Antony's Parthian Expedition

[frankq]

Anyone know what the actual strategy was behind Antony's Parthian expedition? I know his initial plan was actually a plan Caesar had intended, enlist the Armenians, then hit Parthia to the north by subduing the Medians. But after that, how did he plan to strike into Parthian territory itself?

[Primus Pilus]

Plutarch provides considerable detail into Antony's campaign. As I recall the bulk of it starts around chapter 30 and goes on for some time. And, of course its intermingled with other events..

 

Plutarch Life of Marcus Antonius

 

Just out of curiousity Frank.. you sure are asking some very specific questions about various campaigns and such. Can you satisfy my curiousity by letting the cat out of the bag and telling us what you're up to? I have a feeling its RTW mod related, but I don't honestly know why I think that.

[Favonius Cornelius]

Antony's invasion sure would make for a fun mini-campaign.

[frankq]

Plutarch provides considerable detail into Antony's campaign. As I recall the bulk of it starts around chapter 30 and goes on for some time. And, of course its intermingled with other events..

 

Plutarch Life of Marcus Antonius

 

Just out of curiousity Frank.. you sure are asking some very specific questions about various campaigns and such. Can you satisfy my curiousity by letting the cat out of the bag and telling us what you're up to? I have a feeling its RTW mod related, but I don't honestly know why I think that.

 

What's RTW?

 

First, I have read Plutarch's account of the campaign. It does not, however, explain the actual strategy on how he intended to conquer the heart of the Parthian realm. It gives great detail about the retreat.

 

As to my project? I'm writing a book about a specific period and I treat the wisdom and knowledge of this forum the same as I would a Google search. There are a lot of knowledgeable members here and, as you've seen, I post things looking for an answer while, at the same time, I go on and continue searching and answer many of my own questions myself. Still, much of the feedback points me in the right direction. Or tells me things I might not so easily find elsewhere.

[Primus Pilus]

Ahhh, thank you Frank. I find myself looking forward to your posts and curiousity was getting the better of me. Is your work intended to be fiction or non? I look forward to reading it and wish you luck at any rate.

 

I agree that Plutarch's account is lacking in the specifics of your question, but felt it necessary to point out as one of the few sources available. Unfortunately, as we already know, Octavian's final victory sort of taints any historical perspective on Antonius and the ancient material reflects that 'taint'. I'm not sure if you'll ever be able to get the nitty gritty of what your looking for on that account. I'm trying to recall if Appian went into any detail on this campaign, but my memory is failing me.

 

As for RTW, is a computer game (Rome Total War) which attempts to recreate ancient battles, campaigns and such. Its design allows for players to create their own modifications based on historic events and I thought that perhaps that might have been your goal. It's entertaining anyway.

[frankq]

This work is intended to be non-fiction. My first try at it, too. The Net helps things immensely. This site, too. Your writing and ability to encapsule whole time periods is excellent, by the way.

 

Back to Antony and the Parthian thing, just think on it for a moment. He's going try and avoid Crassus' mistake by not going onto flat turf so he can evade the cavalry, ok, cool----but then how, had he taken the Medians down, did he plan to carry out the rest of his plans? There had to be some plan that Caesar cooked up in that genius brain of his and that, like you say, Augustan propaganda blotted out. But what? A pincer movement was out. He was leading all his legions in one direction.

 

I had a hunch the RTW was just that. Interesting to note, in my searches on battles, some of the best leads come from posts by RTW players.