In the year 697 from the founding of the City, Crassus, Pompey’s colleague in the consulship, having received by lot the province against the Parthians — a man of insatiable greed — on hearing of the wealth of the temple in Jerusalem, which Pompey had left untouched, turned aside into Palestine, went to Jerusalem, broke into the temple and plundered its riches.
1 Anno ab urbe condita DCXCVII Crassus in consulatu collega Pompei prouinciam sortitus in Parthos, homo inexplebilis cupiditatis, audita in Hierosolymis templi opulentia, quam Pompeius intactam reliquerat, in Palaestinam deuertit, Hierosolymam adit, templum peruadit, opes diripit.
From there, making for Parthia through Mesopotamia, wherever his road lay he levied auxiliaries on the allied states and exacted payments; and as soon as he crossed the Euphrates, he at once met Vagises, an envoy sent to him by Orodes, king of the Parthians, who vehemently rebuked him for having crossed the Euphrates, led on by avarice, contrary to the treaty of Lucullus and Pompey; for this reason, he said, it would come about without delay that instead of Parthian gold he would be loaded with Seric iron.
2 inde per Mesopotamiam tendens in Parthiam, quacumque iter habuit sociis ciuitatibus auxilia indixit, pretia exegit moxque ut Euphraten transiit, ilico Vagesen, legatum ab Horode rege Parthorum ad se missum, obuium habuit, a quo uehementer increpitus est, cur contra foedus Luculli et Pompei auaritia inductus Euphraten transierit. quamobrem sine mora futurum, ut pro auro Parthico Serico ferro oneraretur.
And so, when they had come near Carrhae, the Parthians, suddenly falling upon them with their prefects Surena and Silaces, overwhelmed the Romans with arrows. Very many senators fell there, and some men of consular and praetorian rank as well; Crassus, the son of Crassus, a most excellent young man, was also killed in the battle line. Besides this, four cohorts with the legate Vargunteius were caught in the middle of the plains and killed.
3 itaque cum prope Carras uentum esset, Parthi subito ingruentes cum Surena et Silacea praefectis sagittis oppressere Romanos. cecidere ibi plurimi senatores, aliquot etiam consulares et praetorii uiri; Crassus quoque filius Crassi, lectissimus iuuenis, in acie occisus est. praeterea quattuor cohortes cum Vargunteio legato mediis deprehensae campis et interfectae sunt.
Surena, gathering his cavalry in haste, set himself to pursue Crassus, and, having surrounded him as he vainly sought a parley, killed him, although he would have preferred to carry him off alive. A few, delivered by the favour of night, fled to Carrhae.
4 Surenas rapto equitatu Crassum persequi intendit eumque circumuentum ac frustra conloquium eius petentem interfecit, quamuis uiuum auferre maluisset. pauci noctis beneficio liberati Carras confugerunt.
When the disaster of the Romans became known, many provinces of the East would have fallen away from the alliance and loyalty of the Roman people, had not Cassius, gathering a few soldiers from the rout, held down a swelling Syria with outstanding courage and moderation of spirit. He also defeated and killed Antiochus with his huge forces in battle, and drove out in war the Parthians, who had been sent into Syria by Orodes and had already entered Antioch, and killed their general Osaces.
5 cognita clade Romanorum multae orientis prouinciae a societate uel fide populi Romani defecissent, ni Cassius collectis ex fuga militibus paucis intumescentem Syriam egregia animi uirtute ac moderatione pressisset; qui et Antiochum copiasque eius ingentes proelio uicit et interfecit, Parthos quoque ab Horode in Syriam missos iamque ingressos Antiochiam bello expulit ducemque eorum Osagen interfecit.