“Antony's Parthian War”的意思、由来-开放百科全书

Julius Caesar had planned an invasion of Parthia, but he was assassinated before implementing it. In 40 BC, the Parthians were joined by Pompeian forces and briefly captured much of the Roman East, but were defeated in Antony's counter-attack.

Antony finally began the campaign against Parthia. Joining with regional kingdoms, the invasion force reached a total of 100,000 men. But the campaign ended in a disastrous defeat due to the lack of a clear strategy. However, the war became a strategic draw when peace was later negotiated by Augustus.

Background

In Anatolia, the Parthians allied with Quintus Labienus, son of Caesar's former general and later antagonist Titus Labienus, penetrating deep into the west and defeating a Roman army under Decidius Saxa. They were however defeated in turn by a veteran army led by Publius Ventidius Bassus, who drove the invaders from Roman territory.

The war

With the aid of Mark Antony, Triumvir and lover of Egyptian Ptolemaic Queen Cleopatra VII, the son-in-law of Hyrcanus, Herod, returned to Judea and recaptured Jerusalem in 37 BC. Antony then went on to attack the Parthian Empire itself, marching into Atropatene^[8] (present-day Iranian Azerbaijan) with some 100,000 legionaries, aided by the Roman client kings in Armenia, Galatia, Cappadocia and sovereign Pontus. The campaign proved a disaster however, after a Roman slipup at Phraaspa, capital of Atropatene, and "during this confrontation, the Parthians captured ten thousand Roman troops, some of whom were Germans from the Rhineland, and sent them as hostages to Merv. Additionally, thousands of Romans and auxiliaries died during the retreat due to the cold winter. Antony lost more than a quarter of its strength in the course of the campaign.

Again with Egyptian money, Antony invaded Armenia, this time successfully. In the return, a mock Roman Triumph was celebrated in the streets of Alexandria. The parade through the city was a pastiche of Rome's most important military celebration. For the finale, the whole city was summoned to hear a very important political statement. In 34 BC, surrounded by Cleopatra and her children, Antony ended his alliance with Octavian.

Subsequent events

Antony later went on to annex Armenia, afraid the kingdom would seek Parthian support, but the war didn't end formally until 20 BC, by a peace made by Augustus, ensuring the return of the captured legionary eagles of Crassus' and Saxa's armies, Antony's main excuse for the invasion of Parthia proper.

References

1. ^[https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mark-Antony-Roman-triumvir/ Encyclopedia Britannica] "A long-prepared attack on Parthia in 36 failed, with heavy losses - it was Anthony's first military failure"
2. ^{{cite book |title=The Cambridge History of Iran |last=Bivar|first=H.D.H |editor=William Bayne Fisher |editor2=Ilya Gershevitch |editor3=Ehsan Yarshater |editor4=R. N. Frye |editor5=J. A. Boyle |editor6=Peter Jackson |editor7=Laurence Lockhart |editor8=Peter Avery |editor9=Gavin Hambly |editor10=Charles Melville|year=1968 |publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=0-521-20092-X |url=https://books.google.com/?id=Ko_RafMSGLkC&pg=PA59|page=59}}
3. ^¹Encyclopedia Iranica " Throughout this campaign Antony showed no clear perception of how to fight the Parthians nor any consistent strategic plan or political aim. His losses—probably ca. 32,000 men in all—inflicted a serious blow on Roman manpower"
4. ^{{cite web |title=DEPORTATIONS – Encyclopaedia Iranica |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/deportations |website=www.iranicaonline.org |accessdate=28 June 2018 |language=en}}
5. ^http://www.camrea.org/2017/02/21/antonys-parthian-war-politics-and-bloodshed-between-empires-of-the-ancient-world/
6. ^Freeman, Philip. Julius Caesar. Simon and Schuster (2008) {{ISBN|978-0743289542}}, p.347-349
7. ^Jewish Wars I 13:9
8. ^http://www.camrea.org/2017/02/21/antonys-parthian-war-politics-and-bloodshed-between-empires-of-the-ancient-world/