reign of +Artaxerxes, distracted by the claims of a pretender, Volagases V. +According to Moses of Chorene, two branches of the Arsacid family, both +of them settled in Bactria, were at feud with the reigning prince; and +these offended relatives carried their enmity to such a length as to +consider submission to a foreigner a less evil than subjection to the +_de facto_ head of their house. The success of Artabanus in the war +against Rome had no effect upon his domestic foes; and Artaxerxes +undoubtedly knew that, if he raised the standard of revolt, he might +count on a certain amount of support from discontented Arsacids and +their followers. But his main reliance must have been on the Persians. +The Persians had, in the original arrangements of the Parthian empire, +been treated with a certain amount of favor. They had been allowed to +retain their native monarchs, a concession which naturally involved +the continuance of the nation's laws, customs, and traditions. Their +religion had not been persecuted, and had even in the early times +attracted a considerable amount of Court favor. But it would seem that +latterly the privileges of the nation had been diminished, while their +prejudices were wantonly shocked. The Magi had ceased to be regarded as +of much account, and, if they still formed nominally a portion of the +king's council, can have had little influence on the conduct of affairs +by the government. Such a custom as that of burning the dead, which +seems to have been the rule in the later Parthian times, could never +have maintained its ground, if the opinion of the Magi, or their +coreligionists, had been considered of much account. + +Encouraged by the dissensions prevailing in the Parthian royal house, +strong in the knowledge of his fellow-countrymen's discontent, and +perhaps thinking that the losses which Artabanus had sustained in his +three days' battle against the Romans under Macrinus had seriously +weakened his military strength, Artaxerxes, tributary king of Persia +under Parthia, about A.D. 220, or a little later, took up arms +against his master, and in a little time succeeded in establishing the +independence of Persia Proper, or the modern province of Fars. Artabanus +is said to have taken no steps at first to crush the rebellion, or to +re-establish his authority over his revolted vassal. Thus the Persian +monarch, finding himself unmolested, was free to enlarge his plans, and +having originally, as is probable, designed only the liberation of his +own people, began to contemplate conquests. Turning his arms eastwards +against Carmania (Kerman), he easily reduced that scantily-peopled tract +under his dominion, after which he made war towards the north, and added +to his kingdom some of the outlying regions of Media. Artabanus now at +length resolved to bestir himself, and collecting his forces, took +the field in person. Invading Persia Proper, he engaged in a desperate +struggle with his rival. Three great battles were fought between the +contending powers. In the last, which took place in the plain of +Hormuz, between Bebahan and Shuster, on the course of the Jerahi river, +Artabanus was, after a desperate conflict, completely defeated, and not +only defeated but slain (A.D. 226). + +The victory of Hormuz did not, however, absolutely decide the contest, +or determine at once that the Parthian empire should fall, and the new +Persian kingdom succeed into its place. Artabanus had left sons; and +there were not wanting those among the feudatories of the empire, and +even among the neighboring potentates, who were well inclined to embrace +their cause. A certain Artavasdes seems to have claimed the throne, and +to have been accepted as king, at least by a portion of the Parthians, +in the year following the death of Artabanus (A.D. 227), when he +certainly issued coins. The Armenian monarch, who had been set on his +throne by Artabanus, and was uncle to the young princes, was especially +anxious to maintain the Arsacids in power; he gave them a refuge in +Armenia, collected an army on their behalf, and engaging Artaxerxes, is +even said to have defeated him in a battle. But his efforts, and those +of Artavasdes, were unavailing. The arms of Artaxerxes in the end +everywhere prevailed. After a struggle, which cannot have lasted more +than a few years, the provinces of the old Parthian empire submitted; +the last Arsacid prince fell into the hands of the Persian king; and +the founder of the new dynasty sought to give legitimacy to his rule by +taking to wife an Arsacid princess. + +Thus perished the great Parthian monarchy after an existence of nearly +five centuries. Its end must be attributed in the main to internal +decay, working itself out especially in two directions. The Arsacid +race, with which the idea of the empire was bound up, instead of +clinging together with that close "union" which is "strength," allowed +itself to be torn to pieces by dissensions, to waste its force in +quarrels, and to be made a handle of by every foreign invader, or +domestic rebel, who chose to use its name in order to cloak his +own selfish projects. The race itself does not seem to have become +exhausted. Its chiefs, the successive occupants of the throne, never +sank into mere weaklings or faineants, never shut themselves up in their +seraglios, or ceased to take a leading part, alike in civil broils, and +in struggles with foreign rivals. But the hold which the race had on +the population, native and foreign, was gradually weakened by the feuds +which raged within it, by the profusion with which the sacred blood was +shed by those in whose veins it ran, and the difficulty of knowing which +living member of it was its true head, and so entitled to the allegiance +of those who wished to be faithful Parthian subjects. Further, the +vigor of the Parthian soldiery must have gradually declined, and their +superiority over the mass of the nations under their dominion have +diminished. We found reasons for believing that, as early as A.D. 58, +Hyrcania succeeded in throwing off the Parthian yoke, and thus setting +an example of successful rebellion to the subject peoples. The example +may have been followed in cases of which we hear nothing; for the +condition of the more remote portions of the empire was for the most +part unknown to the Romans. When Persia, about A.D. 220, revolted from +Artabanus, it was no doubt with a conviction that the Parthians were no +longer the terrible warriors who under Mithridates I. had driven all +the armies of the East before them like chaff, or who under Orodes and +Phraates IV. had gained signal victories over the Romans. It is true +that Artabanus had contended not unsuccessfully with Macrinus. But the +prestige of Parthia was far from being re-established by the result of +his three days' battle. Rome retained as her own, notwithstanding his +success, the old Parthian province of Mesopotamia, and was thus, even in +the moment of her weakness, acknowledged by Parthia to be the stronger. +The Persians are not likely to have been braver or more warlike at the +time of their revolt from Artabanus than in the days when they were +subjected by Mithridates. Any alteration, therefore, in the relative +strength of the two peoples must be ascribed to Parthian decline, +since it cannot have been owing to Persian advance and improvement. To +conclude, we may perhaps allow something to the personal qualities of +Artaxerxes, who appears to have possessed all the merits of the typical +Oriental conqueror. Artabanus was among the most able of the later +Parthian monarchs; but his antagonist was more than this, possessing +true military genius. It is quite possible that, if the leaders on the +two sides had changed places, the victory might have rested, not with +the Persians, but with the Parthians. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + + +_On the Architecture and Ornamental Art of the Parthians._ + + +The modern historian of Architecture observes, when he reaches the +period with which we have had to deal in this volume, that, with the +advent of Alexander, Oriental architecture disappears, and that its +history is an absolute blank from the downfall of the Achaemenians in +B.C. 331 to the rise of the Sassanians, about A.D. 226. The statement +made involves a certain amount of exaggeration; but still it expresses, +roughly and strongly, a curious and important fact. The Parthians were +not, in any full or pregnant sense of the word, builders. They did not +aim at leaving a material mark upon the world by means of edifices +or other great works. They lacked the spirit which had impelled +successively the Assyrians, the Babylonians, and the Persians to cover +Western Asia with architectural monuments, proofs at once of the wealth, +and the grand ideas, of those who raised them. Parthia, compared to +these pretentious empires, was retiring and modest. The monarchs, +however rich they may have been, affected something of primitive +rudeness and simplicity in their habits and style of life, their +dwellings and temples, their palaces and tombs. It is difficult indeed +to draw the line in every case between pure Parthian work and Sassanian; +but on the whole there is, no doubt, reason to believe that the +architectural remains in Mesopotamia and Persia which belong to the +period between Alexander and the Arab conquest, are mainly the work of +the Sassanian or New Persian kingdom, and that comparatively few of them +can be ascribed with confidence to a time anterior to A.D. 227. Still a +certain number, which have about them indications of greater antiquity +than the rest, or which belong to sites famous in Parthian rather than +in Persian times, may reasonably be regarded as in all probability +structures of the Arsacid period; and from these we may gather at least +the leading characteristics of the Parthian architecture, its aims +and resources, its style and general effect, while from other +remains--scanty indeed, and often mutilated--we may obtain a tolerable +notion of their sculpture and other ornamental art. + +The most imposing remains which seem certainly assignable to the +Parthian period are those of Hatra, or El-Hadhr, visited by Mr. Layard +in 1846, and described at length by Mr. Ross in the ninth volume of the +"Journal of the Royal Geographical Society," as well as by Mr. Fergusson, +in his "History of Architecture." Hatra became known as a place of +importance in the early part of the second century after Christ. It +successfully resisted Trajan in A.D. 116, and Severus in A.D. 198. It +is then described as a large and populous city, defended by strong +and extensive walls, and containing within it a temple of the Sun, +celebrated for the great value of its offerings. It enjoyed its own +kings at this time, who were regarded as of Arabian stock, and were +among the more important of the Parthian tributary monarchs. By the year +A.D. 363 Hatra had gone to ruin, and is then described as "long since +deserted." Its flourishing period thus belongs to the space between A.D. +100 and A.D. 300; and its remains, to which Mr. Fergusson assigns the +date A.D. 250, must be regarded as probably at least a century earlier, +and consequently as indicating the character of the architecture +which prevailed under the later Parthians, and which, if Sassanian +improvements had not obliterated them, we should have found upon the +site of Ctesiphon. + +The city of Hatra was enclosed by a circular wall of great thickness, +built of large square-cut stones, and strengthened at intervals of +about 170 yards by square towers or bastions. [PLATE IV. Fig. 1.] Its +circumference considerably exceeded three miles. Outside the wall was a +broad and very deep ditch, and on the further side of the ditch was +an earthen rampart of considerable height and thickness. Two detached +forts, situated on eminences, commanded the approaches to the place, one +towards the east, and the other towards the north. The wall was pierced +by four gateways, of which the principal one faced the east. + + +[Illustration: PLATE 4.] + + +The circular space within the walls was divided into two portions by a +water-course passing across it from north to south, and running somewhat +east of the centre, which thus divided the circle into two unequal +parts. The eastern portion was left comparatively clear of buildings, +and seems to have been used mainly as a burial-ground; in the +western were the public edifices and the more important houses of the +inhabitants. Of the former by far the most remarkable was one which +stood nearly in the centre of the city, and which has been called by +some a palace, by others a temple, but which may best be regarded as +combining both uses. [PLATE IV. Fig. 2.] This building stood within a +walled enclosure of an oblong square shape, about 800 feet long by 700 +broad. The wall surrounding it was strengthened with bastions, like the +wall around the city. The enclosure comprised two courts, an inner and +an outer. The outer court, which lay towards the east, and was first +entered, was entirely clear of buildings, while the inner court +contained two considerable edifices. Of these the less important was +one which stretched from north to south across the entire inclosure, and +abutted upon the outer court; this was confused in plan, and consisted +chiefly of a number of small apartments, which have been regarded as +guard-rooms. The other was a building of greater pretensions. It was +composed mainly of seven vaulted halls, all of them parallel one to +another, and all facing eastward, three being of superior and four of +inferior size. The smaller halls (Nos. I., III., IV., and VI., on the +plan) were about thirty feet long by twenty wide, and had a height of +thirty feet; the larger ones measured ninety feet in length, and were +from thirty-five to forty feet broad, with a height of sixty feet. +All were upon the same plan. They had semicircular vaulted roofs, no +windows, and received their light from the archway at the east end, +which was either left entirely open, or perhaps closed with curtains. + +Externally, the eastern facade of the building, which was evidently its +main front, had for ornament, besides the row of seven arches, a series +of pillars, or rather pilasters, from which the arches sprang, some +sculptures on the stones composing the arches, and one or two emblematic +figures in the spaces left between the pilasters. The sculptures on +the stones of the arches consisted either of human heads, or of +representations of a female form, apparently floating in air. [PLATE +IV. Fig. 3.] An emblematic sculpture between the fourth and fifth arch +represented a griffin with twisted tail, raised about 5 feet above the +ground. The entire length of the facade was about 300 feet. + +The interior of the smaller halls had no ornament; but the larger ones +were decorated somewhat elaborately. Here the side walls were broken by +three squared pilasters, rising to the commencement of the vaulting, and +terminated by a quasi-capital of ornamental work, consisting of a series +of ovals, each oval containing in its centre a round ball of dark stone. + +Underneath these quasi-capitals, at the distance of from two to three +feet, ran a cornice, which crossed the pilasters, and extended the whole +length of the apartment, consisting of flowers and half-ovals, each oval +containing a half-ball of the same dark stone as the capitals. [PLATE +IV. Fig. 4.] Finally, on the pilasters, immediately below the cornice, +were sculptured commonly either two or three human heads, the length of +each head being about two feet, and the faces representing diverse types +of humanity, some old and some young, some male and some female, some +apparently realistic, some idealized and more or less grotesque in their +accompaniments. The drawing of the heads is said to have been full of +spirit, and their general effect is pronounced life-like and striking. + +The seven halls, which have been described, were divided into two +groups, of three and four respectively, by a low fence, which ran from +east to west across the inner court, from the partition wall separating +the third and fourth halls to the buildings which divided the inner +court from the outer. It is probable that this division separated the +male and female apartments. The female ornamentation of the large hall +(No. II.) belonging to the southern group is perhaps an indication of +the sex of its inmates; and another sign that these were the female +quarters is to be found in the direct communication existing between +this portion of the building and "the Temple" (No. VIII.), which could +not be reached from the male apartments except by a long circuit round +the building. + +The "Temple" itself was an apartment of a square shape, each side being +about forty feet. It was completely surrounded by a vaulted passage, +into which light came from two windows at its south-west and north-west +corners. The Temple was entered by a single doorway, the position of +which was directly opposite an opening leading into the passage from +Hall No. II. Above this doorway was a magnificent frieze, the character +of which is thought to indicate the religious purpose of the structure. +[PLATE V. Fig. 1.] The interior of the Temple was without ornamentation, +vaulted, and except for the feeble light which entered by the single +doorway, dark. On the west side a portal led into the passage from the +outer air. + + +[Illustration: PLATE 5.] + + +Besides these main apartments, the edifice which we are describing +contained a certain number of small rooms, lying behind the halls, and +entered by doorways opening from them. One or two such rooms are +found behind each of the smaller halls; and another of somewhat larger +dimensions lay behind the great hall (numbered VII. in the plan), +forming the extreme north-western corner of the building. These rooms +were vaulted and had no windows, receiving their only light from the +small doorways by which they were entered. + +It is believed that the entire edifice, or at any rate the greater +portion of it, had an upper story. Traces of such a structure appear +over the halls numbered I and VI.; and it is thought that the story +extended over the entire range of halls. One traveller, on conjectural +grounds, even assigns to the building an elevation of three stories, and +ventures to restore the second and third in the mode represented in the +woodcut. [PLATE V. Fig. 2.] According to this author the upper portion +of the edifice resembled in many respects the great palace of the +Sassanian monarchs, of which splendid remains still exist on the site +of Ctesiphon, where they are known as the Takht-i-Khuzroo, or Palace of +Chosroes. That palace was, however, on a very different plan from the +Hatra one, comprising as it did one hall only, but of a size vastly +superior to any of those at Hatra, and two wings, one on either side of +the hall, made up of dwelling and sleeping apartments. + +The few windows which exist at Hatra are oblong square in shape, as in +general are the doorways connecting one apartment with another. In one +case there is an arched doorway, or niche, which has been blocked up. +There are no passages except the one which surrounds "the Temple," the +apartments generally leading directly one into another. In some cases +the lintel of a doorway is formed of a single stone, and ornamented with +very delicate carving. The doorways are for the most part towards the +corners of apartments; that of the Temple, however, is in the centre of +its eastern wall. + +The general style of the buildings at Hatra has been said to be "Roman +or Byzantine;" and it has even been supposed that in the style of the +ornaments and sculptured figures may be traced the corrupt taste and +feeble outline of the artists of Constantinople. But there is abundant +reason to believe that the Hatra Palace was built nearly two centuries +before Constantinople came into existence; and, although the large-use +of the round arch in vaulting may be due to the spread of Roman +architectural ideas, yet there are no grounds for supposing that any but +native artists, Parthian subjects, were employed in the work, or that +it is other than a fair specimen of what was achieved by the Parthian +builders during the later period of the empire. The palace of Volagases +III. at Ctesiphon, which Avidius Cassius destroyed in his invasion, was +most likely of the same general character--a combination of lofty halls +suitable for ceremonies and audiences with small and dark sleeping or +living rooms, opening out of them, the whole placed in the middle of a +paved court, and the male apartments carefully divided from those of the +women. + +The remains at Hatra are further remarkable for a considerable number +of reservoirs and tombs. The open space between the town proper and +the eastern wall and gate is dotted with edifices of a square shape, +standing apart from one another, which are reasonably regarded as +sepulchres. These are built in a solid way, of hewn stone, and consist +either of one or two chambers. They vary in size from twenty feet square +to forty, and are generally of about the same height. Some are perfectly +plain, but the exteriors of others are ornamented with pilasters. The +reservoirs occur in the paved court which surrounds the main building; +they have narrow apertures, but expand below the aperture into the shape +of a bell, and are carefully constructed of well-cut stones closely +fitted together. + +The material used at Hatra is uniformly a brownish gray limestone; and +the cutting is so clean and smooth that it is doubted whether the stones +have needed any cement. If cement has been employed, at any rate +it cannot now be seen, the stones everywhere appearing to touch one +another. + +There are several buildings remaining in Persia, the date of which +cannot be much later than that of the Hatra edifice; but, as it is on +the whole more probable that they belong to the Sassanian than to the +Parthian period, no account of them will be given here. It will be +sufficient to observe that their architecture grows naturally out of +that which was in use at Hatra, and that thus we are entitled to ascribe +to Parthian times and to subjects of the Parthian Empire that impulse +to Oriental architecture which awoke it to renewed life after a sleep +of ages, and which in a short time produced such imposing results as +the Takht-i-Khuzroo at Ctesiphon, the ruins of Shapur, and the triumphal +arch at Takht-i-Bostan. + +The decorative and fictile art of the Parthians has received no +inconsiderable amount of illustration from remains discovered, in the +years 1850-1852, in Babylonia. In combination with a series of Parthian +coins were found by Mr. Loftus, on the site of the ancient Erech (now +Warka), a number of objects in clay, plaster, and metal, enabling us +to form a fair idea of the mode in which purely Parthian edifices were +decorated during the best times of the empire, and of the style that +then prevailed in respect of personal ornaments, domestic utensils, and +other objects capable, more or less, of aesthetic handling. The remains +discovered comprised numerous architectural fragments in plaster and +brick; a large number of ornamental coffins; several statuettes in +terra-cotta; jars, jugs, vases, and lamps in earthenware; some small +glass bottles; and various personal decorations, such as beads, rings, +and earrings. + +The architectural fragments consisted of capitals of pillars [PLATE +V. Fig. 3], portions of cornices, and specimens of a sort of diapering +which seems to have been applied to screens or thin partitions. The +capitals were somewhat heavy in design, and at first sight struck the +spectator as barbarous; but they exhibited a good deal of ingenious +boldness, an absence of conventionality, and an occasional quaintness +of design not unworthy of a Gothic decorator. One especially, which +combines the upper portion of a human figure, wearing the puffed-out +hair or wig, which the Parthians affected, with an elegant leaf rising +from the neck of the capital, and curving gracefully under the abacus, +has decided merit, and is "suggestive of the later Byzantine style." The +cornices occasionally reminded the discoverer of the remarkable frieze +at El-Hadhr, and were characterized by the same freedom and boldness +of invention as the capitals. But the most curious remains were the +fragments of a sort of screen work, pieces of plaster covered with +geometric designs upon both sides, the patterns on the two sides +differing. [PLATE V. Fig. 4.] These designs, though unlike in many +respects the arabesques of the Mohammedans, yet seemed on the whole to +be their precursors, the "geometric curves and tracery" appearing +to "shadow forth the beauty and richness of a style which afterwards +followed the tide of Mohammedan conquest to the remotest corners of the +known world." + +The ornamental coffins were of a coarse glazed earthenware, bluish-green +in hue, and belonged to the kind which has been called "slipper-shaped." +[PLATE VI. Fig. 1.] They varied in length from three feet to six, and +had a large aperture at their upper end, by means of which the body was +placed in them, and a flat lid to close this aperture, ornamented like +the coffin, and fixed in its place by a fine lime cement. A second +aperture at the lower extremity of the coffin allowed for the escape +of the gases disengaged during decomposition. The ornamentation of the +coffins varied, but consisted generally of small figures of men, about +six or seven inches in length, the most usual figure being a warrior +with his arms akimbo and his legs astride, wearing on his head a +coiffure, like that which is seen on the Parthian coins, and having a +sword hanging from the belt. [PLATE VI. Fig. 2.] + + + +[Illustration: PLATE 6.] + + +Of the statuettes in terra-cotta, one of the most curious represented a +Parthian warrior, recumbent, and apparently about to drink out of a cup +held in the left hand. [PLATE VI. Fig. 3.] The figure was clad in a +long coat of mail, with greaves on the legs and a helmet upon the +head. Others represented females; these had lofty head-dresses, which +sometimes rose into two peaks or horns, recalling the costume of English +ladies in the time of Henry IV. These figures were veiled and carefully +draped about the upper part of the person, but showed the face, and had +the legs bare from the knee downwards. + +The jars, jugs, vases, and lamps greatly resembled those of the Assyrian +and Babylonian periods, but were on the whole more elegant and artistic. +The forms appended will give a tolerable idea of the general character +of these vessels. [PLATE VI. Fig. 4.] They were of various sizes, and +appear to have been placed in the tombs, partly as the offerings of +friends and well-wishers, partly with the more superstitious object of +actually supplying the deceased with the drink and light needful for him +on his passage from earth to the realms of the dead. + +The glass bottles were, perhaps, lachrymatories. They had no peculiar +characteristics, but were almost exactly similar to objects of the same +kind belonging to the times of the Assyrian and Babylonian Empires. They +exhibited the same lovely prismatic colors, which have been so admired +in the glass of those kingdoms, an effect of decomposition, which, +elsewhere generally disfiguring, in the case of this material enhances +the original beauty of the object tenfold by clothing it in hues of the +utmost brilliance and delicacy. + +The personal decorations consisted chiefly of armlets, bangles, beads, +rings, and ear-rings. They were in gold, silver, copper, and brass. Some +of the smaller gold ornaments, such as earrings, and small plates +or beads for necklaces and fillets, were "of a tasteful and elegant +design." The finger-rings were coarser, while the toe-rings, armlets, +and bangles, were for the most part exceedingly rude and barbarous. +Head-dresses in gold, tall and pointed, are said to have been found +occasionally; but the museums of Europe have not yet been able to secure +any, as they are usually melted down by the finders. Broad ribbons of +gold, which may have depended like strings from a cap, are commoner, and +were seen by Mr. Loftus. Altogether, the ornaments indicated a strong +love of personal display, and the possession of considerable wealth, but +no general diffusion of a correct taste, nor any very advanced skill in +design or metallurgy. + +Of purely aesthetic art--art, that is, into which the idea of the useful +does not enter at all--the Parthians appear scarcely to have had an +idea. During the five centuries of their sway, they seem to have set +up no more than some half dozen bas-reliefs. There is, indeed, only +one such work which can be positively identified as belonging to the +Parthian period by the inscription which accompanies it. The other +presumedly Parthian reliefs are adjudged to the people by art critics +merely from their style and their locality, occurring as they do within +the limits of the Parthian kingdom, and lacking the characteristics +which attach to the art of those who preceded and of those who followed +the Parthians in these countries. + + +[Illustration: PLATE 7.] + + +The one certainly Parthian bas-relief is that which still exists on the +great rock of Behistun, at the foot of the mountain, raised but slightly +above the plain. It seems to have contained a series of tall figures, +looking towards the right, and apparently engaged in a march or +procession, while above and between them were smaller figures on +horseback, armed with lances, and galloping in the same direction. One +of these was attended by a figure of Fame or Victory, flying in the air, +and about to place a diadem around his brow. The present condition of +the sculpture is extremely bad. Atmospheric influences have worn away +the larger figures to such an extent that they are discerned with +difficulty; and a recent Governor of Kirmanshah has barbarously inserted +into the middle of the relief an arched niche, in which he has placed +a worthless Arabic inscription. It is with difficulty that we form any +judgment of the original artistic merit of a work which presents itself +to us in such a worn and mutilated form; but, on the whole, we are +perhaps justified in pronouncing that it must at its best have been +one of inferior quality, even when compared only with the similar +productions of Asiatics. The general character is rather that of the +Sassanian than of the Assyrian or Persian period. The human figures have +a heavy clumsiness about them that is unpleasant to contemplate; the +horses are rudely outlined, and are too small for the men; the figure +of Fame is out of all proportion to the hero whom she crowns, and the +diadem which she places on his head is ridiculous, being nearly as large +as herself! On the other hand, there is spirit in the attitudes of both +men and horses; the Fame floats well in air; and the relief is free from +that coarse grotesqueness which offends us in the productions of the +Sassanian artists. + +Another, bas-relief, probably, but not quite certainly Parthian, exists +in the gorge of Sir-pul-i-zohab, and has been recently published in +the great work of M. Flandin. [PLATE VIII.] The inscription on this +monument, though it has not yet been deciphered, appears to be written +in the alphabet found upon the Parthian coins. The monument seems to +represent a Parthian king, mounted on horseback, and receiving a chaplet +at the hand of a subject. The king wears a cap bound round with the +diadem, the long ends of which depend over his shoulder. He is clothed +in a close-fitting tunic and loose trowsers, which hang down upon +his boots, and wears also a short cloak fastened under the chin, and +reaching nearly to the knee. The horse which he bestrides is small, but +strongly made; the tail is long, and the mane seems to be plaited. +Thus far the representation, though somewhat heavy and clumsy, is not +ill-drawn; but the remaining figure--that of the Parthian subject--is +wholly without merit. The back of the man is turned, but the legs are in +profile; one arm is ridiculously short, and the head is placed too near +the left shoulder. It would seem that the artist, while he took pains +with the representation of the monarch, did not care how ill he rendered +the subordinate figure, which he left in the unsatisfactory condition +that may be seen in the preceding woodcut. + + +[Illustration: PLATE 8.] + + +A set of reliefs, discovered by the Baron de Bode in the year 1841, are +also thought by the best judges to be Parthian. The most important of +them represents a personage of consequence, apparently a Magus, who +seems to be in the act of consecrating a sacred cippus, round which +have been placed wreaths or chaplets. (PLATE IX.) Fifteen spectators are +present, arranged in two rows, one above the other, all except the first +of them standing. The first sits upon a rude chair or stool. The figures +generally are in an advanced stage of decay; but that of the Magus +is tolerably well preserved, and probably indicates with sufficient +accuracy the costume and appearance of the great hierarchs under the +Parthians, The conical cap described by Strabo is very conspicuous. +Below this the hair is worn in the puffed-out fashion of the later +Parthian period. The upper lip is ornamented by moustaches, and the chin +covered by a straight beard. The figure is dressed in a long sleeved +tunic, over which is worn a cloak, fastened at the neck by a round +brooch, and descending a little below the knees. The legs are encased +in a longer and shorter pair of trowsers, the former plain, the latter +striped perpendicularly. Round the neck is worn a collar or necklace; +and on the right arm are three armlets and three bracelets. The conical +cap appears to be striped or fluted. + + +[Illustration: PLATE 9.] + + +On the same rock, but in no very evident connection with the main +representation, is a second relief, in which a Parthian cavalier, +armed with a bow and arrows, and a spear, contends with a wild animal, +seemingly a bear. [PLATE X. Fig. 1.] A long flowing robe here takes +the place of the more ordinary tunic and trowsers. On the head is worn a +rounded cap or tiara. The hair has the usual puffed-out appearance. The +bow is carried in the left hand, and the quiver hangs from, the saddle +behind the rider, while with his right hand he thrusts his spear into +the beast's neck. The execution of the whole tablet seems to have been +rude; but it has suffered so much from time and weather, that no very +decided judgment can be passed upon it. + + +[Illustration: PLATE 10.] + + +Another still ruder representation occurs also on another face of the +same rock. This consists of a female figure reclining upon a couch, and +guarded by three male attendants, one at the head of the couch unarmed, +and the remaining two at its foot, seated, and armed with spears. The +female has puffed-out hair, and carries in her right hand, which is +outstretched, a wreath or chaplet. One of the spearmen has a curious +rayed head-dress; and the other has a short streamer attached to +the head of his spear. Below the main tablet are three rudely carved +standing figures, representing probably other attendants. + +This set of reliefs may perhaps be best regarded as forming a single +series, the Parthian king being represented as engaged in hunting the +bear, while the queen awaits his return upon her couch, and the chief +Magus attached to the court makes prayer for the monarch's safety. + +Such are the chief remains of Parthian aesthetic art. They convey +an idea of decline below the standard reached by the Persians of the +Achaemenian times, which was itself a decline from the earlier art of +the Assyrians. Had they been the efforts of a race devoid of models, +they might fairly have been regarded as not altogether without promise. +But, considered as the work of a nation which possessed the Achaemenian +sculptures, and which had moreover, to a certain extent, access to Greek +examples, a they must be pronounced clumsy, coarse, and wanting in all +the higher qualities of Fine Art. It is no wonder that they are scanty +and exceptional. The nation which could produce nothing better must have +felt that its vocation was not towards the artistic, and that its powers +had better be employed in other directions, e.g. in conquest and in +organization. It would seem that the Parthians perceived this, and +therefore devoted slight attention to the Fine Arts, preferring to +occupy themselves mainly with those pursuits in which they excelled; +viz. war, hunting, and government. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII. + + +Customs of the Parthians--in Religion; in War; in their Embassies and +Dealings with Foreign Nations; at the Court; in Private Life. Extent of +the Refinement to which they reached. Their gradual Decline in Taste and +Knowledge. + + +Very little is known as to the religion of the Parthians. It seems +probable that during the Persian period they submitted to the +Zoroastrian system, which was generally maintained by the Achaemenian +kings, acquiescing, like the great bulk of the conquered nations, in +the religious views of their conquerors; but as this was not their +own religion, we may conclude that they were at no time very zealous +followers of the Bactrian prophet, and that as age succeeded age they +became continually more lukewarm in their feelings, and more lax +in their religious practice. The essence of Zoroastrian belief was +dualism--recognition of Ormazd as the great Principle of Good, and of +Ahriman as the Principle of Evil. We need not doubt that, in word, the +Parthians from first to last admitted this antagonism, and professed +a belief in Ormazd as the supreme god, and a dread of Ahriman and his +ministers. But practically, their religious aspirations rested, not on +these dim abstractions, but on beings whose existence they could better +realize, and whom they could feel to be less remote from themselves. +The actual devotion of the Parthians was offered to the Sun and Moon, +to deities who were supposed to preside over the royal house, and to +ancestral idols which each family possessed, and conveyed with it from +place to place with every change of habitation. The Sun was saluted at +his rising, was worshipped in temples, under the name of Mithra, with +sacrifices and offerings; had statues erected in his honor, and was +usually associated with the lesser luminary. The deities of the royal +house were probably either genii, ministers of Ormazd, to whom was +committed the special protection of the monarchs and their families, +like the _bagaha vithiya_ of the Persians, or else the ancestors of +the reigning monarch, to whom a qualified divinity seems to have been +assigned in the later times of the empire. The Parthians kings usually +swore by these deities on solemn occasions; and other members of the +royal family made use of the same oath. The main worship, however, of +the great mass of the people, even when they were of the royal stock, +was concentrated upon ancestral images, which had a place sacred to them +in each house, and received the constant adoration of the household. + +In the early times of the empire the Magi were held in high repute, +and most of the peculiar tenets and rites of the Magian religion +were professed and followed by the Parthians. Elemental worship was +practised. Fire was, no doubt, held sacred, and there was an especial +reverence for rivers. Dead bodies were not burned, but were exposed to +be devoured by birds and beasts of prey, after which the dry bones were +collected and placed in tombs. The Magi formed a large portion of the +great national council, which elected and, if need were, deposed the +kings. But in course of time much laxity was introduced. The Arsacid +monarchs of Armenia allowed the Sacred Fire of Ormazd, which ought +to have been kept continually burning, to go out; and we can scarcely +suppose but that the Parthian Arsacidae shared their negligence. Respect +for the element of fire so entirely passed away, that we hear of the +later Parthians burning their dead. The Magi fell into disrepute, and, +if not expelled from their place in the council, at any rate found +themselves despised and deprived of influence. The later Parthian +religion can have been little more than a worship of the Sun and Moon, +and of the teraphim, or sacred images, which were the most precious +possession of each household. + +While thus lax and changeful in their own religious practice, the +Parthians were, naturally, tolerant of a variety of creeds among their +subjects. Fire altars were maintained, and Zoroastrian zeal was allowed +to nourish in the dependent kingdom of Persia. In the Greek cities the +Olympian gods were permitted to receive the veneration of thousands, +while in Babylon, Nearda, and Nisibis the Jews enjoyed the free exercise +of their comparatively pure and elevated religion. No restrictions seem +to have been placed on proselytism, and Judaism certainly boasted many +converts from the heathen in Adiabene, Charax Spasini, and elsewhere. +Christianity also penetrated the Parthian provinces to a considerable +extent, and in one Parthian country, at any rate, seems to have become +the state religion. The kings of Osrhoene are thought to have been +Christians from the time of the Antonines, if not from that of our Lord; +and a nourishing church was certainly established at Edessa before the +end of the second century. The Parthian Jews who were witnesses of the +miraculous events which signalized the day of Pentecost may have, in +some cases, taken with them the new religion to the land where they had +their residence; or the Apostle, St. Thomas, may (as Eusebius declares) +have carried the Gospel into the regions beyond the Euphrates, and have +planted the Christian Church in the countries out of which the Jewish +Church sprang. Besides the nourishing community of Edessa, which was +predominantly, if not wholly, Christian from the middle of the second +century, many converts were, we are told, to be found among the +inhabitants of Persia, Media, Parthia Proper, and even Bactria. The +infusion, however, was not sufficient to leaven to any serious extent +the corrupt mass of heathenism into which it was projected; and we +cannot say that the general character of the Parthian empire, or of the +manners and customs of its subjects, was importantly affected by the new +religion, though it had an extraordinary influence over individuals. + +The Parthians were essentially a warlike people; and the chief interest +which attaches to them is connected with their military vigor and +ability. It is worth while to consider at some length the peculiarities +of that military system which proved itself superior to the organization +of the Macedonians, and able to maintain for nearly three hundred years +a doubtful contest with the otherwise irresistible Romans. + +We are told that the Parthians had no standing army. When war was +proclaimed and the monarch needed a force, he made his immediate vassals +acquainted with the fact, and requested each of them to marshal their +troops, and bring them to a fixed rendezvous by a certain day. The +troops thus summoned were of two kinds, Parthian and foreign. The +governors of the provinces, whether tributary kings or satraps, called +out the military strength of their respective districts, saw to +their arming and provisioning, and, marching each at the head of his +contingent, brought a foreign auxiliary force to the assistance of +the Great King. But the back-bone of the army, its main strength, the +portion on which alone much reliance was placed, consisted of Parthians. +Each Parthian noble was bound to call out his slaves and his retainers, +to arm and equip them at his own expense, and bring them to the +rendezvous by the time named. The number of troops furnished by each +noble varied according to his position and his means; we bear in one +instance of their amounting to as many as 10,000, while in another +recorded case the average number which each furnished was no more than +125. The various contingents had their own baggage-trains, consisting +ordinarily of camels, in the proportion (as it would seem) of one to +every ten fighting-men. + +A Parthian army consisted usually of both horse and foot, but in +proportions unusual elsewhere. The foot soldiers were comparatively few +in number, and were regarded as of small account. Every effort was made +to increase the amount and improve the equipment of the horsemen, who +bore the brunt of every fight, and from whose exertions alone victory +was hoped. Sometimes armies consisted of horsemen only, or rather of +horsemen followed by a baggage train composed of camels and chariots. + +The horse were of two kinds, heavy and light. The heavy horsemen wore +coats of mail, reaching to their knees, composed of rawhide covered with +scales of iron or steel, very bright, and capable of resisting a strong +blow. They had on their heads burnished helmets of Margian steel, whose +glitter dazzled the spectator. Their legs seem not to have been +greaved, but encased in a loose trouser, which hung about the ankles +and embarrassed the feet, if by any chance the horseman was forced to +dismount. They carried no shield, being sufficiently defended by their +coats of mail. Their offensive arms were a long spear, which was of +great strength and thickness, and a bow and arrows of unusual size. They +likewise carried in their girdle a short sword or knife, which might be +used in close combat. Their horses were, like themselves, protected by a +defence of scale armor, which was either of steel or bronze. + +The light horse was armed with the same sort of bows and arrows as the +heavy, but carried no spear and wore no armor. It was carefully trained +to the management of the horse and the bow, and was unequalled in the +rapidity and dexterity of its movements. The archer delivered his arrows +with as much precision and force in retreat as in advance, and was +almost more feared when he retired than when he charged his foe. Besides +his arrows, the light horseman seems to have carried a sword, and he no +doubt wore also the customary knife in his belt. + +We are told by one writer that it was a practice of the Parthians to +bring into battle a number of led horses, and that the riders from time +to time exchanged their tired steeds for fresh ones, thus obtaining a +great advantage over enemies who had no such practice. But the accounts +which we have of Parthian engagements make no reference to this usage, +which we can therefore scarcely suppose to have been adopted to any +large extent. It may be doubted, also, if the practice could ever be +one of much value, since the difficulty of managing led horses amid the +tumult of a battle would probably more than counterbalance the advantage +derivable from relays of fresh steeds. + +During the later period of the monarchy, the Parthians, who had always +employed camels largely in the conveyance of stores and baggage, are +said to have introduced a camel corps into the army itself, and to have +derived considerable advantage from the new arm. The camels could bear +the weight of the mailed warrior and of their own armor better than +horses, and their riders were at once more safe in their elevated +position and more capable of dealing effective blows upon the enemy. +As a set-off, however, against those advantages, the spongy feet of +the camel were found to be more readily injured by the _tribulus_, or +caltrop, than the harder feet of the horse, and the corps was thus more +easily disabled than an equal force of cavalry, if it could be tempted +to pass over ground on which caltrops had been previously scattered. + +The Parthian tactics were of a simple kind, and differed little from +those of other nations in the same region, which have depended mainly on +their cavalry. To surround their foe, to involve him in difficulties, +to cut off: his supplies and his stragglers, and ultimately to bring him +into a position where he might be overwhelmed by missiles, was the aim +of all Parthian commanders of any military capacity. Their warfare was +suited for defence rather than for attack, unless against contemptible +enemies. They were bad hands at sieges, and seldom ventured to engage in +them, though they would do so if circumstances required it. They wearied +of long campaigns, and if they did not find victory tolerably easy, +were apt to retire and allow their foe to escape, or baffle him by +withdrawing their forces into a distant and inaccessible region. After +their early victories over Crassus and Antony, they never succeeded in +preventing the steady advance of a Roman army into their territory, +or in repulsing a determined attack upon their capital. Still they +generally had their revenge after a short time. It was easy for the +Romans to overrun Mesopotamia, but it was not so easy for them to hold +it; and it was scarcely possible for them to retire from it after an +occupation without disaster. The clouds of Parthian horse hung upon +their retreating columns, straitened them for provisions, galled them +with missiles, and destroyed those who could not keep up with the main +body. The towns upon the line of their retreat revolted and shut their +gates, defying even such commanders as Severus and Trajan. Of the six +great expeditions of Rome against Parthia, one only, that of Avidius +Cassius, was entirely successful. In every other case either the +failure of the expedition was complete, or the glory of the advance was +tarnished by disaster and suffering during the retreat. + +The results of invading Parthia would have been even more calamitous +to an assailant but for one weak point in the military system of the +Parthians. They were excessively unwilling to venture near an enemy +at night, and as a general rule abstained from all military movements +during the hours of darkness. As evening approached, they drew off to a +considerable distance from their foe, and left him unmolested to retreat +in any direction that he pleased. The reason of this probably was, not +merely that they did not fortify their camps; but that, depending wholly +on their horses, and being forced to hobble or tether them at night, +they could not readily get into fighting order on a sudden during +darkness. Once or twice in the course of their history, we find them +departing from their policy of extreme precaution, and recommencing +the pursuit of a flying foe before dawn; but it is noted as an unusual +occurrence. + +It was also a general principle of Parthian warfare to abstain from +campaigning during the winter. So much depended upon the tension of +their bow-strings, which any dampness relaxed, that their rule was to +make all their expeditions in the dry time of their year, which lasted +from early in the spring until late in the autumn. The rule was, +however, transgressed upon occasions. Phraates II. made his attack +upon Antiochus Sidetes, while the snow was still upon the ground; and +Volagases I. fell upon Paetus after the latter had sent his troops into +winter quarters. The Parthians could bear cold no less than heat; though +it was perhaps rather in the endurance of the latter than of the former +that they surpassed the Romans. The sun's rays were never too hot for +them; and they did not need water frequently or in large quantities. The +Romans believed that they increased their ability of bearing thirst by +means of certain drugs which they consumed; but it may be questioned +whether they really employed any other remedies than habit and +resolution. + +We find no use of chariots among the Parthians, except for the +conveyance of the females, who accompanied the nobles upon their +expeditions. The wives and concubines of the chiefs followed the camp +in great numbers; and women of a less reputable class, singers, dancers, +and musicians, swelled the ranks of the supernumeraries. Many of these +were Greeks from Seleucia and other Macedonian towns. The commissariat +and transport departments are said to have been badly organized; but +some thousands of baggage camels always accompanied an army, carrying +stores and provisions. Of these a considerable portion were laden with +arrows, of which the supply was in this way rendered inexhaustible. + +The use of the elephant in war was still more rare in Parthia than that +of the chariot. While the Seleucid kings employed the animal to a large +extent, and its use was also probably known to the Greek princes of +Bactria, the Arsacidae appear to have almost entirely neglected it. On +one occasion alone do we find their employment of it mentioned, and +then we hear of only a single animal, which is ridden by the monarch. +Probably the unwieldy creature was regarded by the Parthians as too +heavy and clumsy for the light and rapid movements of their armies, +and was thus disused during the period of their supremacy, though again +employed, after Parthia had fallen, by the Sassanidse. + +The Parthians entered into battle with much noise and shouting. They +made no use of trumpets or horns, but employed instead the kettledrum, +which resounded from all parts of the field when they made their onset. +Their attack was furious. The mailed horsemen charged at speed, and +often drove their spears through the bodies of two enemies at a blow. +The light horse and the foot, when any was present, delivered their +arrows with precision and with extraordinary force. But if the +assailants were met with a stout resistance, the first vigor of the +attack was rarely long maintained. The Parthian warriors grew quickly +weary of an equal contest, and, if they could not force their enemy to +give way, soon changed their tactics. Pretending panic, dispersing, and +beating a hasty retreat, they endeavored to induce their foe to pursue +hurriedly and in disorder, being ready at any moment to turn and take +advantage of the least appearance of confusion. If these tactics failed, +as they commonly did after they came to be known, the simulated flight +was generally converted into a real one; further conflict was avoided, +or at any rate deferred to another occasion. + +When the Parthians wished to parley with an enemy, they unstrung their +bows, and advancing with the right hand outstretched, asked for a +conference. They are accused by the Romans of sometimes using treachery +on such occasions, but, except in the single case of Crassus, the charge +of bad faith cannot be sustained against them. On solemn occasions, when +the intention was to discuss grounds of complaint or to bring a war +to an end by the arrangement of terms of peace, a formal meeting +was arranged between their representatives and those of their enemy, +generally on neutral ground, as on an island in the Euphrates, or on a +bridge constructed across it. Here the chiefs of the respective nations +met, accompanied by an equal number of guards, while the remainder of +their forces occupied the opposite banks of the river. Matters were +discussed in friendly fashion, the Greek language being commonly +employed as the vehicle of communication; after which festivities +usually took place, the two chiefs mutually entertaining each other, +or accepting in common the hospitalities of a third party. The terms of +peace agreed upon were reduced to writing; hands were grasped as a +sign that faith was pledged; and oaths having been interchanged, +the conference broke up, and the chiefs returned to their respective +residences. + +Besides negotiating by means of conferences, the Parthian monarchs often +sent out to neighboring states, and in return received from them formal +embassies. The ambassadors in every case conveyed, as a matter of +course, gifts to the prince to whom they were accredited, which might +consist of articles of value, or of persons. Augustus included an +Italian slave-girl among the presents which he transmitted to Phraates +IV.; and Artabanus III. sent a Jewish giant to Tiberius. The object +of an embassy was sometimes simply to congratulate; but more often the +ambassadors were instructed to convey certain demands, or proposals, +from their own prince to the head of the other nation, whereto his +assent was required, or requested. These proposals were commonly +formulated in a letter from the one prince to the other, which it was +the chief duty of the ambassadors to convey safely. Free powers to +conclude a treaty at their discretion were rarely, or never, entrusted +to them. Their task was merely to deliver the royal letter, to explain +its terms, if they were ambiguous, and to carry back to their own +monarch the reply of the foreign sovereign. The sanctity of the +ambassadorial character was invariably respected by the Parthians, who +are never even taxed with a violation of it. + +As a security for the performance of engagements, or for the permanent +maintenance of a friendly attitude, it was usual in the East during the +Parthian period to require, and give, hostages. The princes who occupied +the position of Parthian feudatories gave hostages to their suzerain, +who were frequently their near relations, as sons or brothers. And a +practice grew up of the Parthian monarchs themselves depositing their +own sons or brothers with the Roman Emperor, at first perhaps merely for +their own security, but afterwards as pledges for their good behavior. +Such hostages lived at the expense of the Roman court, and were usually +treated with distinction. In the event of a rupture between their +country and Rome, they had little to fear. Rome found her advantage in +employing them as rivals to a monarch with whom she had quarrelled, +and did not think it necessary to punish them for his treachery or +inconstancy. + +The magnificence of the Parthian court is celebrated in general terms +by various writers, but not very many particulars have come down to us +respecting it. We know that it was migratory, moving from one of the +chief cities of the empire to another at different seasons of the year, +and that owing to the vast number of the persons composing it, there was +a difficulty sometimes in providing for their subsistence upon the road. +The court comprised the usual extensive harem of an Oriental prince, +consisting of a single recognized queen, and a multitude of secondary +wives or concubines. The legitimate wife of the prince was commonly +a native, and in most cases was selected from the royal race of the +Arsacidae but sometimes she was the daughter of a dependent monarch, +and she might even be a slave raised by royal favor from that humble +position. The concubines were frequently Greeks. Both wives and +concubines remained ordinarily in close seclusion, and we have little +mention of them, in the Parthian annals. But in one instance, at any +rate, a queen, brought up in the notions of the West, succeeded in +setting Oriental etiquette at defiance, took the direction of affairs +out of the hands of her husband, and subsequently ruled the empire in +conjunction with her son. Generally, however, the Parthian kings were +remarkably free from the weakness of subservience to women, and managed +their kingdom with a firm hand, without allowing either wives or +ministers to obtain any undue ascendency over them. In particular, we +may note that they never, so far as appears, fell under the baleful +influence of eunuchs, who, from first to last, play a very subordinate +part in the Parthian history. + +The dress of the monarch was commonly the loose Median robe, which had +been adopted from the Medes by the Persians. This flowed down to the +feet in numerous folds, enveloping and concealing the entire figure. +Trousers and a tunic were probably worn beneath it, the latter of linen, +the former of silk or wool. As head-dress, the king wore either the mere +diadem, which was a band or ribbon, passed once or oftener round the +head, and terminating in two long ends which fell down behind, or else a +more pretentious cap, which in the earlier times was a sort of Scythian +pointed helmet, and in the later a rounded tiara, sometimes adorned with +pearls or gems. His neck appears to have been generally encircled with +two or three collars or necklaces, and he frequently wore ear-rings in +his ears. The beard was almost always cultivated, and, with the hair, +was worn variously. Generally both hair and beard were carefully curled; +but sometimes they depended in long straight locks, Mostly the beard was +pointed, but occasionally it was worn square. In later times a fashion +arose of puffing out the hair at either side extravagantly, so as to +give it the appearance of a large bushy wig. + +In war the monarch seems to have exchanged his Median robe for a short +cloak, reaching half way down the thigh. His head was protected by a +helmet, and he carried the national arm of offence, the bow. He usually +took the field on horseback, but was sometimes mounted on an elephant, +trained to encounter the shock of battle. Gold and silver were +abundantly used in the trappings of his steed and in his arms. He +generally took the command, and mingled freely in the fight, though he +might sometimes shrink without reproach from adventuring his own person. +His guards fought about him; and he was accompanied by attendants, whose +duty it was to assist him in mounting on horseback and dismounting. + +The status of the queen was not much below that of her royal consort. +She wore a tiara far more elaborate than his, and, like him, exhibited +the diadem. Her neck was encircled with several necklaces. As the title +of Theos, "God," was often assumed by her husband, so she was allowed +the title of "Goddess", or "Heavenly Goddess". + +Separate apartments were of course assigned to the queen, and to the +royal concubines in the various palaces. These were buildings on a +magnificent scale, and adorned with the utmost richness. Philostratus, +who wrote in Parthian times, thus describes the royal palace at Babylon. +"The palace is roofed with brass, and a bright light flashes from it. +It has chambers for the women, and chambers for the men, and porticos, +partly glittering with silver, partly with cloth-of-gold embroideries, +partly with solid slabs of gold, let into the walls, like pictures. The +subjects of the embroideries are taken from the Greek mythology, and +include representations of Andromeda, of Amymone, and of Orpheus, who +is frequently repeated.... Datis is moreover represented, destroying +Naxos with his fleet, and Artaphernes besieging Eretria, and Xerxes +gaining his famous victories. You behold the occupation of Athens, and +the battle of Thermopylae, and other points still more characteristic of +the great Persian war, rivers drunk up and disappearing from the face +of the earth, and a bridge stretched across the sea, and a canal cut +through Athos.... One chamber for the men has a roof fashioned into a +vault like the heaven, composed entirely of sapphires, which are the +bluest of stones, and resemble the sky in color. Golden images of the +gods whom they worship, are set up about the vault, and show like stars +in the firmament. This is the chamber in which the king delivers his +judgments. Four golden magic-wheels hang from its roof, and threaten +the monarch with the Divine Nemesis, if he exalts himself above the +condition of man. These wheels are called 'the tongues of the gods,' and +are set in their places by the Magi who frequent the palace." + +The state and pomp which surrounded the monarch seem scarcely to have +fallen short of the Achaemenian standard. Regarded as in some sort +divine during his life, and always an object of national worship after +his death, the "Brother of the Sun and Moon" occupied a position far +above that of the most exalted of his subjects. Tributary monarchs +were shocked, when, in times of misfortune, the "Great King" stooped +to solicit their aid, and appeared before them in the character of a +suppliant, shorn of his customary splendor. Nobles coveted the dignity +of "King's Friend," and were content to submit to blows and buffets +at the caprice of their royal master, before whom they prostrated +themselves in adoration after each castigation. The Parthian monarch +dined in solitary grandeur, extended on his own special couch, and +eating from his own special table, which was placed at a greater +elevation than those of his guests. His "friend" sat on the ground at +his feet, and was fed like a dog by scraps from his master's board. +Guards, ministers, and attendants of various kinds surrounded him, +and were ready at the slightest sign to do his bidding. Throughout the +country he had numerous "Eyes" and "Ears"--officers who watched his +interests and sent him word of whatever touched his safety. The bed on +which the monarch slept was of gold, and subjects were forbidden to take +their repose on couches of this rich material. No stranger could obtain +access to him unless introduced by the proper officer; and it was +expected that all who asked an audience would be prepared with some +present of high value. For the gifts received the monarch made a +suitable return, allowing those whom he especially favored to choose the +presents that they preferred. + +The power and dignity of the Parthian nobles was greater than that +usually enjoyed by any subjects of an Oriental king. Rank in Parthia +being hereditary and not simply official, the "megistanes" were no +mere creatures of the monarch, but a class which stood upon its own +indefeasible rights. As they had the privilege of electing to the throne +upon a vacancy, and even that of deposing a duly elected monarch, the +king could not but stand in wholesome awe of them, and feel compelled to +treat them with considerable respect and deference. Moreover, they were +not without a material force calculated to give powerful support to +their constitutional privileges. Each stood at the head of a body +of retainers accustomed to bear arms and to serve in the wars of the +Empire. Together these bodies constituted the strength of the army; and +though the royal bodyguard might perhaps have been capable of dealing +successfully with each group of retainers separately, yet such an +_esprit de corps_ was sure to animate the nobles generally, that they +would make common cause in case one of their number were attacked, +and would support him against the crown with the zeal inspired by +self-interest. Thus the Parthian nobility were far more powerful and +independent than any similar class under the Achaemenian, Sassanian, +Modern Persian, or Turkish sovereigns. They exercised a real control +over the monarch, and had a voice in the direction of the Empire. Like +the great feudal vassals of the Middle Ages, they from time to time +quarrelled with their liege lord, and disturbed the tranquillity of the +kingdom by prolonged and dangerous civil wars; but these contentions +served to keep alive a vigor, a life, and a spirit of sturdy +independence very unusual in the East, and gave a stubborn strength to +the Parthian monarchy, in which Oriental governments have for the most +part been wanting. + +There were probably several grades of rank among the nobles. The highest +dignity in the kingdom, next to the Crown, was that of Surena, or +"Field-Marshal;" and this position was hereditary in a particular +family, which can have stood but a little below the royal house in +wealth and consequence. The head of this noble house is stated to have +at one time brought into the field as many as 10,000 retainers and +slaves, of whom a thousand were heavy-armed. It was his right to place +the diadem on the king's brow at his coronation. The other nobles lived +for the most part on their domains, but took the field at the head +of their retainers in case of war, and in peace sometimes served the +offices of satrap, vizier, or royal councillor. The wealth of the class +was great; its members were inclined to be turbulent, and, like +the barons of the European kingdoms, acted as a constant check and +counterpoise to the royal dignity. + +Next to war, the favorite employment of the king and of the nobles +was hunting. The lion continued in the wild state an occupant of the +Mesopotamian river-banks and marshes; and in other parts of the empire +bears, leopards, and even tigers abounded. Thus the higher kinds of +sport were readily obtainable. The ordinary practice, however, of +the monarch and his courtiers seems to have fallen short of the true +sportsman's ideal. Instead of seeking the more dangerous kinds of +wild beasts in their native haunts, and engaging with them under the +conditions designed by nature, the Parthians were generally content +with a poorer and tamer method. They kept lions, leopards, and bears in +enclosed parks, or "paradises," and found pleasure in the pursuit and +slaughter of these denaturalized and half-domesticated animals. The +employment may still, even under these circumstances, have contained +an element of danger which rendered it exciting; but it was a poor +substitute for the true sport which the "mighty Hunter before the Lord" +had first practised in these regions. + +The ordinary dress of the Parthian noble was a long loose robe reaching +to the feet, under which he wore a vest and trousers. Bright and +varied colors were affected, and sometimes dresses were interwoven or +embroidered with gold. In seasons of festivity garlands of fresh flowers +were worn upon the head. A long knife or dagger was carried at all +times, which might be used either as an implement or as a weapon. + +In the earlier period of the empire the Parthian was noted as a spare +liver; but, as time went on, he aped the vices of more civilized +peoples, and became an indiscriminate eater and a hard drinker. Game +formed a main portion of his diet; but he occasionally indulged in pork, +and probably in other sorts of butcher's meat. He ate leavened bread, +with his meat, and various kinds of vegetables. The bread, which was +particularly light and porous, seems to have been imported sometimes by +the Romans, who knew it as _panis aquaticus_ or _panis Parthicus_. Dates +were also consumed largely by the Parthians, and in some parts of the +country grew to an extraordinary size. A kind of wine was made from +them; and this seems to have been the intoxicating drink in which +the nation generally indulged too freely. That made from the dates of +Babylon was the most highly esteemed, and was reserved for the use of +the king and the higher order of satraps. + +Of the Parthian feasts, music was commonly an accompaniment. The flute, +the pipe, the drum, and the instrument called eambuca, appear to have +been known to them; and they understood how to combine these instruments +in concerted harmony. They are said to have closed their feasts with +dancing--an amusement of which they were inordinately fond--but this was +probably the case only with the lower class of people. Dancing in the +East, if not associated with religion, is viewed as degrading, and, +except as a religious exercise, is not indulged in by respectable +persons. + +The separation of the sexes was very decided in Parthia. The women took +their meals, and passed the greater portion of their life, apart from +the men. Veils were commonly worn, as in modern Mohammedan countries; +and it was regarded as essential to female delicacy that women, whether +married or single, should converse freely with no males but either their +near relations or eunuchs. Adultery was punished with great severity; +but divorce was not difficult, and women of rank released themselves +from the nuptial bond on light grounds of complaint, without much +trouble. Polygamy was the established law; and every Parthian was +entitled, besides his chief wife, to maintain as many concubines as he +thought desirable. Some of the nobles supported an excessive number; but +the expenses of the seraglio prevented the generality from taking much +advantage of the indulgence which the law permitted. + +The degree of refinement and civilization which the Parthians reached +is difficult to determine with accuracy. In mimetic art their remains +certainly do not show much taste or sense of beauty. There is some +ground to believe that their architecture had merit; but the existing +monuments can scarcely be taken as representations of pure Parthian +work, and may have owed their excellence (in some measure, at any rate) +to foreign influence. Still, the following particulars, for which there +is good evidence, seem to imply that the nation had risen in reality far +above that "barbarism" which it was the fashion of the Greek and Roman +writers to ascribe to it. In the first place, the Parthians had a +considerable knowledge of foreign languages. Plutarch tells us that +Orodes, the opponent of Crassus, was acquainted with the Greek language +and literature, and could enjoy the representation of a play of +Euripides. The general possession of such knowledge, at any rate by the +kings and the upper classes, seems to be implied by the use of the Greek +letters and language in the legends upon coins and in inscriptions. +Other languages were also to some extent cultivated. The later kings +almost invariably placed a Semitic legend upon their coins; and there is +one instance of a Parthian prince adopting an Aryan legend of the +type known as Bactrian. Josephus, moreover, regarded the Parthians as +familiar with Hebrew, or Syro-Chaldaic, and wrote his history of +the Jewish War in his own native tongue, before he put out his Greek +version, for the benefit especially of the Parthians, among whom he +declares that he had many readers. + +Though the Parthians had, so far as we can tell, no native literature, +yet writing was familiar to them, and was widely used in matters of +business. Not only were negotiations carried on with foreign powers +by means of despatches, but the affairs of the empire generally were +conducted by writing. A custom-house system was established along the +frontier, and all commodities liable to duty that entered the country +were registered in a book at the time of entry by the custom-house +officer. In the great cities where the Court passed a portion of the +year, account was kept of the arrival of strangers, whose names and +descriptions were placed upon record by the keepers of the gates. The +orders of the Crown were signified in writing to the satraps; and they +doubtless corresponded with the Court in the same way. In the earlier +times the writing material commonly used was linen; but shortly before +the time of Pliny, the Parthians began to make paper from the papyrus, +which grew in the neighborhood of Babylon, though they still employed in +preference the old material. + +There was a considerable trade between Parthia and Rome, carried on +by means of a class of merchants. Parthia imported from Rome various +metals, and numerous manufactured articles of a high class. Her +principal exports were textile fabrics and spices. The textile fabrics +seem to have been produced chiefly in Babylonia, and to have consisted +of silks, carpets, and coverlets. The silks were largely used by the +Roman ladies. The coverlets, which were patterned with various colors, +fetched enormous prices, and were regarded as fit adornments of the +Imperial palace. Among the spices exported, the most celebrated wore +bdellium, and the _juncus odoratus_ or odoriferous bulrush. + +The Parthians had many liberal usages which imply a fairly advanced +civilization. Their tolerance of varieties in religion has been already +mentioned. Even in political matters they seem to have been free from +the narrowness which generally characterizes barbarous nations. They +behaved well to prisoners, admitted foreigners freely to offices of high +trust, gave an asylum to refugees, and treated them with respect and +kindness, were scrupulous observers of their pledged word, and eminently +faithful to their treaty obligations. On the other hand, it must be +admitted that they had some customs which indicate a tinge of barbarism. +They used torture for the extraction of answers from reluctant persons, +employed the scourge to punish trifling offences, and, in certain +cases, condescended to mutilate the bodies of their dead enemies. Their +addiction to intemperance is also a barbaric trait. They were, no doubt, +on the whole, less civilized than either the Greeks or Romans; but the +difference does not seem to have been so great as represented by the +classical writers. + +Speaking broadly, the position that they occupied was somewhat similar +to that which the Turks hold in the system of modern Europe. They had a +military strength which caused them to be feared and respected, a vigor +of administration which was felt to imply many sterling qualities. A +certain coarseness and rudeness attached to them which they found it +impossible to shake off; and this drawback was exaggerated by their +rivals into an indication of irreclaimable barbarity. Except in respect +of their military prowess, it may be doubtful if justice is done them by +any classical writer. They were not merely the sole rival which dared to +stand up against Rome in the interval between B.C. 65 and A.D. 226, but +they were a rival falling in many respects very little below the great +power whose glories have thrown them so much into the shade. They +maintained from first to last a freedom unknown to later Rome; +they excelled the Romans in toleration and in liberal treatment +of foreigners, they equalled them in manufactures and in material +prosperity, and they fell but little short of them in the extent and +productiveness of their dominions. They were the second power in the +world for nearly three centuries, and formed a counterpoise to Rome +which greatly checked Roman decline, and, by forcing the Empire to exert +itself, prevented stagnation and corruption. + +It must, however, be confessed, that the tendency of the Parthians +was to degenerate. Although the final blow was struck in an unexpected +quarter, and perhaps surprised the victors as much as the vanquished, +still it is apparent that for a considerable space before the revolt of +Artaxerxes the Parthian Empire had shown signs of failing strength, and +had tended rapidly towards decay and ruin. The constant quarrels among +the Arsacidae and the incipient disintegration of the Empire have been +noticed. It may be added here that a growing barbarism, a decline in art +and letters, is observable in the Parthian remains, such as have usually +been found to accompany the decrepitude of a nation. The coinage has +from first to last a somewhat rude character, which indicates that it +is native, and not the production of Greek artists. But on the earlier +coins the type, though not indicative of high art, is respectable, and +the legends are, with few exceptions, perfectly correct and classical. +Barbarism first creeps in about the reign of Gotarzes, A.D. 42-51. It +increases as time goes on, until, from about A.D. 133, the Greek legend +upon the coins becomes indistinct and finally unintelligible, the +letters being strewn about the surface of the coin, like dead soldiers +over a field of battle. It is, clear that the later directors of +the mint were completely ignorant of Greek, and merely attempted to +reproduce on the coin some semblance of a language which neither they +nor their countrymen understood. Such a condition of a coinage is almost +without parallel, and indicates a want of truth and honesty in the +conduct of affairs which implies deep-seated corruption. The Parthians +must have lost the knowledge of Greek about A.D. 130, yet +still a pretence of using the language was kept up. On the +tetra-drachms--comparatively rare coins--no important mistake was +committed; but on the more usual drachm, from the time of Gotarzes, the +most absurd errors were introduced, and thenceforth perpetuated. The +old inscription was, in a certain sense, imitated, but every word of it +ceased to be legible: the old figures disappeared in an indistinct +haze, and--if we except the head and name of the king (written now in a +Semitic character)--the whole emblazonment of the coin became unmeaning. +A degeneracy less marked, but still sufficiently clear to the numismatic +critic, is observable in the heads of the kings, which, in the earlier +times, if a little coarse, are striking and characteristic; while in the +later they sink to a conventional type, rudely and poorly rendered, and +so uniform that the power of distinguishing one sovereign from +another rests no longer upon feature, but upon mere differences in the +arrangement of hair, or beard, or head-dress. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Seven Great Monarchies Of The +Ancient Eastern World, Vol 6. 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