P A R T H I A, 
bazus. While the two kings were folemnizing their new 
alliance with expenlive and public feafts, Styllaces or 
Syllaces, a Parthian officer, whom Surenasliad fent with 
the news of his late victory, and the head of Craflus as a 
proof of it, arrived in the capital of Armenia. The 
tranfports of joy which Orodes felt at this light, 
are not to be expreffed ; and the lords of both king¬ 
doms, who attended their fovereigns, raifed loud and 
repeated ffiouts of joy. Syllaces was ordered to give 
a more particular and diftindt account of that memorable 
affion ; which when he had done, Orodes commanded 
melted gold to be poured into Craffus’s mouth ; re¬ 
proaching him thereby with avarice, which had been 
always his predominant paffion. 
Surenas did not long enjoy the pleafure of his viftory ; 
for Orodes, jealous of his power and authority among 
the Parthians, foon after caufed him to be put to death. 
Pacorus, the king’s favourite fon, was put at the head 
of the army; and, agreeably to his father’s directions, 
invaded Syria: but he Was driven out from thence with 
great lofs by Cicero and Caffius, the only general who 
furvived the defeat of Craffus. 
After this we find]no mention of the Parthians till 
the time of the civil war between Caefar and Pompey, 
when the latter fent ambafladors to folicit fuccour againfl: 
his rival. This Orodes w r as willing to grant upon con¬ 
dition that Syria was delivered up to him ; but, as Pom¬ 
pey would not confent to fuch a propofal, the fuccours 
were not only denied, but, after the battle of Pharfalia, 
he put Lucius Hirtius in irons, whom Pompey had again 
fent to alk affiftance, or at leaft to defire leave to ffielter 
himfelfin the Parthian dominions. 
Ctefar is faid to have meditated a war againfl: the Par- 
thians, which in all probability would have proved fatal 
to them. His death delivered them from this danger. 
But, not long after, the eaftern provinces, being griev- 
oufly opprefl'ed by Mark Anthony, rofe up in arms; and, 
having killed the tax-gatherers, invited the Parthians to 
join them and drive out the Romans. They very readily 
accepted the invitation, and eroded the Euphrates with 
a powerful army under the command of Pacorus, and 
Labienus a Roman general of Pompey’s party. At firft 
they met with great fuccefs, overran all Afia Minor, and 
reduced all the countries as far as the Hellefpont and the 
Egaean Sea, fubduing likewife Phoenicia, Syria, and even 
Judea. They did not however long enjoy their new con- 
quefts : for, being elated with their victories, and defpifing 
the enemy, they engaged Ventidius, Anthony’s lieu¬ 
tenant, before Labienus had time to join them, and were 
utterly defeated. This fo dilheartened Labienus’s army, 
that they all abandoned him ; and he himfelf, being thus 
obliged to wander from place to place in difguife, was at 
]aft taken and put to death at Cyprus. Ventidius, purfu- 
ing his advantage, gained feveral other victories ; and at 
laft entirely defeated the Parthian army under Pacorus, 
cutting almoft the whole of them in pieces, and the 
prince himfelf among the reft. He did not, however, 
purfue this laft victory as he might have done; being 
afraid of giving umbrage to Anthony, who had already 
become jealous of the great honour gained by his lieu¬ 
tenant. He therefore contented himfelf with] reducing 
thofe places in Syria and Phoenicia which the Parthians 
had taken in the beginning of the war, until Anthony ar¬ 
rived to take the command of the army upon himfelf. 
Orodes was diltraCted with grief on receiving the news 
of the lofs of his army and the death of his favourite fon. 
However, when time had reftored the ufe of his faculties, 
he appointed Phraates, the eldeft but the moil wicked 
of all his children, to fucceed him in the kingdom, ad¬ 
mitting him at the fame time to a fliare of the fovereign 
authority with himfelf. The confequence of this was, 
that Phraates very foon attempted to poifon his father 
with hemlock. But this, contrary to expectation, prov¬ 
ing a cure for the dropfy, which an excefs of grief had 
brought upon the king, the unnatural fon had him ftifled 
655 
in bed; and foon after not only murdered all his own 
brethren, who were thirty in number, but cut off all the 
reft of the royal family, not fparing even his own eldeft 
fon, left the difcontented Parthians fliould place him, as 
he was already of age, on the throne. 
Many of the chief lords of Parthia, being intimidated 
by the cruelty of Phraates, retired into foreign countries : 
and among thofe one Moncefes, a perfon of great dif- 
tinClion, as well as flcill and experience in war. This 
man, having fled to Anthony, foon gained his confidence, 
and was by him ealily prevailed upon to engage in a war 
againfl: his countrymen. But Phraates, juftly dreading 
the confequences of fuch a perfon’s defection, fent a fo- 
lemn embafly to invite him home on fuch terms as he 
fliould think fit to accept; which greatly provoked An¬ 
thony; though he did not hinder him from returning, 
left others fliould thereby be difcouraged from coming 
over to him. He therefore difmiffed him with great civi¬ 
lity, fending ambafladors at the fame time to Phraates to 
treat of a peace. Thus he hoped to divert the Parthian 
monarch’s attention from making the neceffary prepara¬ 
tions for war, and that he fliould be able to fall upon him 
in the fpring when he was in no condition to make refin¬ 
ance. But herein lie was greatly difappojnted ; for on 
his arrival at the Euphrates, which he intended to pafs, 
and enter the Parthian dominions on that fide, he found 
all the palles fo well guarded, that he thought proper to 
enter Media, with a defign firft to reduce that country, and 
then to enter Parthia. 
This plan had been fuggefted to him by Artabazus king 
of Armenia, who in the end betrayed him ; for, inltead 
of conducting the army the ftraight way from Zeugma on 
the Euphrates to the Araxes, which parted Media from 
Armenia, and which was about five hundred miles diftant 
from the place whence he firft fet out, Artabazus led them 
over the rocks and mountains fo far about, that the 
army had marched above a thoufand miles before they 
reached the borders of Media, where they intended to 
begin the war. Thus they were not only greatly fatigued, 
but had not fufficient time, the year being far fpent, to 
put in execution the defign on which they had come. 
However, as Anthony was impatient to get back to 
Cleopatra, he left behind him 1110ft of the baggage of the 
army, and three hundred waggons loaded with battering- 
rams and other military engines for fieges ; appointing 
Statianus, one of his lieutenants, with a body of 10,000 
men, to guard them, and to bring them, by flower 
marches, after the army. With the reft of the forces he 
marched more than three hundred miles before the reft, 
without allowing his men any refpite till he arrived at 
Praafpa, or Phraata, the capital of Media, which he im¬ 
mediately inverted. But the Parthians, well knowing 
that he could not make any progrefs without his military 
machines, parted by his army, in order to attack Statianus ; 
which they did with fuch fuccefs, that the body com¬ 
manded by him were all to a man cut off, and all their 
military engines taken, among which was a battering-ram 
eighty feet long. 
Anthony, notwithftanding this difafter, continued the 
fiege of Praafpa; but was daily harraffed by fallies of the 
garrifon from within, and the enemy’s army without. 
At laft he began to think of a retreat when his provi- 
fions were almoft exhaufted, finding it impoffible to be¬ 
come mafter of the city. But, as he was to march three 
hundred miles through the enemy’s country, he thought 
proper firft to fend ambafladors to the Parthian monarch, 
acquainting him that the Roman people were willing to 
allow him a peace, provided he would reftore the ftand- 
ards and prifoners taken at Carrhae. Phraates received 
the ambafladors, feated on a golden throne; and, after 
having bitterly inveighed againft the avarice and unboun¬ 
ded ambition of the Romans, told them that he would 
not part with the ftandards and prifoners; but that, if 
Anthony would immediately raife the fiege of Praafpa, he 
would fuffer him to retire unmolefted, 
Anthony, 
