top of page

At Carrhae the Parthians tried to negotiate a peace treaty. 

Hey can Crassus come out to play?

Crassus was still inconsolable and was forced into the negotiations by his troops. 

Roman centurion wants Crassus to negotiate
Crassus "no"
Roman legionaire carries Crassus for negotiations at the battle of carrhae
Roman Army surrenders to Parthians at Carrhae

The negotiations were ... odd, and what happened next is unclear. 

Surena refused to talk to Crassus without a horse. 

Surena wants crassus to have a horse
Surena wants crassus to have a horse
Crassus gets on horse
Crassus flung around on horse

The horse was decked out in gold. This was probably a commentary about his greed.  

The Parthian soldier holding the reins yanked the horse forward. 

Crassus humiliated at the battle of carrhae

and paraded Crassus back and forth in a gesture meant to humiliate him. 

Ancient Roman WTF
Laughter

Then, somewhere in there, a sword was drawn, a scuffle broke out and -

crassusdead.png

Crassus and the Roman negotiators were killed. 

This became one of Romes most embarrassing defeats. 

headonplaeserving3.png
Crassus has gold poured down his throat

Molten gold was poured down Crassus' throat, and his head was served on a plate to King Orodes. 

Crassus' Triumph

The captured Roman soldiers were paraded through Parthia in what Surena called "Crassus' Triumph." 

Crassus head on a plate
Lots-of-sparkles.gif
Popupatend.png
CLOSE_v2_top.png
Infoicon.gif
Infoicon.gif

20,000 Romans dead. 

10,000 Romans captured.

The Parthian casualties were minimal

Enjoyed this? I'm glad! Consider leaving a tip! Donations help keep this website running and new content coming! 

sources
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • TikTok
bottom of page