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Rome and Parthia: Empires at War: Ventidius, Antony and the Second Romano-Parthian War, 40-20 BC
In the mid-first century BC, despite its military victories elsewhere, the Roman Empire faced a rival power in the east; the Parthian Empire. The first war between two superpowers of the ancient world had resulted in the total defeat of Rome and the death of Marcus Crassus. When Rome collapsed into Civil War in the 40s BC, the Parthians took the opportunity to invade and conquer the Middle East and drive Rome back into Europe. What followed was two decades of war which saw victories and defeats on both sides. The Romans were finally able to gain a victory over the Parthians thanks to the great, but now neglected, general Publius Ventidius. These victories acted as a springboard for Marc Antony's plans to conquer the Parthian Empire, which ended in ignominious defeat. Gareth Sampson analyses the military campaigns and the various battles between the two superpowers of the ancient world and the war which defined the shape and division of the Middle East for the next 650 years.
- GenresHistory
224 pages, Hardcover
First published October 19, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 7, 2020
In depth, detailed study of the wars between Rome and Parthia and other Syrian kingdoms. All I knew before opening the book was Carrhae. This book is so much more than just the wars, though. It includes a tremendous amount of historical background before, during, and after. Reading it was like watching a documentary. And it was so compelling I could hardly put it down. I've already decided I want to read it again.
This is a must read for anyone interested in Roman history or the Ancient Eastern empires. Fantastic!
This is a must read for anyone interested in Roman history or the Ancient Eastern empires. Fantastic!
August 13, 2021
In this military history, Gareth Sampson narrates the story of the Romans and Parthians squeezing the Hellenistic world from west and east until they clashed in what we now call appropriately the Middle East. It is a complex tale with many players, but Sampson’s deft narrative teases out the strands, providing a fascinating insight into an often overlooked period of intense warfare and all the drama that goes with that.
Sampson sets the foundation by bringing the rising new powers of Rome and Parthia down to 50 BCE. It is a story of expansion and civil wars on both sides, but also the almost inevitable wearing down of the Hellenistic powers until Rome and Parthia stood toe to toe and fought it out. The Romans lost at Carrhae in 53 BCE, but the war ended in stalemate, though Parthia held the balance of power, for now.
Internal divisions abated ambition on both sides until 40 BCE when Parthia successfully invaded Roman Syria. This is where the Roman general Ventidius enters the picture as the man who led the Roman recovery. He won a series of battles in one season and recaptured Syria. The Parthians counterattacked, but Ventidius defeated them at Gindarus in 38 BCE using a stratagem lauded by Sampson. For his troubles, Ventidius was sent home, a victim of Roman politics. Meanwhile, Parthia all but collapsed. But then it was Rome’s turn to follow suit.
Sampson sticks to his eastern theatre while Republican Rome went into a tailspin. The Romans, under Antonius, consolidated their hold in the Middle East, then went after the Parthians in 36 BCE. The invasion was a disaster and the Romans found themselves outnumbered and isolated; they had to retreat. It was a retreat to rival the worst in history with the Parthians harassing the Romans all the way. But the stalemate between Parthia and Rome continued through to 30 BCE while Antonius consolidated his position and planned to create his own eastern power base. The rising force of Octavianus had other ideas and defeated Antonius who committed suicide. Parthia pounced, taking the vital Roman client kingdoms of Medea and Armenia. But now Rome was united again under Octavianus and presented a very different foe.
Parthia again fell into civil war. But Octavianus arranged a truce, although he watched on as an ally attacked Parthia and lost. Octavianus, now Augustus, had other wars to fight in the east, most notably against Arabia and Galatia. By 20 BCE, the Roman and Parthian Empires were again in stalemate, and that is where Sampson leaves his story with a summary of the settlement between the two powers. Two appendices round out Sampson’s book: lists of kings and sources
Sampson tells an engaging and balanced story of two major powers slugging it out and the minor powers caught between them; all of which takes place in the chaotic collapse of the Roman Republic and various Parthian civil wars. The narrative is slanted to the Romans because of the lack of sources on the Parthian side, but Sampson winkles out what he can and makes educated guesses where he hits blank spaces. He also incorporates many of the sources into the narrative. My only quibble was on Sampson’s habit of repeating what those sources have just told us. Nevertheless, this is a first rate military history of an often confusing theatre of war.
Sampson sets the foundation by bringing the rising new powers of Rome and Parthia down to 50 BCE. It is a story of expansion and civil wars on both sides, but also the almost inevitable wearing down of the Hellenistic powers until Rome and Parthia stood toe to toe and fought it out. The Romans lost at Carrhae in 53 BCE, but the war ended in stalemate, though Parthia held the balance of power, for now.
Internal divisions abated ambition on both sides until 40 BCE when Parthia successfully invaded Roman Syria. This is where the Roman general Ventidius enters the picture as the man who led the Roman recovery. He won a series of battles in one season and recaptured Syria. The Parthians counterattacked, but Ventidius defeated them at Gindarus in 38 BCE using a stratagem lauded by Sampson. For his troubles, Ventidius was sent home, a victim of Roman politics. Meanwhile, Parthia all but collapsed. But then it was Rome’s turn to follow suit.
Sampson sticks to his eastern theatre while Republican Rome went into a tailspin. The Romans, under Antonius, consolidated their hold in the Middle East, then went after the Parthians in 36 BCE. The invasion was a disaster and the Romans found themselves outnumbered and isolated; they had to retreat. It was a retreat to rival the worst in history with the Parthians harassing the Romans all the way. But the stalemate between Parthia and Rome continued through to 30 BCE while Antonius consolidated his position and planned to create his own eastern power base. The rising force of Octavianus had other ideas and defeated Antonius who committed suicide. Parthia pounced, taking the vital Roman client kingdoms of Medea and Armenia. But now Rome was united again under Octavianus and presented a very different foe.
Parthia again fell into civil war. But Octavianus arranged a truce, although he watched on as an ally attacked Parthia and lost. Octavianus, now Augustus, had other wars to fight in the east, most notably against Arabia and Galatia. By 20 BCE, the Roman and Parthian Empires were again in stalemate, and that is where Sampson leaves his story with a summary of the settlement between the two powers. Two appendices round out Sampson’s book: lists of kings and sources
Sampson tells an engaging and balanced story of two major powers slugging it out and the minor powers caught between them; all of which takes place in the chaotic collapse of the Roman Republic and various Parthian civil wars. The narrative is slanted to the Romans because of the lack of sources on the Parthian side, but Sampson winkles out what he can and makes educated guesses where he hits blank spaces. He also incorporates many of the sources into the narrative. My only quibble was on Sampson’s habit of repeating what those sources have just told us. Nevertheless, this is a first rate military history of an often confusing theatre of war.
April 8, 2021
Piles of names and dates and not near enough context. I don't know whether there's actually as little info on Parthia from contemporary sources as he claims. Or if it's just to be found in Farsi, Arabic, Chinese, or Russian scholarship. I'm still mostly reading in later periods, tbh, and only read this while waiting for another book.
Caveat: I really only find military history interesting when it's deeply contexualized in the cultures in conflict. This book did not do that. But I suppose it plowed through the names and dates reasonably well.
Caveat: I really only find military history interesting when it's deeply contexualized in the cultures in conflict. This book did not do that. But I suppose it plowed through the names and dates reasonably well.
June 23, 2025
Like the other Roman war and politics books of the author, quite informative as it focuses on less well known episodes of the corresponding period, noting how usually books tend to focus on the main events (Caesar vs Pompey, Anthony vs Augustus, Sulla vs Marius and his followers or Sulla, Lucullus, Pompey vs Mithridates, Anthony's invasion of Parthia etc) but ignore the other happenings which actually were quite important in various ways; also very readable and engaging with lots of quotations from the original sources
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews