Ancient Warfare III.5, 2009

Release October 14th.

Theme: The Imperial Nemesis - Rome vs. Parthia

Introduction: Pawel Grysztar, 'Historical introduction'. Illustrated by Carlos de la Rocha

The Source: Joaquín Montero, 'Trajan's Parthian War. Comments on the literary sources'

On a first approach to the study of the historical sources for Trajan’s campaigns in the East, we can easily extract that they are alike obscure, fragmented, scarce and limited. Today, we know of records from two main historians: Lucius Flavius Arrianus – Arrian – with his primary source Parthica; and a secondary one, Cassius Dio, who condensed Arrian’s version. Of the original 17 books (originally published in 17 scrolls) of the Parthica, only some fragments remain. This inconsistent source will lead us to believe that the most complete account for Trajan’s Parthian War is the sixty-eighth book of Cassius Dio’s Roman History.

Theme: Arnold Blumberg and Glenn Barnett, 'Seeking the knock-out blow. A history of asymmetric warfare'. Illustrated by Giorgio Albertini and Andrew Brozyna.

For three centuries, Rome and Parthia fought a series of wars centered on the Armenian highlands and the Euphrates valley. Each had their share of great successes and dismal failures, but there was never a final battle that brought one side to its knees. The wars ended when the Parthian empire was replaced, inside-out, by the Sassanid dynasty. What made it so difficult to gain the upper hand?

Theme: Duncan B.Campbell, 'Armed diplomacy. Rome and Parthia in the first century AD'. Illustrated by Angel Garcia Pinto.

Rome’s relationship with Parthia is usually seen as an uneasy stand-off, in which the Romans, smarting from their defeat at Carrhae, inflicted repeated assaults upon the Parthian capital of Ctesiphon. However, for over a century before the emperor Trajan’s Parthian war, his predecessors successfully maintained the upper hand through the veiled threat of force, in a kind of armed diplomacy.

Theme: Paul McDonnell-Staff, 'The weapon. The Parthian bow'.

Parthian bows are called ‘composite’ because they are made of three materials – wood, horn and sinew. The wood formed the core of the bow, reinforced on the ‘belly’ with strips of flat horn, often from gazelle or similar. The horn, being stiff, resisted compression. On the ‘back’ sinew was glued, taken from the neck or back of some ruminant, which was carefully prepared, forming a homogenous and dense layer, often several layers. This sinew backing frequently wrapped round the edges of the bow, and enclosed the two side strips of wood. The whole was often then wrapped around with sinew thread, and frequently covered with a ‘skin’ of birch bark or similar.

Theme: Ross Cowan, 'The battle of Nisibis, AD 217. Last battle of the Parthian wars'. Illustrated by Igor Dzis and Stephen D.P.Richardson.

On 8 April AD 217, the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, better known to history as Caracalla, was riding towards a temple in the territory of Carrhae. The emperor was suffering from a stomach upset and his retinue was forced to halt while he found a discreet place to empty his bowels. The emperor’s guards and attendants naturally kept their distance and turned away while he was about his delicate business. This allowed Julius Martialis, an evocatus of the Praetorian Guard, to approach the emperor unobserved. As the emperor was pulling down his breeches, the evocatus stabbed him in the back.

Theme: Raffaele D'Amato, 'Romans or Parthians? Legionary equipment during the Parthian campaigns of AD 197-199.' Illustrated by Graham Sumner.

The armament and equipment of the legions which accompanied Septimius Severus (193-211 AD) during his Parthian campaigns is well illustrated on the monuments celebrating the glory of the emperor and his military successes: the arch of Septimius Severus in the Roman Forum, the Arch of the Argentarii in the Forum Boarium, and various public buildings in Leptis Magna.

Features

The general: Fred E. Ray, 'A flair for the unexpected. Myronides and the Athenian land empire'. Illustrated by Carlos de la Rocha

Land battle among classical Greeks of the 5^th century  BC has a reputation for simplicity. Yet ancient sources don’t support so bland a view of that age’s combat.  Indeed, there are many accounts of commanders of the era seeking an edge through clever stratagems.  A very few, like Miltiades of Marathon fame and Leonidas at Thermopylae are renowned even in modern times, showing up in popular histories, novels and films.  Others, though much lauded in their own day, have faded into obscurity. One such is the Athenian Myronides.  This general’s flair for doing the unexpected spawned victories that would gain his nation its greatest inland empire.

Be a general: Murray Dahm, 'The Arrow versus the Spear. The Breviarium of Festus as a military handbook.'. Illustrated by Andrew Brozyna.

Various books previously discussed were written with the Persians or Parthians in mind. Another work which was written for a campaign against the same foe is the Breviarium of Festus, perhaps the shortest history of Rome written in antiquity. It has attracted very little attention of any kind. The author and work are usually dismissed and abused as worthless. Yet this intriguing work, written in AD 370 at the request of the emperor Valens for his forthcoming Persian campaign, offers remarkable insights into a variety of topics. Most importantly, the work can be seen as a pamphlet of military advice on how to conduct a campaign, what practices to follow and what to avoid.