PAR 
with them, threw them off their horfes on the ground, 
where they lay without being able to ftir, by reafon of 
the great weight of their armour ; others, demounting, 
crept under the enemy’s horfes, and, thrufting their 
fwords into their bellies, made them throw their riders. 
Thus the brave Gauls fought, though greatly harraffed 
with heat and third:, which they were not accuftomed to 
bear, till mod of their horfes were killed, and their com¬ 
mander dangeroufly wounded. They then thought it 
advifable to retire to their infantry, which they no fooner 
joined, than the Parthians inverted them anew, making 
a moft dreadful liavock of them with their arrows. In 
this defperate condition, Craffus, fpying a riling ground 
at a final 1 diftance, led the remains of his detachment 
thither, with a delign to defend himfelf in the beft man¬ 
ner he could, till fuccours fnould be fent him from his 
father. The Parthians purfued him; and, having fur- 
rounded him in his new port, continued Ihowering arrows 
upon his men, till moft of them were either killed or 
difabled, without being able to make ufe of their arms. 
Young Craffus had two Greeks with him, who had 
fettled in the city of Carrhas. Thefe, touched with com¬ 
panion, at feeing fo brave a man reduced to fuch ftraits, 
prefled him to retire with them to the neighbouring 
city of Ifchenes, which had declared for the Romans; 
but the young Roman rejected their propofal with indig¬ 
nation, telling them, that he would rather die a thoufand 
times than abandon fo many valiant men, who facrificed 
their lives for his fake. Having returned this anfwer to 
his two Greek friends, he embraced and difmiffed them, 
giving them leave to retire and fhift for themfelves in 
the belt manner they could. As for himfelf, having now 
loft all hopes of being relieved, and feeing moft of his 
men and friends killed round him, he gave way to his 
grief; and, not being able to make ufe of his arm, which 
was {hot through with a large barbed arrow, he prefented 
his fide to one of his attendants, and ordered him to put 
an end to his unhappy life. His example was followed 
by Cenforius a fenator, by Megabacchus an experienced 
and brave officer, and by moft of the nobility who ferved 
under him. Five hundred common foldiers were taken 
prifoners, and the reft cut to pieces. 
The Parthians, having thus cut off or taken the whole 
detachment commanded by young Craffus, marched 
without delay againft his father, who, upon the firft ad¬ 
vice that the enemy fled before his fon, and were clofely 
purfued by him, had taken heart, the more becaufe thofe 
who had remained to make head againft him feemed to 
abate much of their ardour, the greateft part of them hav¬ 
ing marched with the reft againft his fon. Wherefore, 
having encouraged his troops, he had retired to a fmall 
hill in his rear, to wait there till his fon returned from 
the purfuit. Young Craffus had difpatched frequent 
exprefles to his father, to acquaint him of the danger he 
was in ; but they had fallen into the enemy’s hands ; 
only the laft meffenger, who had efcaped with great dif¬ 
ficulty, arrived fafe, and informed him that his fon was 
loft if he did not fend him an immediate and powerful 
reinforcement. This news threw Craffus into the ut¬ 
most confternation ; a thoufand affe£ting thoughts rofe 
in his mind, and difturbed his reafon to fuch a degree, 
that he fcarcely knew what he was doing. However, the 
defire he had of faving his fon, and fo many brave Ro¬ 
mans who were under his command, made him imme¬ 
diately decamp, and march to their affiffance ; but he was 
not gone far before he was met by the Parthians, who, 
with loud fnouts and fongs of viftory, gave, at a diftance, 
the unhappy father notice of his misfortune. They had 
cut off young Craffus’s head, and, having fixed it on the 
point of a lance, were advancing full fpeed to fall on the 
father. As they drew near, Craffus was (truck with that 
difmal and affefting fight; but, on this occafion, behaved 
like a hero : for, though he was under the deepeft con¬ 
cern, he had the prefence of mind to ftifle his grief, for 
fear of difcouraging the army, and to cry out to the dif- 
Vol. XVIII. No. izyz. 
T H I A. G53 
mayed troops, “This misfortune is entirely mine; the 
lofs of one man cannot affeft the victory. Let us charge; 
let us fight like Romans: if you have any compaflion 
for a father who has juft loft a fon whole valour you ad¬ 
mired, let it appear in your rage and refentment againft 
thefe infulting barbarians.” Thus Craflus ftrove to re¬ 
animate his troops; but his efforts were unfuccefsful : 
their courage was quite funk, as appeared from the faint 
and languilhing (bout which they raifed, according to 
cuftom, before the aftion. When the fignal was given, 
the Parthians, keeping to their old way of fighting, dif- 
charged clouds of arrows on the legionaries, without 
drawing near them ; which did fuch dreadful execution, 
that many of the Romans, to avoid the arrows, which 
occafioned a long and painful death, threw themfelves, 
like men in defpair, on the enemy’s heavy-armed horfe, 
feeking from their (pears a more quick and eafy kind of 
death. Thus the Parthians continued plying them in- 
cefl'antly with their arrows till night, when they left the 
field of battle, crying out, that they would allow the 
father one night to lament the death of his fon. 
This was a melancholy night for the Romans. Craf¬ 
fus kept himfelf concealed from the foldiery, lying not 
in the general’s tent, but in the open air, and on the 
bare ground, with his- head wrapped up in his paluda- 
mentum, or military cloak 5 and was, in that forlorn 
condition, fays Plutarch, a great example to the vulgar, 
of the inftability of fortune; to the wife, a ftill greater 
of the pernicious effefts of avarice, temerity, and ambi¬ 
tion, Qflavius, one of his lieutenants, and Caflius, ap- 
proached him, and endeavoured to raife him up and 
confole him: but, feeing him quite funk under the 
weight of his affiiftion, and deaf to all comfort, they 
fummoned a council of war, compofed of all the chief 
officers ; wherein it was unanimoufly refolved, that they 
fliould decamp before break of day, and retire, without 
found of trumpet, to the neighbouring city of Carrhce, 
which was held by a Roman garrifon. Agreeably to 
this refolution, they began their march as foon as the 
council broke up; which produced dreadful outcries 
among the fick and wounded, who, perceiving that they 
were to be abandoned to the enemy, filled the camp with 
their complaints and lamentations: but their cries and 
tears, though very affefting, did not (top the march of 
the others, which indeed was very flow, to give the 
ftragglers time to come up. There were only 300 light 
horfe, under the command of one ZEgnatius, who pur¬ 
fued their march without flopping. Thefe arriving at 
Carrhie about midnight, ZEgnatius, calling to the cen- 
tinels on the walls, defired them to acquaint Coponius, 
governor of the place, that Craffus had fought a great 
battle with the Parthians; and, without faying a word 
more, or letting him know who he was, continued his 
march with all poffible expedition to the bridge of Zeug¬ 
ma ; which he palled, and by that means faved his troops, 
but was much blamed for abandoning his general. 
However, the meffage he fent to Coponius was of fome 
temporary fervice to Craffus. For that commander, 
wifely conje6luring, from the manner in which the un¬ 
known perfon had given him that intelligence, that fome 
misfortune had befallen Craffus, immediately ordered 
his garrifon to (land to their arms ; and, marching out, 
met Craffus, and conduced him and his army into the 
city : for the Parthians, though informed of his flight, 
did not offer to purfue him, obferving therein the fuper- 
ftitious cuftom which obtained among them and the Per- 
ftans, not to fight in the night; but, when it was day, they 
entered the Roman camp, and having put all the wounded, 
to the number of 4000, to the fword, difperfed their ca¬ 
valry all over the plain in purfuit of the fugitives. One 
of.Crafius’s lieutenants, named Vargunteius, having fe- 
parated in the night from the main body of the army, 
with four cohorts, miffed his way, and was overtaken by 
the enemy 5 at whofe approach he withdrew to a neigh¬ 
bouring hill, where he defended himfelf, with great va¬ 
il D lour. 
