06-13-2008, 10:46 AM
Yes, I'm resurrecting this thread 
A lot has been said here about Crassus failing to bring a counter to the Parthian horse archers. In fact, Crassus did have archers of his own. I'm not sure how many he brought with him but they were surely far too few to counter the 9,000 Parthian horse archers. Maybe they could have been deployed better in spite of their inferior numbers. Plutarch says in two passages :
1.) After this, he [Crassus] marched along the river with seven legions of men-at‑arms, nearly four thousand horsemen, and about as many light-armed troops ...
2.) Accordingly, the young man [Publius Crassus] took thirteen hundred horsemen, of whom a thousand had come from Caesar, five hundred archers, and eight cohorts of the men-at‑arms who were nearest him, and led them all to the charge. But the Parthians who were trying to envelop him, either because, as some say, they encountered marshes, or because they were manoeuvring to attack Publius as far as possible from his father, wheeled about and made off.
So, Crassus had at least 500 archers. Even if he had brought many more archers could the Romans have escaped after losing their cavalry ? The Parthians had more ammo and maybe a superior firing range. Can anyone confirm the latter ?
BTW, Plutarch says that the Parthians wore "breastplates of raw hide and steel" (Crassus, 25). Does this mean they wore two kinds of "breastplates" or one kind that used both materials ?
~Theo
A lot has been said here about Crassus failing to bring a counter to the Parthian horse archers. In fact, Crassus did have archers of his own. I'm not sure how many he brought with him but they were surely far too few to counter the 9,000 Parthian horse archers. Maybe they could have been deployed better in spite of their inferior numbers. Plutarch says in two passages :
1.) After this, he [Crassus] marched along the river with seven legions of men-at‑arms, nearly four thousand horsemen, and about as many light-armed troops ...
2.) Accordingly, the young man [Publius Crassus] took thirteen hundred horsemen, of whom a thousand had come from Caesar, five hundred archers, and eight cohorts of the men-at‑arms who were nearest him, and led them all to the charge. But the Parthians who were trying to envelop him, either because, as some say, they encountered marshes, or because they were manoeuvring to attack Publius as far as possible from his father, wheeled about and made off.
So, Crassus had at least 500 archers. Even if he had brought many more archers could the Romans have escaped after losing their cavalry ? The Parthians had more ammo and maybe a superior firing range. Can anyone confirm the latter ?
BTW, Plutarch says that the Parthians wore "breastplates of raw hide and steel" (Crassus, 25). Does this mean they wore two kinds of "breastplates" or one kind that used both materials ?
~Theo
Jaime
