Crassus\' Death at the Hands of Parthia.

[First_Legionary]

I've heard a number of different debates and claims as to how Crassus died in his campaign into Parthia. Such as: he was forced into peace talks by his frightened and exhausted men and was seized and killed having his hand and head cut off. A fight started between his men and the Parthians during the peace talks and he died fighting his way out. He was captured during the "peace talks" and had molten gold poured down his throat. The molten gold was poured down his throat after he died. His head was taken and thrown to an actor during a Greek (I believe the play was Greek, but I could be mistaken)play being performed in the audience of the Parthian King, etc. The list goes on and on and on like that. So my question is, is the death of Crassus widely disputed by historians or is there a central belief to his death?

In a related question, did Julius Caesar write a letter to Crassus telling him to go into Parthia? Is there any historical evidence to support that Julius Caesar intended him to be killed in Parthia?

I suppose the death of Crassus is one of the factors that allowed the civil war between Pompey and Caesar to happen. And I believe, if that were true, Cassius partly wanted Caesar dead as vengance for Crassus' death. He was an underling of Crassus, correct?

[Nathan Ross]

There are a few alternative versions of how Crassus died, but most of them derive from the same source: Plutarch's Life of Crassus. Plutarch would have been working from the accounts of survivors and those who had met survivors, and he admits that the exact version of what happened is difficult to establish. His general take is, as you suggest, that Crassus was killed during a scuffle between the Parthians and group of Roman officers trying to negotiate their escape after Carrhae.

The Lacus Curtius site has all of Plutarch's Lives - scroll to the bottom of the page and click on Crassus for the full story, with all the details, including the stuff about Crassus' head being used in a prop in a play:

Plutarch on Lacus Curtius

Another account comes from Cassius Dio, writing three hundred years later. Chapters 12-30 of Book 40 of his Roman History have a narrative of Crassus' Parthian escapade and subsequent demise. Dio writes that 'some say' the Parthians poured molten gold into Crassus' mouth - alive or dead is uncertain! - but it seems a bit of a folk myth. He also suggests that he might have been killed by his own officers to prevent him being captured. Here's Dio's History - scroll down to Book 40 for the Crassus stuff:

Cassius Dio - Roman History

It's Plutarch who noted Caesar writing to Crassus and urging him on in his plans to invade Parthia. There's no suggestion that he did this with ill intent, and even Caesar could never have predicted the scale of the disaster ahead. Possibly he might have wanted Crassus out of the way, and embarked on a costly and time-consuming eastern war was one way of doing that.

- Nathan

[First_Legionary]

Thanks for the help. I'm writing a final term paper on this very subject (Crassus' campaign into Parthia, not his demise) and this help is greatly appreciated as I've been unable to find many sources on this. Thanks again.

[stevesarak]

Thanks for the link Nathan.

It had an extra http in it, here it is without it.

Plutarch on Lacus Curtius

[Nathan Ross]

Thanks Steve - I've corrected the link in my post above as well, so it no longer leads to the Microsoft homepage (!!!). Bill Thayer's Lacus Curtius site doesn't seem to allow direct links to subject pages, which makes html linking sometimes a bit convoluted - but since it's such an excellent site I don't mind!

- Nathan