Carrhae - could Crassus have won?

[Sardaukar]

I never read anything about slingers, but I imagine slingers would be far less accurate than bowmen. I disagree with the assertion that the Parthian horse archers were kept at bay because Antony was crushed by the Parthians. They were so pissed off at him for his invasion of their territory that they followed his retreating army all night long (fighting at night is something the Parthians rarely did) and exhausted them to the point that they started drinking water from a salty river. On neither the Crassus nor Antony campaigns were the Romans effectively equipped to deal with the Parthian military, in their tactical faculties.

As far as I know, Parthians never "crushed" army of Antonius. They mainly avoided battle with his main force and after he lost his baggage train, they just harassed retreating Romans. But they never had decisive battle against them. Some sources say it was because slingers could keep Parthina horse archers in bay with their lead-shot. Like Ventitius before Antony's Parthian campaign:

http://www.allempires.com/article/index ... n_parthian

(sources are in the end of the page)

[i]III. Publius Ventidius Brussus

Ventidius lies among the accomplished but forgotten generals in history. Ventidius had humble beginnings. Since his parents was disgraced and taken prisoner in the “Social War,â€