[-16-] Such is the Parthian state. Crassus, as has been stated, invaded Mesopotamia and Orodes sent envoys to him in Syria to censure him for the invasion and ask the causes of the war; he sent also Surena with an army to the captured and revolted sections. He himself had in mind to lead an expedition against Armenia, which had once belonged to Tigranes, in order that Artabazes, son of Tigranes, the king of the land at that time, should, through fear for his own domains, send no assistance to the Romans. Now Crassus said that he would tell him in Seleucia the causes of the war. (This is a city in Mesopotamia having even at the present day chiefly a Greek population.) And one of the Parthians, bringing down upon the palm of his left hand the fingers of the other, exclaimed: "More quickly will hair grow herein, than you will reach Seleucia."
[B.C. 53 (a.u. 701)]
[-17-] And when the winter set in,[62] in which Gnaeus Calvinus and Valerius Messala became consuls, many portents occurred even in Rome itself. Owls and wolves were seen, prowling dogs did damage, some sacred statues exuded sweat and others were destroyed by lightning. The offices, partly through rivalry but chiefly by reason of birds and omens, were with difficulty filled at last in the seventh month. Those signs, however, gave no clear indication as to what the event would be. For affairs in the City were in turmoil, the Gauls had risen again, and, though the Romans knew it not as yet, they had broken into war against the Parthians: but to Crassus signs that were both evident and easy to interpret appeared as he was crossing the Euphrates opposite Zeugma.[63] That spot has been so called from the campaign of Alexander, because he crossed at this point. [-18-] The omens were of the following nature. There is a small shrine and in it a golden eagle, which is found in all the legions that are on the register, and it never moves from the winter-quarters except the whole army goes forth on some errand. One man carries it on a long shaft, which ends in a sharp spike for the purpose of setting it firmly in the ground. Now of these so-called eagles one was unwilling to join him in his passage of the Euphrates at that time, but stuck fast in the earth as if planted until many took their places around it and pulled it out by force, so that it accompanied even involuntarily. But one of the large standards, that resemble sheets, with purple letters upon them to distinguish the division and its commander, turned about and fell from the bridge into the river. This happened in the midst of a violent wind. Then Crassus, who had the rest of equal length cut down, so as to be shorter and consequently steadier to carry, only increased the prodigies. In the very passage of the river so great a mist enshrouded the soldiers that they fell over one another and could see nothing of the enemy's country until they set foot upon it: and the sacrifices both for crossing and for landing proved very unfavorable. Meantime a great wind burst upon them, bolts of lightning fell, and the bridge, before they had all passed over, was destroyed. The occurrences were such that any one, even if extremely ignorant and uninstructed, would interpret them to mean that they would fare badly and not return. Hence there was great fear and dejection in the army. [-19-] Crassus, trying to encourage them, said: "Be not alarmed, fellow soldiers, that the bridge has been destroyed nor think because of this that any disaster is portended. For I declare to you upon oath that I have decided to make my return march through Armenia." By this he would have emboldened them, had he not at the end added in a loud voice the words: "Be of good cheer: for none of you shall come back this way." When they heard this, the soldiers deemed that it, no less than the rest, had been a portent for them, and fell into greater discouragement; and so it was that they paid no heed to the remainder of his exhortation, in which he belittled the barbarian and glorified the Roman State, offered them money and announced prizes for valor.
Still, even so, they followed and no one said a word or committed an act to oppose him, partly by reason of the law, but further because they were terrified and could neither plan nor carry out any measures of safety. In all other respects, too, as if predestined to ruin by some Divinity, they deteriorated both in mind and body.
[-20-] Nevertheless, the greatest injury was done them by Abgarus of Osrhoene. He had pledged himself to peace with the Romans in the time of Pompey, but now chose the side of the barbarians. The same was done by Alchaudonius the Arabian, who always attached himself to the stronger party. The latter, however, revolted openly, and hence was not hard to guard against. Abgarus favored the Parthian cause, but pretended to be well disposed toward Crassus. He spent money for him unsparingly, learned all his plans (which he reported to the foe), and further, if any course was excellent for the Romans he tried to divert him from it, but if disadvantageous, to urge him to it. At last he was responsible for the following occurrence. Crassus was intending to advance to Seleucia by such a route as to reach there safely along the side of the Euphrates and on its stream, with his army and provisions. Accompanied by the people of that city, whom he hoped to win over easily, because they were Greeks, he could cross without difficulty to Ctesiphon. Abgarus caused him to give up this course, on the ground that it would take a long time, and persuaded him to assail Surena, because the latter was near and had only a few men.
[-21-] Then, when he had arranged matters so that the invader should perish and the other should conquer (for he was continually in the company of Surena, on the pretext of spying), he led out the Romans, blinded by folly, to what he said was a victory in their very hands, and in the midst of the action joined the attack against them.
It happened like this.
[B.C. 52 (a.u. 702)]
The Parthians confronted the Romans with most of their army hidden; the ground was uneven in spots and wooded. Crassus seeing them—not Crassus the commander, but the younger, who had come to his father from Gaul,—and despising them (supposing them to be alone), led out his cavalry and, as they turned purposely to flight, pursued them. In his eagerness for victory he was separated far from his phalanx, and was then caught in a trap and cut down. [-22-] When this took place the roman infantry did not turn back, but valiantly joined battle with the Parthians to avenge his death. They accomplished nothing worthy of themselves, however, because of the enemy's numbers and tactics, especially as they suffered from the plotting of Abgarus. If they decided to lock shields for the purpose of avoiding the arrows by the density of their array, the pike-bearers were upon them with a rush, would strike down some, and at least scatter the others: and if they stood apart, so as to turn these aside, they would be shot with arrows.
Hereupon many died from fright at the very charge or the pike-bearers, and many hemmed in by the horsemen perished. Others were upset by the pikes or were carried off transfixed. The missiles falling thick upon them from all sides at once struck down many by an opportune blow, put many out of the battle, and caused annoyance to all. They flew into their eyes and pierced their hands and all the other parts of the body and penetrating their armor, forced them to take off their protection and expose themselves to wounds each minute. Thus, while a man was guarding against arrows or pulling out one that had stuck fast he received more wounds, one upon another. Consequently it was not feasible for them to move, nor feasible to remain at rest. Neither course afforded them safety, and both were fraught with destruction, the one because it was out of their power, and the other because they were more easily wounded. [-23-] This was what they suffered while they were fighting only against visible enemies. Abgarus did not immediately make his attempt upon them. When he, too, attacked, the Orshoeni themselves struck the Romans from behind in exposed places while they were facing in a different direction, and rendered them easier for the others to slaughter. For the Romans, altering their formation, so as to be facing them, put the Parthians behind them. They wheeled around again against the Parthians, then back again against the Orshoeni, then against the Parthians once more. Thrown into still greater confusion by this circumstance, because they were continually changing position this way and that and were forced to face the body that was wounding them at the time, many fell upon their own swords or were killed by their comrades. Finally they were shut up in so narrow a place, with the enemy continually assaulting them from all sides at once, and compelled to protect their exposed parts by the shields of those who stood beside them, that they could no longer move. They could not even get a sure footing by reason of the number of corpses, but kept falling over them. The heat and thirst—it was mid-summer and this action took place at noon—and the dust of which all the barbarians raised as much as possible by riding around them, told fearfully upon the survivors, and many succumbed to these influences, even though unwounded. [-24-] And they would have perished utterly, but for the fact that some of the pikes of the barbarians were bent and others were broken, while the bowstrings snapped under the constant shooting, the missiles were all discharged, every sword blunted, and, chief of all, that the men themselves grew weary of the slaughter. Under these conditions, then, when it grew night the assailants being obliged to ride off to a distance retired. They never encamp near even the weakest bodies, because they use no intrenchments and if any one comes upon them in the darkness, they are unable to deploy their cavalry or their archery to advantage. However, they captured no Roman alive at that time. Seeing them standing upright in their armor and perceiving that no one threw away any part of it or fled, they deemed that they still had some strength, and feared to lay hold of them.