Sykes' History of Persia - Heritage Institute

XXX PARTHIA AND ROME 375
taking pity upon Crassus's dotage, would send those
soldiers back who had been left there as his prisoners."
Crassus repUed that his answer would be given at Seleucia,
whereupon the leader of the embassy laughed and said,
" Hair will grow on the palm of my hand before you will
see Seleucia."
Crassus at last started on his great undertaking and
crossed the Euphrates without incident at Zeugma at the
head of seven legions, supported by 4000 cavalry and a
similar force of
slingers and archers, making up a total
of 42,000 men. It
appears that his
original plan was to
follow down the left bank of the Euphrates until he
reached a point opposite Seleucia where the two rivers of
Mesopotamia are close together ;
but the influence of the
Shaykh of Osrhoene, whose district he was traversing,
caused him to alter his plan of
campaign. This wily Arab,
who was secretly allied to Orodes, explained that the main
Parthian army had fled towards the East, and that the
only chance of overtaking it was to march after it by the
shortest route. In spite of counsels of prudence, Crassus
could not resist the prospect of securing rich booty from
the supposed flying enemy, and the army turned its back
on the Euphrates and marched east across the open steppe
of Mesopotamia.
The Plan of Campaign of Orodes.—The plan followed
by Orodes was to advance in person into Armenia with
all the Parthian infantry and thereby prevent Artavasdes
from reinforcing Crassus with cavalry, an arm in which
the Romans were very weak. He not only succeeded in
this object, but made a treaty of peace with Artavasdes,
which was sealed by a marriage. The main operation of
attacking Crassus he left to his Surena, or Commander-in-
Chief, to whom he gave the whole of the mounted troops,
which were of little value in a mountainous country, but
were in their element on the open plains.
This Surena, who greatly impressed the Romans, and
who probably organized both campaigns, was a combination
of fine quaUties and extremely luxurious habits. His
private baggage was loaded on one thousand camels, and
two hundred waggons were required for the use of his