Antony’s Parthian Campaign Explained: Rome’s Eastern Nightmare

In 36 BC, Mark Antony launched one of the most ambitious Roman invasions of the East—leading over 110,000 soldiers into the heart of the Parthian Empire. His goal: to avenge Crassus and conquer Parthia. Instead, he suffered one of the worst defeats in Roman history. In this episode, you’ll learn: How Antony’s alliance with Armenia fueled his campaign The disastrous siege of Phraaspa and the ambush of Roman supply lines The relentless Parthian hit-and-run tactics that bled Antony’s army dry Why Antony lost 34,000 men, more than Crassus at Carrhae How this defeat reshaped the balance of power between Rome and Parthia This is the untold story of Antony’s failed conquest of Parthia—a turning point in the Roman–Parthian Wars. 👉 Subscribe to watch the final episode of the 50-year struggle between Rome and Parthia! 00:00 Quote 00:35 Ready to push back 01:04 Ascension to the throne 01:59 Repel the Parthians 03:17 Preparing for the campaign 06:38 The beginning of the Parthian campaign 09:09 Destruction of siege equipment 13:08 Siege of Phraaspa 17:45 The Romans in Retreat 23:29 End of the Sixth Episode --------------------------------------- sources: Parthians full Forgotten Empire / Uwe Ellerbrock L Empire des arsacides / Jozef Wolski The age of the parthians / Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis, Sarah Stewart Grundzuge der parthischen Geschichte / Klaus Schippmann Histoire de l’empire parthe (-250 - 227): À la découverte d'une civilisation méconnue (Le Cri) / André Verstandig The Oxford handbook of Iranian history /Touraj Daryaee Shadows in the Desert: Ancient Persia at War / Kaveh Farrokh The Persians (Peoples of the Ancient World) / Maria Brosius The Roman Republic / Don Nardo Tarikh Jame Iran, Volume Two - Political History of the Parthians / Mahmoud Jafari Dehqi Tarikh Jame Iran, Volume Two - The Hellenistic-Iranian States / Jozef Wiesehöfer Parallel Lives - life of Crassus / Plutarch Parallel Lives - life of Antony / Plutarch Roman History / cassius dio Desert City Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... Farya Faraji music: https://faryafaraji.bandcamp.com/music #ParthianEmpire #MarkAntony #RomanEmpire #AncientRome #Carrhae #PhraatesIV #RomanHistory #RomeVsParthia #HistoryDocumentary #AncientHistory