Cleopatra: Part 18

Treaty of Brundisium

Following the Treaty of Brundisium in 40 BC, the Roman world was divided once again: Antony received the eastern provinces, Octavian the west, and Lepidus retained Africa. The agreement restored cooperation between the triumvirs and allowed Antony to focus on a major objective in the East, the long-planned campaign against Parthia. To symbolize their renewed alliance, Antony married Octavian’s sister, Octavia, later that year.

Background

The Parthian threat had its origins in Julius Caesar’s unfinished plans. Before his assassination in 44 BC, Caesar intended to invade Parthia to avenge Crassus’ disastrous defeat at Carrhae and reassert Roman authority in the East. Rome’s civil wars, however, created an opportunity for Parthian intervention. After the defeat of Brutus and Cassius at Philippi, the Republican commander Quintus Labienus found refuge with the Parthians and encouraged them to exploit Rome’s instability.

The Parthian Invasion

In early 40 BC, a large Parthian force led by Prince Pacorus, son of King Orodes II, invaded Syria. Accompanied by Labienus, the army quickly overran much of the Roman East. Labienus advanced through Cilicia and southern Asia Minor, gathering support from former Republican soldiers, while Pacorus moved south through Syria, Phoenicia, and Judea. In Judea, the exiled prince Antigonus allied with the invaders and, with Parthian backing, replaced the Roman-supported ruler Hyrcanus II. By the end of the campaign, most of Syria and Palestine had fallen under Parthian control, leaving Tyre as one of the last significant Roman strongholds.

Antony, who was in Egypt with Cleopatra when the invasion began, was unable to respond immediately. News of the Perusine War forced him to return to Italy to settle affairs with Octavian. Responsibility for restoring Roman authority in the East therefore fell to his trusted general, Publius Ventidius Bassus.

Ventidius Restores Roman Control

Arriving in the East in 39 BC, Ventidius launched a series of highly successful campaigns. He defeated Labienus near the Taurus Mountains, captured and executed him, and reabsorbed his Roman followers into Antony’s forces. Ventidius then inflicted another defeat on the Parthians at the Amanus Pass, forcing them to retreat beyond the Euphrates.

The decisive confrontation came in 38 BC at the Battle of Cyrrhestica. Ventidius lured Pacorus into an unfavorable position and won a crushing victory. Pacorus was killed, ending the Parthian offensive and driving their armies out of Roman territory. His death destabilized the Parthian Empire and triggered a succession crisis, culminating in the accession of Phraates IV.

Rather than invade Parthia itself, Ventidius spent the remainder of the campaign re-establishing Roman authority over eastern client kingdoms that had broken away after Carrhae. His achievements secured the eastern frontier and marked the first major Roman victories over Parthia since Crassus’ defeat. Returning to Rome, Ventidius celebrated a triumph, becoming the first Roman commander to earn that honor for victories against the Parthians.

These successes provided Antony with a restored eastern empire and the foundation for his own ambitious, though ultimately ill-fated, invasion of Parthia.

Further Reading

Readers interested in learning more about Cleopatra VII, the Ptolemaic dynasty, and the Roman figures who shaped her world may find the following references useful.

Historical Resources

• Plutarch, Life of Antony https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Antony*.html
• Encyclopaedia Britannica: Mark Antony
  https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mark-Antony-Roman-triumvir
• https://www.britannica.com/topic/Parthian-Empire
• World History Encyclopedia: Mark Antony
• World History Encyclopedia: Parthian Empire
• https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Plut.+Ant.

Recommended Non-Fiction Books

• Goldsworthy, Adrian. Antony and Cleopatra. Yale University Press.
• Southern, Patricia. Mark Antony: A Biography. Amberley Publishing.
• Strauss, Barry. Masters of Command: Alexander, Hannibal, Caesar, and the Genius of Leadership.
• Everitt, Anthony. Augustus: The Life of Rome’s First Emperor.
• Goldsworthy, Adrian. In the Name of Rome: The Men Who Won the Roman Empire. (Includes a valuable discussion of Ventidius Bassus.)
• Tarn, W. W. The Greeks in Bactria and India. Useful background on Rome’s eastern frontier and the Hellenistic East.
• Dąbrowa, Edward. The Parthian Empire.

Recommended Historical Fiction

• Colleen McCullough, Antony and Cleopatra (Masters of Rome series)
• Margaret George, The Memoirs of Cleopatra
• Allan Massie, Antony
• Conn Iggulden, The Gods of War (Emperor series)
• Robert Harris, Dictator (Cicero Trilogy)
• Steven Saylor, Rubicon and subsequent novels in the Roma Sub Rosa series

For readers interested specifically in Antony’s eastern campaigns and the Parthian threat, Adrian Goldsworthy’s Antony and Cleopatra and Patricia Southern’s Mark Antony: A Biography are the best places to start.