Casemate Publishing

The Defeat Of Rome In The East Crassus,The Parthians and the Disastrous Battle of Carrhae, 53BC

by  Gareth C. Sampson

Reviewed By  Jack Bruno, IPMS# 25313

MSRP: $32.95 ISBN: 978-1-932033-89-2 Review sample from Casemate Publishing: www.casematepublishing.com Like most of you, I often wondered what happened to Crassus after the Slave Revolt depicted in the brilliant Stanley Kubrick, Kirk Douglas epic Movie, Spartacus. Well, this book not only tells you that story, but also about why Rome was beaten back from Eastern Expansion. The three main characters of the beginning of the end of the Roman Republic were Crassus, Caesar and Pompey. Ever ambitious to fatten his wallet and military accolades, of which he could not stack up to Caesar or Pompey, Crassus decided to invade eastward into Mesopotamia, which was the center of the small Parthian Empire. This is now modern day Iraq. Not giving away too much, the 36,000 Legionaries are beset by disaster at Carrhae, in which the smaller army uses modern tactics to set the stage for a classic defeat. Crassus is surrounded and severely shaken when the head of his son is seen on the spear tip of a Parthian Horseman. A blunder of major proportions is made when he orders a general retreat and the faster Parthian Horsemen decimate the 4,000 wounded left behind. The next day, Crassus is called for a parlay and he and his Officers are brutally murdered. The Roman Army, which is now basically leaderless, barely escapes. Out of the 36,000 that left with Crassus only 6,000 make it back. Never again does Rome look to the east after this defeat against the forerunners of the Mongols. Beset by Civil War between Caesar and Pompey, the stage is set for the end of the Roman Republic and the age of the Caesars begins. This is a gripping saga of overconfident Generalship and not learning in the field as to the type of enemy you are facing. The Parthians were master horsemen and used hit/run tactics to suck in the slower Romans and destroy them on ground of their choosing, using bow and lance. If you enjoy epics during the time of the Legions of Rome, then I can truly recommend this!!! My thanks to Tara Lichterman and Casemate Publishing for the chance to review this book.

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