On the way to Parthia, Crassus met a local chieftain named Ariamnes who had helped the Romans in the past in their wars against the Parthians. Ariamnes offered to help guide Crassus’s army through the desert, and Crassus accepted. But what he didn’t know was that Ariamnes had switched sides and was now working for the Parthians. Ariamnes led the Romans deep into the desert. Within a few days, the Romans were dehydrated and disorganized. And then, just outside the city of Carrhae, the Parthians appeared.
The Parthian army that came to oppose the Romans was small. In fact, the Romans outnumbered them nearly 5-to-1. Confident that the odds were in his favor, Crassus attacked. The heavily armored Roman legionary was a match for any infantry in the world. But the Parthians had no infantry. Instead, they fought on horseback with bows. And as the Romans advanced, the Parthians retreated, showering their enemy with arrows. The arrows punched through shields and armor, and the legionaries began to fall as the arrows struck home.
Crassus, hoping that his men could hold out until the Parthians shot all their arrows, ordered the legions into the testudo formation. The legionaries locked their shields together into an impenetrable shell, protecting their bodies from the Parthian’s bows. That’s when the Parthian general, Surena, brought out his cataphracts. The cataphracts were heavily armored horsemen, similar to medieval knights. And Surena now lead them in a series of devastating charges into the Roman lines. These charges shattered the testudos, exposing the Romans to more arrows.
Desperate, Crassus sent his son, Publius, to charge the archers with his cavalry. The Parthians pretended to retreat, drawing the Roman cavalry away from the battlefield. Then, the cataphracts charged as the horse archers wheeled around, cutting off their escape. The survivors retreated to a nearby hill as the Parthians killed them with arrows. Publius, rather than be taken captive, chose to commit suicide and died with his men. Though Crassus had no idea that his son was dead, he suspected that the cavalry might be in trouble. He ordered the legions to advance once again, only to be confronted by a Parthian soldier carrying his son’s head on a spear.
The Romans managed to hold out under arrow fire and cavalry charges for the rest of the day. And at nightfall, Crassus ordered his men to leave the wounded and retreat to Carrhae. The next day, the Parthians proposed a meeting to negotiate a surrender. Crassus was reluctant to trust the Parthians, but his men threatened to kill him themselves if he didn’t go. With no other option, Crassus and his generals mounted their horses and went to meet Surena. At the meeting, a fight broke out and Crassus was captured. According to legend, the Parthians poured molten gold down his throat to satisfy his famous greed. 20,000 Roman soldiers died along with Crassus at Carrhae. But the 10,000 who were captured may have found a new life in China.