HKB
circle in which they were enclosed incessantly contracting around them. Fortunately, the Parthians, incapable of holding a position during the night, never encamped on the field of battle; they withdrew.
This combat, fought at fifteen or twenty leagues to the south of Carrhæ, was disastrous. Nevertheless, all was not lost, if the general-in-chief preserved his energy and presence of mind; but, disheartened and plunged in deep grief, he stood immovable, aside from the rest, incapable of giving any order. Octavius and Cassius called together the tribunes and centurions, and decided on retreat; yet it was necessary to abandon 4,000 wounded, who could not be carried away, and even conceal their departure from them, lest their cries might awaken the attention of the enemy. The retreat is executed at first in complete silence; suddenly the miserable victims perceive that they are made a sacrifice, their groans give warning to the Persians, and excite a frightful tumult among the Romans: some return to load the wounded on the baggage horses, others form in battle to repulse the enemy: 300 of the cavalry escape, reach Carrhæ, and cross the Euphrates over the bridge which Crassus had built. Meanwhile the Parthians, occupied in massacring the 4,000 wounded and the stragglers, pursue only faintly the remains of the Roman army, which, protected by a sally of the garrison of Carrhæ, succeed in shutting themselves up within its walls.
Either through discouragement, or through want of provisions, the Romans made no stay in this town, but abandoned it, to seek refuge in Armenia. Crassus, followed by a small number of troops, trusting again in a native who was deceiving him, saw his flight retarded by the circuitous way he was made to take uselessly. At daybreak the Parthians appeared. Octavius had reached, with 5,000 men, one of the spurs of the mountains of Armenia, and would have been able to place himself in safety in the fortress of Sinnaka, at a distance of only a day’s march; he prefers descending into the plain to the succour of his general, whom he brings back with him to the heights. If they continue the combat till evening, all will not be lost; but Surena has again recourse to stratagem: he sends seductive offers, and proposes an interview. Crassus refuses it; he is resolved on fighting. Unfortunately, the soldiers, who hitherto had obeyed imprudent orders, this time refuse to obey the only order which could save them. Crassus is forced to agree to the interview. At the moment he is on his way to it, an accidental quarrel, or rather one raised by the treachery of the Parthians, arises between the escorts of the two nations. Octavius thrusts his sword through the body of a Parthian esquire; a battle follows, and all the Roman escort is massacred. Crassus is slain, and his head carried to Orodes. Of 40,000 legionaries, one quarter alone survived. The cavalry of C. Cassius, which had separated from the army on their departure from Carrhæ, and a few other fugitives, succeeded in reaching Syria, in covering Antioch, and even subsequently in expelling successfully the Parthians from the Roman province.
[Sidenote: Consequences of the Death of Crassus.]
V. The death of Crassus had two serious consequences: the first was to raise still higher the merit of the conqueror of Gaul, by showing what became of the most numerous and best-disciplined armies under the command of a presumptuous and unskilful chief; the second, to take away from the scene a man whose influence was a check upon the ambition of two individuals destined to become rivals. With Crassus, Pompey would not have been the instrument of a party; without Pompey, the Senate would not have dared to declare against Cæsar.