Antony's Atropatene campaign

Antony's Atropatene campaign
Part of the Roman–Parthian Wars
Date 36 BC Location Atropatene Result Parthian victory, ended by formal peace in 20 BC Territorial changes Status quo ante bellum
Belligerents
Roman Republic Armenia Galatia Cappadocia Pontus Herodian Kingdom of Judea	Parthian Empire Atropatene Hasmonean Kingdom
Commanders and leaders
Mark Antony Artavasdes II of Armenia Oppius Statianus † Polemon I of Pontus  Herod the Great	Phraates IV Artavasdes I of Atropatene Monaeses
Strength
90,000-100,000+ in total 16 legions (80,000 legionaries) with 300 wagons of siege engines 10,000 Iberian and Celtic cavalry[1] 6,000 Armenian armored cavalry, 7,000 Armenian infantry[2] 23,000–24,000 auxiliaries	24,000 in total 2,000 cataphracts 22,000 horse archers
Casualties and losses
~32,000 men lost[2]	Unknown, but minimal

Antony's Atropatene campaign, also known as Antony's Parthian campaign, was a military campaign by Mark Antony, the eastern triumvir of the Roman Republic, against the Parthian Empire under Phraates IV.^[3]

Julius Caesar had planned an invasion of Parthia but died before he could implement it. In 40 BC, the Parthians were joined by Pompeian forces and briefly captured much of the Roman East, but a force sent by Antony defeated them and reversed their gains.

Allying with several kingdoms, including Armenia, Antony began a campaign against Parthia with a massive force in 36 BC. Since the Euphrates front was found to be strong, Antony chose the route via Armenia. Upon entering Atropatene, the Roman baggage train and siege engines, which had taken a different route, were destroyed by a Parthian cavalry force. Antony moved on and besieged the Atropatene capital but was unsuccessful. The arduous journey of retreat to Armenia and then Syria further inflicted losses on his force, making the war a tactical Roman disaster and a strategic draw. Peace was later negotiated by Augustus.