WAB FORUM ARMIES
After the Scythian-Parni nomads had settled in Parthia and built a small independent kingdom, they rose to power under king Mithridates the Great (171-138 BC). Later, at the height of their power, Parthian influence reached as far as Ubar in Arabia, the nexus of the frankincense trade route, where Parthian-inspired ceramics have been found. The power of the early Parthian empire seems to have been overestimated by some ancient historians, who could not clearly separate the powerful later empire from its more humble obscure origins. The end of this longlived empire came in 224 AD, when the empire was loosely organized and the last king was defeated by one of the empire's vassals, the Persians of the Sassanid dynasty.
to have made up a large part of their territory (see Tigranes II of Armenia), and Hellenistic cities enjoyed a certain autonomy; their craftsmen received employment by some Parthians.
Parthian enterprise in the West began in the time of Mithridates I; during his reign, the Arsacids succeeded in extending their rule into Armenia and Mesopotamia. This was the beginning of an "international role" for the Parthian kingdom, a phase that also entailed contacts with Rome. It was Mithridates I, who conducted unsuccessful negotiations with Sulla for a Roman-Parthian alliance (c. 105 BC). After 90 BC the Parthian power was diminished by dynastic feuds, while, at the same time, Roman power in Anatolia collapsed; Roman-Parthian contact was restored, when Lucullus invaded Southern Armenia, and defeated Tigranes in 69 BC, but again no definite agreement was made.
Relatively little is known of the Parthian (Arsacid) dynasty compared to the Achaemenid and Sassanid dynasties, given that little of their own literature has survived. Consequently Parthian history is largely derived from foreign histories, controlled by the evidence of coins and inscriptions; even their own name for themselves is debatable due to a lack of domestic records. Several Greek authors, of whom we have fragments, including Apollodorus of Artemita and Isidore of Charax, wrote under Parthian rule. Their power was based on a combination of the guerrilla warfare of a mounted nomadic tribe, with organizational skills to build and administer a vast empire — even though it never matched in power and extent the Persian empires that preceded and followed it. Vassal kingdoms seem
When Pompey took charge of the war in the East, he re-opened negotiations with Phraates III; they came to an agreement and Roman-Parthian troops invaded Armenia in 66/65 BC, but soon a dispute arose over Euphrates boundary between Rome and Parthia. Pompey refused to recognize the title of "King of Kings" for Phraates, and offered arbritation between Tigranes and the Parthian king over Corduene. Finally, Phraates asserted his control over Mesopotamia, except for the western district of Osroene, which became a Roman dependency. In 53 BC, Crassus led an invasion of Mesopotamia, with catastrophic results; at the Battle of Carrhae, the worst Roman defeat since the Battle of Cannae, Crassus and his son,
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WAB FORUM ARMIES Publius, were killed by the Parthians under General Surena. The bulk of his force killed or captured; of 42,000 men, about half died, a quarter made it back to Syria, and the remainder were taken alive by the Parthians. The following year, the Parthians with raids into Syria, and in 51 BC mounted a major invasion led by the crown prince Pacorus and the general Osaces, but their army was caught in an ambush near Antigonea by the Romans under Cassius and Osaces was killed. During Caesar's civil war the Parthians made no move, but maintained relations with Pompey. After his defeat and death, a force under Pacorus came to the aid of the Pompeian general Caecilius Bassus, who was besieged at Apamea Valley by the Caesarian forces. With the civil war over, Julius Caesar elaborated plans for a campaign against Parthia, but his assassination averted the war. During the ensuing Liberators' civil war, the Parthians actively supported Brutus and Cassius, sending a contingent which fought with them at the Battle of Philippi in 42 B. Parthia, its subkingdoms, and neighbors in 1 AD.After that defeat, the Parthians under Pacorus invaded Roman territory in 40 BC in conjunction with Quintus Labienus, a Roman erstwhile supporter of Brutus and Cassius. They swiftly overran Syria, and defeated Roman forces in the province; all the cities of the coast, with the exception of Tyre admitted the Parthians. Pacorus then advanced into Judaea, overthrowing the Roman client Hyrcanus II and installing his nephew Antigonus in his place. For a moment, the whole of the Roman East seemed to be either in Parthian hands or on the point of capture. The conclusion of the second Roman civil war was soon to bring about a revival of Roman strength in Asia. Meanwhile Mark Antony had already sent Ventidius to oppose Labienus who had invaded Anatolia. Soon Labienius was driven back to Syria by Roman forces, and, though his Parthians allies came to his support, he was defeated, taken prisoner and then put to death. After suffering a further defeat near the Syrian Gates, the Parthians withdrew from Syria. They
returned in 38 BC, but were decisively defeated by Ventidius and Pacorus was killed. In Judaea, Antigonus was ousted with Roman help by Herod in 37 BC. With Roman control of Syria and Judaea restored, Mark Antony led a huge army into Azerbaijan, but his siege train and its escort were isolated and wiped out, while his Armenian allies deserted. Failing to make progress against Parthian positions, the Romans withdrew with heavy casualties. In 33 BC Antony was again in Armenia, contracting an alliance with the Median king against both Octavian, and the Parthians, but other preoccupations obliged him to withdraw, and the whole region passed under Parthian control.
Under the threat of an impending war between the two powers, Gaius Caesar and Phraataces worked out a rough compromise under the two powers in 1 AD. According to the agreement, Parthia undertook to withdraw its forces from Armenia, and to recognize a de facto Roman protectorate over the country. Nonetheless, Roman-Persian rivalry over control and influence in Armenia continued unabated for the next several decades. The decision of the Parthian king Artabanus II to place his son, Arsaces, on the vacant Armenian throne triggered a war with Rome in 36 AD. Artabanus reached an understanding with the Roman general, Lucius Vitellius, renunciating Parthian claims to a Parhian sphere of influence
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WAB FORUM ARMIES in Armenia. A new crisis was triggered in 58 AD, when the Romans invaded Armenia after the Parthian king Vologases I forcibly installed his brother Tiridates on the throne there. Roman forces under Corbulo overthrew Tiridates and replaced him with a Cappadocian prince. This prompted Parthian retaliation and an inconclusive series of campaigns in Armenia ensued. The war came to an end in 63 AD, when the Romans agreed to allow Tiridates and his descendants to rule Armenia on condition that they received the kingship from the Roman emperor.
A new series of wars began in the second century AD, during which the Romans consistently held the upper hand over Parthia. In 113 AD the Roman Emperor Trajan decided that the moment was ripe to resolve the "eastern question" once and for all time by the decisive defeat of Parthia and the annexation of Armenia; his conquests mark a deliberate change of the Roman Policy towards Parthia, and a shift of emphasis in the "grand strategy" of the empire. In 114 AD Trajan invaded Armenia, annexed it as a Roman province, and killed Parthamasiris who was placed on the Armenian throne by his brother the king of Parthia, Osroes I. In 115 AD the Roman emperor overran northern Mesopotamia and annexed to Rome as well; its conquer was deemed necessary, since otherwise the Armenian salient could be cut off by the Parthians from the south. The Romans then captured the Parthian capital, Ctesiphon, before sailing downriver to the Persian Gulf. However, in that year revolts erupted in Palestine, Syria and northern Mesopotamia, while a major Jewish revolt broke out in Roman territory, severely stretching Roman military resources. Simultaneously, Parthian forces began attacking key Roman positions; at the same time the Roman garrisons at Seleucia, Nisibis and Edessa had been attacked and evicted by the local populaces. Trajan subdued the rebels in Mesopotamia, but having installed the Parthian prince Parthamaspates on the throne there as a client ruler he withdrew his armies, and proceeded to Syria, where he set up his
headquarters at Antioch. In 117, before he could reorganize the effort to consolidate Roman control over the Parthian provinces, Trajan died.
Trajan's successor, Hadrian, promptly reversed his predecessor's policy, which he considered a potential long-term liability for the empire. he decided that it was in Rome's interest to reestablish the Euphrates as the limit of its direct control, and willingly returned to the status quo ante, surrendering the territories of Armenia, Mesopotamia, and Adiabene back to their previous rulers and client-kings. Once again, at least for another half century, Rome was to avoid active intervention east of the Euphrates. War over Armenia broke out again in 161 AD, when Vologases I defeated the Romans there, captured Edessa and ravaged Syria. In 163 AD a Roman counter-attack under Statius Priscus defeated the Parthians in Armenia and installed a favored candidate on the Armenian throne. The following year Avidius Cassius began an invasion of Mesopotamia, winning battles at Dura-Europos and Seleucia and sacking Ctesiphon in 165 AD. An epidemic, possibly of smallpox, which was sweeping Parthia at the time now spread to the Roman army, leading to their withdrawal.
In 195 AD another Roman invasion of Mesopotamia began under the Emperor Septimius Severus, who occupied Seleucia and Babylon, and then sacked Ctesiphon yet again in 197 AD. These wars led to the Roman acquisition of northern Mesopotamia, as far as the areas around Nisibis and Singara. A final war against the Parthians was launched by the
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WAB FORUM ARMIES emperor Caracalla, who sacked Arbela in 216 AD, but after his assassination his successor Macrinus was defeated by the Parthians near Nisibis and was obliged to make a payment of reparations for the damage done by Caracalla in exchange for peace.
FEARSOME CHARGE When the unit charges it causes fear in any unit with Ld 7 or less. SPECIAL DEPLOYMENT st May make a free march move prior to the 1 turn
Parthia was finally destroyed by Ardashir I when he entered Ctesiphon in 226. The Sassanids were more centralized than the Parthian dynasties. Until the Sassanids came to power, the Romans were mostly the aggressors. However, as from 226 the Sassanids were, being Persian, determined to reconquer the lands that the Achaemenid dynasty once held and this nationalistic zeal made them much more aggressive than the Parthians. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parthia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RomanParthian_Wars
FEIGNED FLIGHT When fleeing or firing and fleeing as a charge reaction the unit automatically rallies at the end of its flee move, before any charging unit makes contact. BEDOUIN CAVALRY May make any number of turns while moving, and may make a free reform at the end of its move, no figure may move more than its permitted move (which may include a march but not a fast march) NOMAD CAVALRY Benefit from the Expert Horsemen, Parthian Shot, Special Deployment and Feigned Flight rules.
PARTHIAN SHOT Can make a normal move after shooting in the Shooting phase.
VETERANS May reroll once all to-hit rolls per battle. HORSE BOW Range 16” Str 3, -1 to enemy saves
CATAPHRACT ARMOUR Counts as heavy armour and shield. EXPERT HORSEMEN Do not sure the -1 to hit for moving and shooting. CATAPHRACT May count a rank bonus up to a maximum of +2. If they wheel more than 1” during the Movement phase, Cataphracts may only move at their normal Movement rate. UNRELIABLE The first time the unit tries to move or shoot roll a D6, on the roll of a 1 they do nothing for this turn, and must roll again next time they try to move or shoot. Games Workshop, the Games Workshop logo, Warhammer, Warhammer Historical Wargames and the Warhammer Historical Wargameslogo are trademarks of Games Workshop, Ltd
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WAB FORUM ARMIES HERO
M 8
WS 4
BS 4
S 3
T 3
W 2
I 4
A 2
Ld 8
Pts 70
Units may have a Leader (+5 pts), Musician (+5pts) and/or Standard (+5pts).
Prince
CHARACTERS: Up to 25% of the points value of the army may be spent on characters.
Equipment: Hand weapon, Horse May have light armour (+2), cataphract armour (+4) , kontos or horse bow (+3) barding for horse (+4),
CAVALRY: At least 50% of the points value of the army must be spent on.
One prince may be Army standard bearer (+15)
INFANTRY: Up to 25% of the points value of the army may be spent on. SPECIAL: Up to 25% of the points value of the army may be spent on.
0-1 GUARD CATAPHRACTS Guards
M 8
WS 4
BS 3
S 3
T 3
W 1
I 4
A 1
Ld 8
Pts 29
Equipment: Cataphract armour, kontos, horse barding. May have darts (+1) Special Rules: Cataphracts, Stubborn, Veterans Cataphracts were the heavy assault force of most nations that used them, acting as shock troops supported by light or heavy infantry and foot or mounted archers. In many armies this reflected social divides as well as only the wealthiest noblemen could afford the panoply of the cataphract, not to mention the costs of supporting several war horses. Supporting archery was deemed particularly important for the proper deployment of cataphracts. The Parthian army that defeated the Romans at Carrhae in 53 BC operated primarily as a combined arms team of cataphracts and horse archers against the Roman heavy infantry. Archery was focused on the dense Roman ranks which prompted the legionaries to loosen formation. This then made them fatally susceptible to a massed cataphract charge.
0-1 GENERAL M 8
Surenah
WS 5
BS 5
S 3
T 4
W I 3 5
A 2
Ld 9
Pts 150
Equipment: Horse, hand weapon May have kontos or horse bow (+3) may have cataphract armour (+4) or light armour (+2), ma y have barding (+4) Special Rules: Army General, Must accompany Guard Cataphracts if they are part of the army
CATAPHRACTS Cataphracts
M 8
WS 4
BS 3
S 3
T 3
W 1
I 3
A 1
Ld 8
Pts 22
Equipment: Cataphract armour, kontos, horse. May have horse barding (+4) and darts (+1) Special Rules: Cataphracts
In Persia in 139 BC, Mithridates I captured t he Seleucid King Demetrius II, and held him captive for 10 years while consolidating his conquests. Demetrius II later married Mithridates I's daughter Rhodogune and had several children with her.
The cataphract charge was very effective due to the discipline and the large numbers of troops deployed. Roman writers throughout imperial history made much of the terror of facing cataphracts, let alone receiving their charge. Parthian armies were thus able again and again to repel Roman incursions across the Euphrates.
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WAB FORUM ARMIES HORSE ARCHER Parthian
M 8
WS 3
BS 3
DAYLAMAYI S 3
T 3
W 1
I 3
A 1
Ld 7
Pts 18
Equipment: Horse Bow, hand weapon, horse Special Rules: Horsemen
Skirmisher,
Feigned
Flight,
Expert
In the tactic of the Parthian shot the horseman would retreat from the enemy while turning his upper body and shooting backwards. Due to the superior speed of mounted archers, troops under attack from horse archers were unable to respond to the threat if they did not have ranged weapons of their own. Constant harassment would result in casualties, morale drop and disruption of the formation. Any attempts to charge the archers would also slow the entire army down.
Archers
BS 2
WS 3
BS 3
S 3
S 3
T 3
W 1
I 3
A 1
Ld 5
Pts 5
T 3
W 1
I 4
A 1
Ld 6
Pts 7
Special Rules: Light Infantry, Warband rules 1 & 2, Fearsome charge
BEDOUIN CAVALRY M 8
WS 3
BS 3
S 3
T 3
Equipment: Javelins, shield,
LEVY ARCHERS WS 2
M 5
Equipment: Javelins, Shields. May have throwing spears (+1) may be stubborn (+3)
Arab
M 4
Dailamayi
W 1
I 3
A 1
Ld 7
Pts 17
horse
Special Rules: Light Cavalry, Feigned Flight, Unreliable, Bedouin Cavalry The Lakhmid Kingdom was founded by the Lakhum tribe that immigrated out of Yemen in the second century and ruled by the Banu Lakhm, hence the name given it.
Equipment: Bow, hand weapon. May have large shield (+2) Special Rules: Levies
CAMELPHRACTS M 6
Camelry
WS 3
BS 3
S 3
T 3
W 1
I 3
A 1
Ld 7
Pts 23
Equipment: Cataphract armour, kontos, camel May have camel barding (+4) darts (+1) Special Rules: Cataphracts, Camels
HEPHTHALITES Huns
M 8
WS 3
BS 4
S 3
T 3
W 1
I 4
A 1
Ld 7
Pts 22
LEVY SPEARMEN Spearmen
M 4
WS 2
BS 2
S 3
T 3
W 1
I 3
A 1
Ld 5
Pts 4
Equipment: Horse bow, hand weapon, horse May have Shield (+1), light armour (+2), throwing spears (+1) Special Rules: Light Cavalry, Expert Horsemen, Special Deployment, Feigned Flight
Equipment: Thrusting spear. May have shield (+1) or large shield (+2)
Special Rules: Levies Games Workshop, the Games Workshop logo, Warhammer, Warhammer Historical Wargames and the Warhammer Historical Wargameslogo are trademarks of Games Workshop, Ltd
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WAB FORUM ARMIES legionaries' armor, the lorica hamata, the barrage eventually wore down the Romans.
!""#$%&!''(!$)*+ !""#$%&!''(!$)* + +
A Parthian force of 1,000 cataphracts and 9,000 horse archers under general Surena met the Romans at Carrhae. This was not Parthia's main army, which was campaigning in Armenia under Orodes II, but an advance force sent to scout out and delay the Romans, and only defeat them if they were weak enough. Crassus' cavalry was screening ahead of the main force when they were engaged by the cataphracts, and the weapons his cavalry employed were not capable of piercing the cataphracts' armor. His cavalry was soon surrounded and routed, and his son Publius killed. Crassus had no idea what had happened as this occurred far away from the legionaries. While meanwhile the horse archers surrounded the Roman infantry, taunting them. Crassus immediately formed his legionaries into a large, hollow square to prevent from being outflanked by the more mobile Parthian forces.
Crassus's plan: to have his legionaries endure the archer fire until the horse archers ran out of arrows. After several hours, the legionaries began to collapse from heat exhaustion and thirst as well as to the constant stream of missiles. The Romans were completely surrounded. The testudo formations were holding up well though, but the testudo was very poor in hand-to-hand combat. This factor inspired Surena to charge. The cataphracts' charge split the Roman army, and the Roman soldiers began to rout. Crassus was able to withdraw, but he had to leave behind thousands of wounded, who were executed by the Parthians. Surena then offered to have peace negotiations with Crassus. Crassus's men heard of this and threatened to mutiny if Crassus did not accept. Crassus was forced to attend, and he was killed. Molten gold was poured down his throat, and his skull would later be used as a prop in a play. It was one of the greatest defeats Rome would ever suffer, with about 20,000 soldiers dead, and half again as many captured. The Parthians suffered light casualties. !""#$%&,-,.,-)/0+ !""#$ %&,-,.,-)/0+ %&,-,.,-)/0+
Surena covered his cataphracts' armor with cloth, marched his army to in front of the Romans. At a prearranged signal, the cataphracts revealed their shining armor. Surena was impressed by what little effect this had on the Roman army, and judged that the cataphract charge would not be enough to break them at this point. Thus, he sent his horse archers to bombard the Roman legionaries with arrows. However, Crassus ordered the legionaries into the testudo formation to prevent being hurt by arrowfire. Most of the shots were non-fatal shots on the arm and leg. However, considering the sheer number of arrows fired, the rapid rate of fire of the horse archers, and finally the fact that the arrows were fired from a composite bow, at the
The Battle of Nisibis was fought in the summer of 217 between the armies of the Roman Empire under the newly ascended emperor Macrinus and the Parthian army of King Artabanus IV. It lasted for three days, and resulted in a bloody draw, with both sides suffering large casualties. As a result of the battle, Macrinus was forced to seek peace, paying the Parthians a huge sum and abandoning the invasion of Mesopotamia that Caracalla had begun a year before. The two enemies exemplified two different approaches to warfare: the Roman army was traditionally infantry-based, relying on its excellent legions, while the Parthians were excellent horsemen, employing the heavy shock "cataphract" cavalry, mounted on horses or camels, in combination with large numbers of horse-archers. The two armies met near the Roman city of Nisibis (the exact date is unclear). According to Cassius Dio, the first skirmish
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WAB FORUM ARMIES occurred over the possession of a watering-place. On the first day of battle, the Romans deployed in a typical formation, with their infantry in the centre and their cavalry and light troops (Moorish javelin throwers) at the wings to protect their flanks. At the same time, between the gaps left by the heavy infantry cohorts, they placed light infantry (lanciarii), which could skirmish forward and then withdraw to the safety of the heavier formations if necessary. The Parthians attacked at sunrise, firing volleys of arrows, while the cataphracts, supported by lancers on dromedaries, charged the Roman front. The light infantry covering it suffered casualties, but as the Parthians drew near, they withdrew, leaving large numbers of caltrops behind them, with fatal results. The Parthians' horses and camels stepped on them and fell, taking their riders with them and breaking the momentum of the advance. In the resulting close-quarters fighting, the Romans had the advantage. The Parthians launched several assaults with little result until night fell, when both sides withdrew to their camps. The second day was a repeat of the first, but on the third day, the Parthians, using their greater numbers and superior mobility, tried to outflank the Roman line. The Romans responded by abandoning their customary "deep" formation in several lines (the triplex acies) and extended their front by deploying in a single line. Thus, and maneuvering their cavalry and light troops to protect the wings, they avoided being outflanked and encircled. By that time, casualties on both sides were so great that "the entire plain was covered with the dead; bodies were piled up in huge mounds, and the dromedaries especially fell in heaps". At this point, Macrinus, with his army on the verge of breaking, sent another embassy to Artabanus, informing him of Caracalla's demise and offering a substantial compensation. The Parthian army had also suffered large casualties, and moreover, since it was not a professional but a feudal
militia force, it started becoming restive at the prolonged campaign. Thus Artabanus agreed to a peace, after receiving 200 million sesterces.
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Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parthia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman-Parthian_Wars http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Carrhae http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Rhandeia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Nisibis_(217) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Parthian_Kingdom
Others http://www.parthia.com/ http://www.livius.org/pan-paz/parthia/parthia02.html
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