Battle of Carrhae The Battle of Carrhae , fought in 53 BC near the city of Carrhae ( Now Harran , Turkey ) , was a great battle between the Roman Republic and the Parthian empire . Commander Parthian Surena crushed the Roman invasion force led by General Marcus Licinius Crassus . This was one of several battles that were to be fought between Rome and the Arsacid Dynasty . This was perhaps the greatest defeat suffered by the Romans in a long time . Crassus , a member of the First Triumvirate and known to be the richest man in Rome , more eager for glory and riches and then decided to invade the United Party without the formal consent of the Senate . Rejecting an offer of help from Artavasdes II King of Armenia to use its territory to invade the Parthian kingdom , Crassus marched his army straight through the desert of Mesopotamia . His army eventually met with the forces of Surena in the city of Carrhae , now Harran . Despite being heavily outnumbered , the cavalry of Surena fully overcame the Roman heavy infantry , killing or capturing nearly all the Roman soldiers . Crassus himself was killed after negotiations for a truce were likely violent . His death put an end to the First Triumvirate , which resulted in a civil war between Julius Caesar and Pompey . Background . The war in Parthia was the result of a series of arrangements and political alliances formed by Crassus , Pompey the Great and Julius Caesar - the so - called First Triumvirate . Between March and April of 56 BC , meetings held in Ravenna , Lucca and the province of Cisalpine Gaul , sought to reaffirm the covenant , which four years ago . It was decided that the triumvirate would support and resources for the command of Caesar in Gaul to influence the elections that take place in 55 BC , which would give one second consulate to Crassus and Pompey . Crassus made his fortune in Roman real estate and other businesses , but despite the political connections and wealth , he lacked support from the populace . Crassus was envious of the glory and popularity of his fellow triumvir Pompey the Great and Julius Caesar . Crassus knew very well that to reach the status of his colleagues he would need to win military victories and new territories to Rome . And then when receiving the command of the eastern provinces , Crassus began to plan the invasion of Parthia which was the gateway to the riches of the east , but many Romans opposed this campaign . Cicero called this war nulla question ( " unjustified " ) , under the pretext that Parthia had a treaty with Rome . The chief Capito had kindled strong opposition campaign failed and tried to remove from office Crassus . Despite protests and opposition , Marcus Crassus left Rome on November 14 , 55 BC Publius Licinius Crassus , the son of Crassus who fought with Caesar in Gaul , joined his father in Syria during the winter of 54 - 53 BC , bringing thousand Celt horsemen from Gaul who would remain loyal to his young master until his death . Build Up To War . Crassus arrived in Syria at the end of 55 BC and immediately began using his immense wealth to build an army . He managed to gather a force of Seven Legions ( about 35 , 000 Heavy Infantry ) , 4 , 000 Light Infantry and 4 , 000 knights , including one thousand of gaulese knights who Publius Crassus had brought with him . Artavasdes II of Armenia made an offer of help to the Romans , allowing them to use its territory to invade Parthia and more 16 . 000 horsemen and 30 . 000 foot soldiers as reinforcements . Crassus refused the offer and decided to take the long way through the desert of Mesopotamia and thus capture the major cities of the region . In response , the Parthian king Orodes II divided his army and took most of the troops to attack the Armenians and left the rest of his forces , about 9 , 000 horse archers and a thousand cataphracts under the command of General Surena for skirmish and weaken the Roman Army . Orodes not foresee that forces of Surena ( outnumbered at least 4 to 1 ) would be able to defeat Crassus . Crassus received directions from the Arab chieftain Ariamnes , who had previously assisted Pompey in his eastern campaigns . Crassus trusted Ariamnes , but Ariamnes was in the pay of the Parthians . He urged Crassus to attack at once , falsely stating that the Parthians were weak and disorganized . He then led Crassus ' s army into the most desolate part of the desert , far from any water . Crassus then received a message from Artavasdes , claiming that the main Parthian Army was in Armenia and begging him for help . Crassus ignored the message and continued his advance into Mesopotamia . He encountered Surena ' s army near the town of Carrhae . The Battle . After being informed of the presence of the Parthian army , Crassus panicked . His general Cassius recommended that the army be deployed in the traditional Roman fashion , with infantry forming the center and cavalry on the wings . At first Crassus agreed , but he soon changed his mind and redeployed his men into a hollow square , each side formed by twelve Cohort . This formation would protect his forces from being outflanked , but at the cost of mobility . The Roman forces advanced and came to a stream . Crassus ' generals advised him to make camp , and attack the next morning in order to give his men a chance to rest . Publius , however , was eager to fight and managed to convince Crassus to confront the Parthians immediately . The Parthians went to great lengths to intimidate the Romans . First they beat a great number of hollow drums and the Roman troops were unsettled by the loud and cacophonous noise . Surena then ordered his cataphracts to cover their armor in cloths and advance . When they were within sight of the Romans , they simultaneously dropped the cloths , revealing their shining armor . The sight was designed to intimidate the Romans , but Surena was impressed by the lack of effect it had . Though he had originally planned to shatter the Roman lines with a charge by his cataphracts , he judged that this would not be enough to break them at this point . Thus , he sent his horse archers to surround the Roman square . Crassus sent his skirmishers to drive the horse archers off , but they retreated under heavy fire . The horse archers then began to shower the legionaries with arrows . The density of the Roman formation practically guaranteed that every shot would hit , and the Parthian ' s Composite Bows were powerful enough to pierce the legionary ' s armor and partially penetrate the legionary ' s shields . The legionaries were well protected by their large shields ( " scuta " ) , though these could not cover the entire body . Therefore the majority of wounds inflicted were nonfatal hits to exposed limbs . The Romans repeatedly advanced towards the Parthians to attempt to engage in close - quarters fighting , but the horse archers were always able to retreat safely , firing Parthian Shots as they withdrew . The legionaries then formed the Testudo Formation , in which they locked their shields together to present a nearly impenetrable front to missiles . However , this formation severely restricted their ability to fight in melee combat . The Parthian cataphracts exploited this weakness and repeatedly charged the Roman line , causing panic and inflicting heavy casualties . When the Romans abandoned the formation , the cataphracts withdrew and the horse archers resumed shooting . Crassus now hoped that his legionaries could hold out until the Parthians ran out of arrows . However , Surena used thousands of Camel Cavalry to resupply his horse archers . Upon realizing this , Crassus dispatched his son Publius with 1 , 300 Gallic cavalry to drive off the horse archers . The horse archers retreated , and after suffering heavy casualties from arrow fire , his cavalry were confronted by the Parthian cataphracts . The horse archers outflanked the Gauls and cut off their retreat . Publius and his men were slaughtered . Crassus , unaware of his son ' s fate but realizing Publius was in danger , ordered a general advance . He was confronted with the sight of his son ' s head on a spear . The Parthian horse archers began to surround the Roman infantry , firing on them from all directions , while the cataphracts mounted a series of charges that disorganized the Romans . The Parthian onslaught did not cease until nightfall . Crassus , deeply shaken by his son ' s death , ordered a retreat to the nearby town of Carrhae , leaving behind thousands of wounded , who were captured by the Parthians . The next day Surena sent a message to the Romans , offering to negotiate with Crassus . Surena proposed a truce , allowing the Roman army to return to Syria safely , in exchange for Rome giving up all territory east of the Euphrates . Crassus was reluctant to meet with the Parthians , but his troops threatened to mutiny if he did not . At the meeting , a Parthian pulled at Crassus ' reins , sparking violence . Crassus and his generals were murdered . After his death , the Parthians allegedly poured molten gold down his throat , in a symbolic gesture mocking Crassus ' renowned greed . The remaining Romans at Carrhae attempted to flee , but most were captured or killed . Roman casualties amounted to about 20 , 000 killed and 10 , 000 captured , making the battle one of the costliest defeats in Roman history . Parthian casualties were minimal . Aftermath . After the humiliating defeat , Rome was terribly frightened by the possibility of an invasion of the eastern territories by the Parthians . Here are several wars between Rome and Parthia with victories for both sides . But now the most significant impact of the defeat in the internal politics with the end of the first triumvirate that would put the other two triumvirs at war , would result in the end of the old Roman Republic and the birth of the Empire .