page_title: Pompeian–Parthian invasion of 40 BC
section_title: Invasion
hierarchical_section_title: Pompeian–Parthian invasion of 40 BC / Invasion
caption_attribution_description: English: The Republicans. Labienus. Early 40 BC. AR Denarius (19mm, 3.58 g, 5h). Uncertain mint in Syria or southeastern Asia Minor. Bare head right; Q • LABIENVS PARTHICVS • IMP around / Horse standing right on ground line, wearing saddle with quiver attached and bridle. Crawford 524/2; Hersh 15 (dies F/13); CRI 341; RSC 2; Sydenham 1357; Kestner –; BMCRR East 132. Good VF, toned, hairline flan crack, minor porosity.
context_page_description: After the defeat of the Parthian-backed Pompeians in the Liberators' civil war by Mark Antony and Octavian, Orodes II sent a Parthian force under Prince Pacorus I and the Pompeian general Quintus Labienus in 40 BC to invade the eastern Roman territories while Antony was in Egypt. Roman soldiers in Syria, many of whom were former Republicans fighting in the last civil war, joined the force, and the Levant and much of Asia Minor were swiftly overrun by Pacorus I and Labienus, respectively. In 39 BC, Antony sent Ventidius, who defeated and executed Labienus in a counter-attack, and then drove Pacorus I out of the Levant. A second Parthian invasion of Syria by Pacorus I resulted in the latter's death and Parthian failure.
  Antony later began a campaign with a massive force against Parthia, but ended in Roman defeat. Roman–Parthian hostilities formally ended later under the reign of Octavian.
context_section_description: Orodes II sent his son Pacorus I and Labienus as the commanders of a large Parthian army to invade Roman territory in early 40 BC (or late 41 BC, according to some scholars). According to Vagi, the invasion comprised some 20,000 horsemen. Many Roman forces in Syria defected to Labienus. Antony's commander in Syria, Lucius Decidius Saxa, fled, first to Antioch, and then to Cilicia, where he was captured by Labienus and executed. Several Roman aquilae were then captured by the Parthians. (These aquilae, together with ones captured after the Battle of Carrhae, were later returned after Augustus' negotiations with the Parthians.) Apamea and Antioch then surrendered. After that, the two commanders split: Pacorus invaded Palestine and Phoenicia, while Labienus launched a "blitzkrieg" in Asia Minor, capturing much of the region and being hailed as Imperator. Pacorus, who had gained a reputation for military talent and moderation, swiftly took all the cities along the Levantine coast with the exception of Tyre (which was notoriously difficult to capture), reaching Gaza by May 40 BC, and receiving homage from the Nabataeans. At the same time, his general Barzapharnes led a force inland. The pro-Parthian Jewish leader Antigonus II Mattathias sent a large subsidy to Pacorus I, and the latter supported him in the fight against the pro-Roman Jewish leaders Hyrcanus II and Phasael, successfully installing him as the new king of Judea. Hyrcanus II and Phasael were captured while trying to negotiate with the Parthians, and were deported to Parthia, while Herod, another leader, fled.
  Mark Antony left Egypt for Greece and sent Publius Ventidius Bassus to Asia Minor. He scored two victories with minimal forces north of the Taurus Mountains in 39 BC (Battle of the Cilician Gates, Battle of Amanus Pass), capturing and executing Labienus. He then drove the Parthians out of Syria. Another Parthian invasion of Syria in 38 BC under Pacorus I resulted in a decisive defeat at the Battle of Mount Gindarus in Cyrrhestica, with Pacorus I being killed and the Parthian presence in Syria being brought to an end.
  Coins minted by Labienus survive from this period, and were probably minted in Antioch.
caption: Silver denarius minted by Labienus in early 40 BC. Uncertain mint in Syria or southeastern Asia Minor.
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