106 



A HISTORY OF CAVALRY. 



r 



in tactics and weapons between the armies of ^^reat 



empires. The Romans at once saw their we js and 

 immediately" took steps to remedy it. Ventidius, an able 

 general, who, in b.c. 38, first gave a check to the Parthian 

 forces, seeing the necessity of meeting the arrows of the 

 enemy with a missile weapon of equal if not greater 

 range, had carefully provided himself with a numerous 

 body of slingers, and by entrenching in high ground and 

 by manoeuvring skilfully upon leaving his lines, he suc- 

 ceeded in obtaining a victory, partly by the good services 

 of his slingers who galled the Parthian cavalry severely, 

 and partly by the chance of Pacorus, the king's son, who 

 commanded the enemy, being killed at the crisis of the 

 action.^ This battle turned the scale again, and confined 

 the authority of the Parthian monarch to the limits of 

 his empire, and the Roman eagles once more held their 

 sway from the Atlantic Ocean to the banks of the 

 Euphrates. 



This success was secured by the improvements in or- 

 ganisation, armament and tactics of the Roman generals. 

 They met the Parthian loose array and missile weapons, 

 with increased cavalry, and a large irregular force of 

 slingers, and to give every advantage to this last arm 

 they supplied them with leaden bullets instead of stone, 

 in order to give an ipcreased range to the projectile, and 

 more force to the blow.*^ 



When Antony afterwards invaded Parthia he had 

 10,000 Gallic and Spanish cavalry, 30,000 light armed 

 troops and cavalry of his Asiatic allies, and Armenia was 

 to furnish him with 6,000 horse besides infantry, so that 

 he probably had from 30,000 to 35,000 cavalry, and his 

 whole force consisted at the outset of about 113,000 men. 

 Although he had this large army the expedition was a 

 failure, one of bis lieutenants, Statianus, with a detach- 

 ment of bi»^ army, was surrounded and his whole force, 

 10,000 strong, was cut to pieces, and Antony, after 

 sufi'ering much loss, efiected a disastrous retreat, being 

 continually harassed by the hostile cavalry. He was 

 only able to bring about 70,000 men out of the country. 



> Rawlinsnn, 192. ^ Ibid. Parthia, 194. 



