Parthian invasion of 40 BC
| Pompeian–Parthian invasion of 40 BC | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Roman–Parthian Wars | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
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Parthian Empire Roman Pompeians Pro-Parthian Judeans Commagene |
Roman Republic Pro-Roman Judeans | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Orodes II Pacorus I of Parthia † Quintus Labienus Pharnapates † Antigonus II Mattathias Antiochus I of Commagene |
Mark Antony Lucius Decidius Saxa Lucius Munatius Plancus (withdrawn) Publius Ventidius Pompaedius Silo Hyrcanus II Phasael Herod | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
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Estimated ~14,000 Parthian cavalry Unknown number of Republican Roman soldiers | Estimated ~54,000 men (in total) (~11 legions, cavalry, slingers) | ||||||||
The Parthian invasion of 40 BC was an attempt by the Parthian Empire to take control of the Eastern Mediterranean area from the Roman Republic, while its leaders were struggling for power in Italy. Initially successful, the invasion was defeated by the Roman general Publius Ventidius.
The Roman Republic had been at war with the Parthian Empire since the disastrous invasion of Crassus in 53 BC. Nevertheless, during the Liberator's civil war (43–42 BC), Brutus and Cassius dispatched Quintus Labienus to the court of king Orodes II to request his help against the Second Triumvirate, but they had already been defeated before he could join. Labienus therefore stayed at the Parthian court.
In 41 BC, the alliance between the triumvirs Octavian and Mark Antony faltered with the Perusine War in Italy, which prompted the Parthians to attack the following year. The Parthian heir Pacorus conquered Palestine, while Labienus campaigned in Syria, recruiting the former soldiers of Brutus and Cassius. Without much opposition, he conquered almost all of Anatolia.
In 39 BC, Antony sent his most able general, Publius Ventidius, to repel the invasion. Ventidius' counterattack was swift and he managed to reconquer all the lost territories in one year, killing Labienus and Pacorus in the process. Antony may have ordered Ventidius to stop advancing at this point, as his successes could overshadow Antony's own invasion of the Parthian Empire that he was planning.