Carrhae - 53 BC

[Eduorius]

In 55 BC, Marcus Licinius Crassus had just finished serving his joint-consul year with Pompey. At the time, Crassus, Pompey, and Julius Caesar formed a powerful and secret triumvirate that all but controlled Rome. As a part of this élite group, Crassus felt a great desire to add new glory to his name. He had seen no action since his defeat of Spartacus nearly 20 years earlier. Crassus drew out the maps of the Roman Imperium looking for a target to attack, and decided that the most glorious one would be the Parthian Empire. Many members of the Roman Senate tried to dissuade him from this course of action, but Caesar and Pompey stood firmly behind him and the senate relented.

Crassus arrived in Syria in late 55 BC. With the aid of Hellenic settlements in Syria and support from Artavasdes, the Armenian king, Crassus marched directly to the Parthian mainland instead of attacking from the mountains of Armenia. In response, the Parthian king Orodes II divided his army and sent half, which were infantry troops, to punish the Armenians and sent the other half, which were cavalry units, to combat Crassus. The enemy armies subsequently encountered each other near the town of Carrhae...


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http://www.axifile.com/?9059354


This is my next Historical Battle. The right landscape was hard to find, but the units involved are pretty easy except for some cavalry.

What can I use for Syrian, Arabian, and Cilician cavalry for the Romans? Can Hellenic medium cavalry represent the Cilicians?

I will just say this battle will not be like the vanilla RTW version. You will command a huge Roman army like Crassus at Carrhae against a relatively small Parthian army, but the victory conditions for both factions have been changed to represent what happened during the first day of fighting.